Public Lecture by H.E. Mario Nobilo, State Secretary for Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Republic of Croatia, entitled, “From Peacekeeping to Peacemaking – A Story of Transformation in the Former Yugoslavia”

A Public Lecture entitled, “From Peacekeeping to Peacemaking – A Story of Transformation in the Former Yugoslavia”, by H.E. Mario Nobilo, State Secretary for Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, Republic of Croatia was held at the IDFR Auditorium on 9 May 2011.

In his welcoming remarks, Y. Bhg. Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, the Director General of IDFR said that recent developments in the former Yugoslavia, which during the early 1990s drew much international attention for the unprecedented levels of ethnic violence and human tragedies, is a case worth studying by diplomats and others involved in peace keeping and peace making in various parts of the world.

In his presentation, Dr. Nobilo gave the historical perspective of the conflict leading to the break-up of the former Yugoslavia and the peace efforts that have taken place since then. He talked about the various measures that were taken in terms of preventive action, confidence building and post-conflict rehabilitation to bring about peace to the war-torn region.

With regard to lessons learnt from the conflict, Dr. Nobilo highlighted the importance of well developed UN instruments, the willingness of the international community to intervene quickly in cases of conflicts to prevent them from developing into genocide and humanitarian disasters as well as the need to take a comprehensive approach to peacekeeping and peacemaking, instead of merely spending money on military presence and peace monitoring.

The Public Lecture was attended by about 120 participants with a strong representation from foreign Embassies and High Commissions in Kuala Lumpur.