Abstract
The Dayton General Framework Agreement for Peace of late 1995 brought a ceasefire and an end to the killings in Bosnia. More than 11 years after its signing, some of Dayton’s outlined aims for Bosnia remain unfulfilled or realized with mixed results. Late in 2005, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Dayton, leading world political figures raved about the successes of Dayton, but the immediate calls for the reform of Constitution included in the Dayton agreement, which followed the praise, are perhaps a better indicator of the Agreement’s shortfalls in transitioning the Bosnian society from war to peace and subsequently creating a functioning state since its signing. The outlined aims of Dayton were undoubtedly ambitious. This article will examine the successes and failures of Dayton, within the framework of its own aims and jurisdiction – which themselves, in the process, evolved and changed – to protect human rights with respect to the freedom of movement, the return of refugees, and the war crime indictments.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
“Commitment to Pursue Constitutional Reform” at http://www.bhembassy.org.
Oslobodjenje (Sarajevo), 12 April 2006, at http://www.oslobodjenje.ba.
Oslobodjenje (27 April 2006), at http://www.oslobodjnje.ba; and Nezavisne novine (Banja Luka), 27 April 2006, at http://www.nezavisne.com.
Independent TV Hayat (Sarajevo), 28 April 2006,trans. in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.
Oslobodjenje (7 May 2006), at http://www.oslobodjenje.ba.
“Bonn Conclusions, XI. High Representative, 2.a” at http://www.ohr.int.
Carl Bildt, Peace Journey: The Strugge for Peace in Bosnia (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1998).
“Bosnia’s Stalled Police Reform: No Progress, No EU”, in International Conflict Group, Europe Report No. 164 (6 September 2005), at http://www.crisisgroup.org.
“Bonn Conclusions, XI.2.c”
“Catholic Bishops Urge Bosnian Croat Parties to Reject Constitutional Changes,” in Onasa (Sarajevo), 22 March 2006, in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.
Oslobodjenje (5 April 2006), at http://www.oslobodjenje.ba.
Oslobodjenje (18 April 2006), at http://www.oslobodjenje.ba.
Ibid.
“Flagging progress,” The Economist (London), 6 September 1997, p. 52.
Nezavisne Novine (4 April 2006), at http://www.nezavisne.com.
Nikola Spiric, chair at the House of Representatives in the Parliament, before voting on amendments, said that the RS will not halt the reforms, as too many international pressures will be applied to pass the reforms in the Parliament. See Nezavinse Novine (8 April 2006), at http://www.nezavisne.com.
Oslobodjenje (19 April 2006), at http://www.oslobodjenje.ba.
Nezavisne novine (4 May 2006), http://www.nezavisne.com.
“Bosnia’s Stalled Police Reform” (note 8).
Peace Implementation Council Sintra Decleration: Communique–Political Deceleration from Ministerial Meeting of the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (30 May 1997), at http://www.ohr.int.
Communique by the PIC Steering Board (Vienna), 15 March 2006, at http://www.ohr.int.
Tim Judah, “From Dayton to Brussels,” in The World Today, Vol. 61, No. 11 (November 2005), p. 9.
“Bosnia welcomes over 1 million returnees,” UNHCR website: http://www.unhcr.org.
“Bosanski Barometar–Mirsad Kebo,” in Dani (Sarajevo), No 419 (24 June 2005).
UNHCR at http://wwww.unhcr.ba.
Ibid.
“Bosnian Croat Bishop Only 3 per cent of Croat Refugees Return to Serb Entity”, Federation News Agency (Sarajevo), 15 April 2006, in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.
Carolin Leutloff-Grandits, “Croatia’s Serbs Ten Years after the End of War,” in Sabrina P. Ramet, Konrad Clewing, and Reneo Lukic (eds.), Croatia Since Independence: War, Politics, Society, Foreign Relations (Munich: R. Oldenbourg Verlas in preparation).
SFOR at http://www.nato.int/sfor.
“Bosnia: Sfor to build large base in eastern Bosnia to help refugee return,” TV Bosnia-Hercegovina (Sarajevo), 17 February 2001, in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.
“Izvještaj o stanju ljudskih prava u BiH u 2002.,” Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Bosnia at http://www.bh-hchr.org/Izvjestaji/izvj2002.htm.
In most cases, victims in the war recognized their neighbors and locals that prosecuted them.
A survey conducted in 1996, 1year after the war, showed that 93% of the polled Bosnian Muslims wanted to live in a multiethnic and multiconfessional Bosnia, while 83% of the polled Bosnian Serbs and 81% of the polled Bosnian Croats expressed that they preferred living alone (from Brian Whitmore, The Nation, 18–25 August 2003, p.30).
Leutloff-Grandits, “Croatia’s Serbs” (note 28).
The CRPC’s original mandate was for 5years, as specified by the Dayton Agreement. The mandate was extended but finally ended on 31 December 2003. Its activities were transferred to the responsibility of the Government of Bosnia–Herzegovina, which was also specified by the Agreement.
“PLIP Inter-Agency Framework Document,” 15 October 2000 available at http://www.ohr.int/plip
Charles B. Philpott, “From the Right to Return to the Return of Rights: Completing Post-War Property Restitution in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” International Journal of Refugee Law, Vol. 18, No. 1 (March 2006), pp. 30; 45-60.
Agence France Presse (AFP), 18 November 2005, in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.
“Commission for Refugees, DPS Condemns Incident in Stolac,” Onasa (15 December 2001) and “Bosnian MP Says Muslims Segregated in Southeastern Town of Stolac,” Independent TV Hayat (25 May 2004) – both in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.
BBC News Wire (5 March 2004).
Hasan Hadzic, “Bjeljina: a bastion of apartheid,” in Dani, no. 286 (6 December 2002).
Gearoid Tauthail and Carl Dahlmann, “Post Domicide Bosnia and Herzegovina: Homes, Homelands and One Million Returns,” in International Peacekeeping, Vol. 13, No. 2 (2006), p. 257.
Deutche Pressse-Agentur (Hamburg), 26 January 2006.
AFP (18 November 2006), in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.
“Bosnia and Herzegovina: Behind closed gates: ethnic discrimination in employment,” Amnesty International (26 January 2006), at http://www.amnesty.org
Ibid.
ICTY website at http://www.un.org/icty
BBC News (6 May 2006), at news.bbc.co.uk.
Oslobodjenje (8 April 2006), at http://www.oslobodjenje.ba.
“A Chance for Justice? War Crime Prosecutions in Bosnia’s Serb Republic,” Human Rights Watch, Vol. 18, No. 3 (March 2006), p. 17.
“28th Report of the High Representative for Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Secretary-General of the United Nations”(17 November 2005), at http://www.ohr.int.
Gearoid O Tauthail and Carl Dahlman, “The Effort to Reverse Ethnic Cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina: The Limits of Returns,” in Eurasian Geography and Economics, Vol. 45, No. 6 (September 2004), p. 448.
Vildana Selimbegovic, “Sujete i licni interesi ukrali su BiH cetiri godine,” in Dani, no. 464 (5 May 2006).
New York Times (26 February 2007), at http://www.nytimes.com; and BBC News website (26 February 2007).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hadzic, L. As Dayton Undergoes Proposals for Reform, the Status of Freedom of Movement, Refugee Returns, and War Crimes in Bosnia And Herzegovina. Hum Rights Rev 9, 137–151 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-007-0033-3
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12142-007-0033-3