The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, also known as the Dayton Agreement or the Dayton Accords (
Croatian: ''Daytonski sporazum'',
Serbian
Serbian may refer to:
* someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe
* someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people
* Serbian language
* Serbian names
See also
*
*
* Old Serbian (disambiguat ...
and
Bosnian: ''Dejtonski mirovni sporazum'' / Дејтонски мировни споразум), is the peace agreement reached at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
, United States, on 21 November 1995, and formally signed in Paris, on 14 December 1995. These accords put an end to the three-and-a-half-year-long
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
, which was part of the much larger
Yugoslav Wars
The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...
.
The warring parties agreed to peace and to a single sovereign state known as
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
composed of two parts, the largely
Serb-populated
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
and mainly
Croat-
Bosniak
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, cu ...
-populated
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists ...
.
The agreement has been criticized for creating ineffective and unwieldy political structures and entrenching the
ethnic cleansing of the previous war.
Negotiation and signature
Though basic elements of the Dayton Agreement were proposed in international talks as early as 1992, these negotiations were initiated following the
unsuccessful previous peace efforts and arrangements, the August 1995 Croatian military
Operation Storm and its aftermath, the government military offensive against the
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
, conducted in parallel with NATO's
Operation Deliberate Force. During September and October 1995, world powers (especially the United States and Russia), gathered in the
Contact Group, pressured the leaders of the three sides to attend settlement negotiations; Dayton, Ohio was eventually chosen as the venue.
Talks began with an outline of key points presented by the U.S. in a team led by National Security Adviser
Anthony Lake in visits to London, Bonn, Paris and other European stops 10 – 14 August 1995. These included Sochi, Crimea to consult Russian Foreign Minister
Andrei Kozyrev. Lake's team handed off to a separate U.S. inter-agency group led by Assistant Secretary of State
Richard Holbrooke, who went on to negotiate with Balkan leaders in their capitals. The Holbrooke crew conducted five rounds of intense shuttle diplomacy from August to October, including short conferences in Geneva and New York that resulted in the parties' adoption of principles for a settlement on 8 and 26 September respectively.
The Dayton conference took place from 1–21 November 1995. The main participants from the region were the President of the
Republic of Serbia Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević (, ; 20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was a Yugoslav and Serbian politician who was the president of Serbia within Yugoslavia from 1989 to 1997 (originally the Socialist Republic of Serbia, a constituent republic of ...
(whom the Bosnian Serbs had previously empowered to represent their interests), President of Croatia
Franjo Tuđman
Franjo Tuđman (; 14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999), also written as Franjo Tudjman, was a Croatian politician and historian. Following the country's independence from Yugoslavia, he became the first president of Croatia and served as p ...
, and President of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Alija Izetbegović with his Foreign Minister
Muhamed Šaćirbeg.
The peace conference was led by US Secretary of State
Warren Christopher
Warren Minor Christopher (October 27, 1925March 18, 2011) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician. During Bill Clinton's first term as president, he served as the 63rd United States Secretary of State.
Born in Scranton, North Dakota, ...
, and negotiator Richard Holbrooke with two co-chairmen in the form of EU Special Representative
Carl Bildt and the First Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia
Igor Ivanov
Igor Sergeyevich Ivanov (born 23 September 1945) is a Russian politician who was Foreign Minister of Russia from 1998 to 2004 under both the Yeltsin and the Putin administrations.
Early life
Ivanov was born in 1945 in Moscow to a Russian fathe ...
. A key participant in the US delegation was General
Wesley Clark. The head of the UK's team was
Pauline Neville-Jones
Lilian Pauline Neville-Jones, Baroness Neville-Jones (born 2 November 1939) is a British politician and former civil servant who served as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) from 1993 to 1994. A member of the Conservative Party, ...
, political director of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...
. The UK military representative was
Col Arundell David Leakey.
Paul Williams, through the
Public International Law & Policy Group
The Public International Law & Policy Group (PILPG) is a non-profit organization, operating as a global ''pro bono'' law firm providing free legal assistance to developing states and sub-state entities involved in conflicts. PILPG also provides ...
