Sarajevo, 29 April 2010

IOM Director General William Lacy Swing with Valentin Inzko, High Representative, and Peter Schatzer, IOM Chief of Staff, Visit Sarajevo’s Ancient Synagogue

On the 28 and 29 of April 2010, IOM Director General William Lacy Swing visited Sarajevo at the invitation of the Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Austrian Minister of Interior. The occasion was the convening of a regional conference on “Intercultural Dialogue and Internal Security” co-hosted by Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Director General Swing opened the conference with a key note address to the gathering of ministers and other dignitaries from the Western Balkans. The conference aimed to take a stance against radicalisation and offer a contribution to an environment of security that allows all people to live together in harmony in Central and South-Eastern Europe and beyond.

Conference participants and their hosts also visited various historic sites - the Cathedral of Jesus’ Heart, the Sarajevo Synagogue, the Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, the Gazi-Husrevbey Mosque, and the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina - a testament to the multi-cultural heritage of the city and the potential for inter-cultural tolerance.

The Director General’s trip to Sarajevo also included a visit to the IOM Sarajevo office, where he met with IOM Sarajevo staff and IOM chiefs of mission from the Western Balkans.