Dayton Peace Accord Has Helped Pave Way for BiH

14/12/2004

The Dayton Peace Accord, which ended Europe's worst armed conflict since World War II, is about to enter its 10th year. Observing the anniversary of its signing, High Representative Paddy Ashdown said the agreement provided the foundations for resolving political and social challenges.

By Svetla Dimitrova for Southeast European Times in Sofia - 14/12/04

The accord was signed at a formal ceremony in Paris on 14 December 1995. [File]

The Dayton Peace Accord, which ended the 1992-1995 conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), is entering its 10th year. Signed at a formal ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on 14 December 1995 -- two weeks after the then presidents of BiH, Croatia and Yugoslavia initialled the agreement at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio -- the accord established BiH as a sovereign state, consisting of two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska (RS).

As a framework agreement, Dayton did not provide all the answers, High Representative Paddy Ashdown said following the 9th anniversary of the preliminary signing. "It provided the foundations within which the people of BiH could find permanent solutions to the political and social challenges that confront them," he said.

"Dayton, for all its faults, ended the war," he said in an open letter to the people of BiH as the country celebrated Statehood Day on 26 November. "That has been its enduring achievement."

During the three-and-half years of bloodshed that preceded Dayton, an estimated 200,000 people were killed and another two million displaced in the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

Since then, a series of internationally monitored elections have been held in the country, leading to increased democratic pluralism and to the establishment of democratic institutions of government at all levels. As of September 2004, more than one million people uprooted by the conflict have returned to their homes. Donor support worth billions of euros has been pumped into the country for reconstruction.

"By 2000, most housing, schools, water supply systems, roads, telecommunications and electric power supplies had been reconstructed to near pre-war standards," the World Bank said in an August report.

In his open letter, Ashdown mentioned several achievements this year, including the establishment of the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, which will allow the country to start trying its own war crimes cases. He also referred to the city of Mostar, noting the process of unifying its Croat and Muslim communities has "moved forward decisively".

"The opening of Mostar's bridge in July symbolised the extraordinary progress made in knitting together communities so recently torn apart by war," Ashdown said.

BiH's top long-term goals include integration into the EU and NATO. Those aspirations, however, depend on meeting key preconditions, including full co-operation with the UN war crimes tribunal -- a fundamental requirement of the Dayton agreement.

As a result of RS authorities' failure to arrest and hand over a single indictee, the Alliance has rejected BiH's application for admission to the Partnership for Peace programme twice this year.

"BiH's institutions and individuals, and especially those of the RS, cannot continue to block BiH's path to the EU and NATO," Ashdown said. "Bosnia and Herzegovina must not miss the opportunity for a brighter future. The people deserve it. It is within reach."