(PILPG) served as legal counsel to the Bosnian Government delegation during the negotiations.
The secure site was chosen in order to remove all the parties from their comfort zone, without which they would have little incentive to negotiate; to reduce their ability to negotiate through the media; and to securely house over 800 staff and attendants. Curbing the participants' ability to negotiate via the media was a particularly important consideration.
Richard Holbrooke wanted to prevent posturing through early leaks to the press.
![Signing the Dayton Agreement Milosevic Tudjman Izetbegovic](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Signing_the_Dayton_Agreement_Milosevic_Tudjman_Izetbegovic.jpg)
After having been initialed in Dayton, Ohio, on 21 November 1995, the full and formal agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995 and witnessed by
Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González
Felipe González Márquez (; born 5 March 1942) is a Spanish lawyer, professor, and politician, who was the Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) from 1974 to 1997, and the 3rd Prime Minister of Spain since the ...
,
French President Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
,
US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
,
UK Prime Minister John Major
Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...
,
German Chancellor
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany,; often shortened to ''Bundeskanzler''/''Bundeskanzlerin'', / is the head of the federal government of Germany and the commander in chief of the Ger ...
Helmut Kohl and
Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin
Viktor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin (russian: Ви́ктор Степа́нович Черномы́рдин, ; 9 April 19383 November 2010) was a Soviet and Russian politician and businessman. He was the Minister of Gas Industry of the Soviet Unio ...
.
Content
The agreement's main purpose is to promote peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to endorse regional balance in and around the former
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
(Article V, annex 1-B), thus in a regional perspective.
[Cannon, P., The Third Balkan War and Political Disunity: Creating A Cantonal Constitutional System for Bosnia-Herzegovina, Jrnl. Trans. L. & Pol., Vol. 5-2]
The present
political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina were created by the Dayton Agreement. The Agreement divides the country into two federal entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Republika Srpska (RS) and one additio ...
and its
structure of government were agreed upon, as part the constitution that makes up Annex 4 of the General Framework Agreement concluded at Dayton. A key component of this was the delineation of the
Inter-Entity Boundary Line
The Inter-Entity Boundary Line ( sh, Međuentitetska linija), commonly abbreviated IEBL, is the administrative line that subdivides Bosnia and Herzegovina into two entities, ''Republika Srpska'' and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Th ...
to which many of the tasks listed in the Annexes referred.
The State of Bosnia Herzegovina was set as of the
Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and of the
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...
. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a complete state, as opposed to a confederation; no entity or entities could ever be separated from Bosnia and Herzegovina unless by due legal process. Although highly decentralised in its entities, it would still retain a central government, with a rotating State Presidency, a central bank and a constitutional court.
The agreement mandated a wide range of international organizations to monitor, oversee and implement components of the agreement. The NATO-led
IFOR
The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''.
Background
NATO ...
(Implementation Force) was responsible for implementing military aspects of the agreement and deployed on 20 December 1995, taking over the forces of the
UNPROFOR
The United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR; also known by its French acronym FORPRONU: ''Force de Protection des Nations Unies'') was the first United Nations peacekeeping force in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav War ...
. The
Office of the High Representative
The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, together with the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were created in 1995 immediately after the signing of the Dayton Agreement which ended the 1992–1995 Bosn ...
was charged with the task of civil implementation. The
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe was charged with organising the
first free elections in 1996.
Constitutional Court decision
On 13 October 1997, the Croatian 1861 Law Party and the Bosnia-Herzegovina 1861 Law Party requested the
Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina to annul several decisions and to confirm one decision of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and, more importantly, to review the constitutionality of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina since it was alleged that the agreement violated the
Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina in a way that it undermined the integrity of the state and could cause the dissolution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Court reached the conclusion that it is not competent to decide the dispute in regards to the mentioned decisions since the applicants were not subjects that were identified in Article VI.3 (a) of the Constitution on those who can refer disputes to the Court. The Court also rejected the other request:
It was one of the early cases in which the Court had to deal with the question of the legal nature of the Constitution. By making the remark in the manner of ''
obiter dictum'' concerning the Annex IV (the Constitution) and the rest of the peace agreement, the Court actually "established the ground for ''legal unity''" of the entire peace agreement, which further implied that all of the annexes are in the hierarchical equality. In later decisions the Court confirmed that by using other annexes of the peace agreement as a direct base for the analysis, not only in the context of systematic interpretation of the Annex IV. However, since the Court rejected the presented request of the appellants, it did not go into details concerning the controversial questions of the legality of the process in which the new Constitution (Annex IV) came to power and replaced the former Constitution of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Court used the same reasoning to dismiss the similar claim in a later case.
Territorial changes
![Serberne flytter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Serberne_flytter.jpg)
Before the agreement,
Bosnian Serbs
The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби у Босни и Херцеговини, Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country, predominantly residing in the politi ...
controlled about 46% of Bosnia and Herzegovina (23,687 km
2),
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry ...
28% (14,505 km
2) and
Bosnian Croats
The Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina (), often referred to as Bosnian Croats () or Herzegovinian Croats () are the third most populous ethnic group in the country after Bosniaks and Serbs, and are one of the constitutive nations of Bosnia and ...
25% (12,937 km
2).
Bosnian Serbs got large tracts of mountainous territories back (4% from Bosnian Croats and some small amounts from Bosniaks), but they had to surrender
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
and some vital Eastern Bosnian/Herzegovian positions. Their percentage grew to 49% (48% by excluding the Brčko District, 24,526 km
2).
Bosniaks got most of Sarajevo and some important positions in eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina while they lost only a few locations on Mount
Ozren and in western Bosnia. Their percentage grew to 30%, and they greatly improved the quality of the land. Large tracts of prewar Bosniak (and Bosnian Croat) inhabited lands remained under Bosnian Serb control.
Bosnian Croats gave most (4% of BiH territories) back to the Bosnian Serbs (9% of today's RS) and also retreated from Una-Sana
Donji Vakuf (in Central Bosnia) afterward. A small enlargement of
Posavina
Posavina ( sr-cyr, Посавина) is a geographical region that stretches along the Sava river, encompassing only the inner areas of the Sava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning from t ...
(
Odžak
Odžak ( sr-cyrl, Оџак) is a town and municipality located in Posavina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the river Sav ...
and parts of Domaljevac) did not change the fact that after Dayton Bosnian Croats controlled just 21% of Bosnia and Herzegovina (10,640 km
2), compared to more than 25% prior to Dayton. One of the most important Bosnian Croat territories (Posavina with
Bosanski Brod
Brod ( sr-cyr, Брод, ),[The official web site of the municipality](_blank)
, Brod/Брод. ,
Bosanski Šamac,
Derventa
Derventa ( sr-cyrl, Дервента) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Posavina region, northwest of the city of Doboj. As of 2013, the town has a total of 11,631 inhabitants, while ...
) was left out of Bosnian Croat control.
Control of Republika Srpska
*About 89.5% (22,059 km
2) was under control of Bosnian Serbs
*About 9% (2,117 km
2) of today's territories of Republika Srpska was controlled by Bosnian Croat forces; mainly in municipalities of
Šipovo,
Petrovac,
Istočni Drvar
Istočni Drvar ( sr-cyrl, Источни Дрвар) is a municipality located in western Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. it is situated in the central part of the Bosanska Krajina region. The seat of the municipality is in ...
,
Jezero,
Kupres (RS) and part of
Banja Luka
Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...
municipality
*About 1.5% (350 km
2) of today's territories of Republika Srpska was controlled by Bosniak forces, mainly some villages in
Ozren (Doboj and
Petrovo), western Bosnia (
Krupa na Uni
Krupa na Uni ( sr-cyrl, Крупа на Уни) is a municipality in northern Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the north-western part of the Republika Srpska entity and the central part of the Bosanska Kraji ...
and parts of
Novi Grad and
Oštra Luka
Oštra Luka ( sr-cyrl, Оштра Лука) is a village and a municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 2,786 inhabitants, with 782 in Oštra Luka itself.
The ...
).
Control of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
*About 53% (13,955 km
2) of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was under Bosniak control.
*About 41% (10,720 km
2) of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was under the control of Bosnian Croats.
*About 6% (1,435 km
2) was under control of Bosnian Serbs.
Cantons
Canton 10
Canton 10 ( hr, Hercegbosanska županija; bs, Kanton 10; sr-cyrl, Кантон 10) or Herzeg-Bosnian canton is the largest of the cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina by area and eighth by population. It mainly covers an are ...
:
*was almost completely under control of Bosnian Croats (4,924 km
2)
*Bosniaks controlled some points east of Kupres (10 km
2)
Una-Sana Canton:
*was almost completely under control of Bosniaks (3,925 km
2)
*Bosnian Croats controlled some mountain passes on the southern parts of Bosanski Petrovac and Bihać municipalities (200 km
2)
West Herzegovina Canton
The West Herzegovina Canton ( hr, Županija Zapadnohercegovačka, bs, Zapadnohercegovački kanton) is one of the cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The West Herzegovina Canton is in the Herzegovina region in the southwest of B ...
:
*was completely under Bosnian Croat control (1,362 km
2)
Herzegovina-Neretva Canton:
*was divided, more than half was under Bosnian Croat control (2,525 km
2)
*northern and central parts were under Bosniak control (1,666 km
2)
*eastern mountains were under Bosnian Serb control (210 km
2)
Central Bosnia Canton
The Central Bosnia Canton ( bs, Srednjobosanski kanton/Средњобосански кантон, hr, Županija Središnja Bosna) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The most populous se ...
:
*was divided, a bit more than a third was under Bosnian Croat control (1,099 km
2)
*rest was under control of Bosniaks (2,090 km
2)
Zenica-Doboj Canton
The Zenica-Doboj Canton (; hr, Zeničko-dobojska županija; sr, Зеничко-добојски кантон) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cantonal seat is the City of Zenica. ...
:
*was largely under Bosniak control (2,843 km
2)
*there were some small enclaves like
Žepče,
Usora under Bosnian Croat control (400 km
2)
*eastern mountains were under Bosnian Serb control (100 km
2)
Tuzla Canton
The Tuzla Canton ( bs, Tuzlanski kanton; hr, Tuzlanska županija; sr, Тузлански кантон) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cantonal seat is the ci ...
:
*was largely under Bosniak control (2,544 km
2)
*there were some villages in
Gradačac municipality under Bosnian Croat control (5 km
2)
*and some villages in
Doboj
Doboj ( sr-cyrl, Добој, ) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Bosna river, in the northern region of the Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 ...
and
Gračanica Gračanica () may refer to:
Places
Bosnia and Herzegovina
*Gračanica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a town and municipality in Tuzla
*Gračanica (Bugojno), a village in Central Bosnia
*Gračanica, Gacko, a village in Republika Srpska
*Gračanica, Proz ...
municipalities under Bosnian Serb control (100 km
2)
Posavina Canton:
*was mostly under Bosnian Croat control (205 km
2)
*Bosnian Serbs controlled
Odžak
Odžak ( sr-cyrl, Оџак) is a town and municipality located in Posavina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the river Sav ...
and parts of
Domaljevac municipalities (120 km
2)
Bosnian Podrinje Canton
Bosnian may refer to:
*Anything related to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina or its inhabitants
*Anything related to Bosnia (region) or its inhabitants
* Bosniaks, an ethnic group mainly inhabiting Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of three const ...
:
*was mostly under Bosniak control (405 km
2)
*Bosnian Serbs controlled areas which linked it with Sarajevo (100 km
2)
Sarajevo Canton
The Sarajevo Canton, officially the Canton of Sarajevo ( bs, Kanton Sarajevo; hr, Sarajevska županija; sr-Cyrl, Сарајевски кантон), is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It ...
:
*was mostly under Bosnian Serbs control (800 km
2)
*while Bosniaks controlled some southern suburbs and most of the city itself (477 km
2)
Brčko District
Brčko District ( bs, Brčko Distrikt; hr, Brčko Distrikt; sr, Брчко Дистрикт, ), officially the Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, Brčko Distrikt Bosne i Hercegovine; hr, Brčko Distrikt Bosne i Hercegovine; ), i ...
was divided;
*Bosniaks controlled most of its southern parts (200 km
2)
*Bosnian Serbs its northern parts (193 km
2)
*While Bosnian Croats controlled the rest, part near
Orašje municipality and two enclaves on southern parts of municipality (100 km
2)
Appraisals
The immediate purpose of the agreement was to freeze the military confrontation and prevent it from resuming. It was therefore defined as a "construction of necessity".
The Dayton Agreement was aimed at allowing Bosnia and Herzegovina to move from an early post-conflict phase through reconstruction and consolidation, adopting a
consociational power-sharing approach. Scholars such as Canadian professor Charles-Philippe David calls Dayton "the most impressive example of conflict resolution". American scholar Howard M. Hensel states that "Dayton represents an example of a conflict resolution negotiation that was successful. However, Patrice C. McMahon and Jon Western write that "As successful as Dayton was at ending the violence, it also sowed the seeds of instability by creating a decentralized political system that undermined the state's authority".
High Representative Wolfgang Petritsch
Wolfgang Petritsch (born 26 August 1947) is an Austrian diplomat of Slovene ethnicity.
Between 1999 and 2002 Petritsch served as the international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Early life and studies
Petritsch was born to a C ...
argued in 2006 that the Dayton framework has allowed the
international community
The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world.
As a rhetorical term
Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is ...
to move "from statebuilding via institutions and capacity-building to identity building", putting Bosnia and Herzegovina "on the road to
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
".
The Dayton Agreement has been the subject of criticism since its inception, including:
* ''A complicated government system'' – As part of the Dayton agreement, Bosnia was divided regionally between two "Entities" within a consociational democracy, which was established to ensure the political representation and power of all sides. This can lead to an unproductive government in that every important issue is deadlocked within the central government as each party is championing opposing priorities that are based on ethnic policies and not shared ideals.
* ''Dependency and control of international actors'' – Dayton was very much an international vision, led by the United States who supported an end to the war, but that did not allow Bosnian leaders to negotiate an ending to the war, therefore leaving no incentive in the afterward peacebuilding process and no area for leaders to discuss the underlying root causes of the conflict. International actors also played an extensive role in shaping the postwar agenda in Bosnia. The international community invests millions of dollars in BiH yearly through NGOs. However, this stifles the impact of local actors and the development of civil society. Instead, the international community should invest in local actors, youth activists, and democratization projects. The influx of NGOs and international actors to kick start investment in the country post war also failed to kick start the economy, with Bosnia suffering from poor economic growth (2% in 2015). The lack of economic development has been attributed to poor coordination between international actors and lack of consideration for local capacity
* ''Ending the war but not promoting peace'' – The primary aim of Dayton was to stop the war, but the agreement was only meant to be a temporary measure while a long-term plan was developed. The Dayton Agreement was the 35th attempt at a ceasefire following 34 other failed attempts. While Dayton has halted the conflict and there has not been a resurgence of violence, the stability in the conflict does not give an accurate assessment of peace. There is negative peace in BiH, meaning there is no open conflict or violence. However, there is no positive peace, as conditions that eliminate the causes of violence have not been reached. There is still currently an international military presence,
EUFOR Althea, responsible for overseeing compliance with aspects of the Dayton Agreement. The Dayton Agreement provided peace by re-establishing and codifying division. Enforcing such peace can be seen as highlighting the still deep rooted tensions in the country, with Dayton covering the cracks of a fractured society that could be plunged back into conflict as soon as military forces left.
*''Consociational Democracy'' – The Dayton Agreement established a consociational democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This means that each group is ensured representation and power. This incentivized the end of the Bosnian War, but first requires collaboration or reconciliation for the government to function. Bosnia and Herzegovina operates with a three-member president role. There is a Croat, Bosniak, and Serb president. Similar quotas and rules apply for the two legislative bodies.
According to survey results from a 2020 study, "in each of the three main ethnic groups of Bosnia, more people would have voted for Dayton than against it."
Disappearance of the original document
On 13 February 2008, the head of the
Presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina Željko Komšić said that the original Dayton Agreement was lost from the Presidency's archive. High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina
Miroslav Lajčák
Miroslav Lajčák (born 20 March 1963) is a Slovak politician and diplomat, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic. In addition, Lajčak also served as President of the United Nations General Assembly for the 72nd session fr ...
said: "I don't know whether the news is sad or funny". On 16 November 2009 the French Foreign Ministry delivered the certified copy of the Dayton agreement to the French embassy in Sarajevo. The copy was later transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The stolen original was found in 2017 in a private residence in
Pale
Pale may refer to:
Jurisdictions
* Medieval areas of English conquest:
** Pale of Calais, in France (1360–1558)
** The Pale, or the English Pale, in Ireland
*Pale of Settlement, area of permitted Jewish settlement, western Russian Empire (179 ...
, resulting in the arrest of the person who was trying to sell it.
See also
*
Washington Agreement
The Washington Agreement ( Croatian: ''washingtonski sporazum'' and Bosnian: ''vašingtonski sporazum'') was a ceasefire agreement between the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, signed in Washington, D ...
*
Peace plans offered before and during the Bosnian War
Four major international peace plans were proposed before and during the Bosnian War by European Community (EC) and United Nations (UN) diplomats before the conflict was settled by the Dayton Agreement in 1995.
Background
The Bosnian war which ...
*
Proposed secession of Republika Srpska
The Dayton Agreement ended the Bosnian War and created the federal republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which consists of the Bosniak and Croat-inhabited Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Serb-inhabited Republika Srpska (R ...
*
Constitutional reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina was amended once, in 2009, to include the outcome of the Brčko District final award. Several constitutional reforms were attempted between 2006 and 2014, to ensure it compliance with the case law of the ...
*
Erdut Agreement
References
Further reading
* Allcock, John B., Marko Milivojevic, et al. ''Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia: An Encyclopedia'' (1998)
*
*
* Caplan, R., 2000. "Assessing the Dayton Accord: The structural weaknesses of the general framework agreement for peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina". ''Diplomacy and Statecraft'', 11(2), pp. 213–232.
*
*
* Chollet, Derek. ''The Road to the Dayton Accords'' (Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2005)
excerpt* Chollet, Derek H., and Samantha Power. ''The unquiet American: Richard Holbrooke in the world'' (Public Affairs, 2011).
* Curran, Daniel, James K. Sebenius, and Michael Watkins. "Two Paths to Peace: Contrasting George Mitchell in Northern Ireland with Richard Holbrooke in Bosnia–Herzegovina". ''Negotiation Journal'' 20.4 (2004): 513–537
online* Daalder, I.H., 2014. ''Getting to Dayton: the making of America's Bosnia policy''. Brookings Institution Press.
*
* Goodby, J.E., 1996. "When war won out: Bosnian peace plans before Dayton". ''International Negotiation'', 1(3), pp. 501–523.
* Parish, M., 2007. "The Demise of the Dayton protectorate. Inside the Bosnian Crisis: Documents and Analysis". ''Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding'', 1, pp. 11–23.
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*
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External links
General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Dayton AccordsFull text of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina UN Peacemaker
Text of all peace agreements for Bosnia and Herzegovina UN Peacemaker
The Dayton Agreements: A Breakthrough for Peace and Justice? a Symposium at the ''European Journal of International Law''
Bosnia: a single country or an apple of discord?,
Bosnian Institute
The Bosnian Institute is an organisation principally devoted to providing information on history and culture and promoting the common good of Bosnia and Herzegovina through "education and empowerment" to preserve the Bosnian identity. It publishes ...
, 12 May 2006
Beyond Dayton: The Balkans and Euro-Atlantic Integration U.S. Institute of Peace Event, November 2005 (Audio & transcripts)
All Peace Agreements in Bosnia, UN Peacemaker
{{Authority control
Bosnian peace process
Bosnian War
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Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
High Representatives for Bosnia and Herzegovina
History of Dayton, Ohio
Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Peace treaties
Treaties of Serbia
Peace treaties of Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina–United States relations
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