The US-brokered agreement reached in Dayton, Ohio, on 21 November 1995 and formally signed on 14 December of the same year ended the bloodiest conflict in Europe since World War II and re-established peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Summary)

Negotiated in November 1995 and signed the following month, the Dayton Accords brought an end to three years of brutal interethnic conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It set forth the present political divisions and structure of government of the country, and mandated a wide range of international organisations to monitor, oversee and implement elements of the agreement.

Richard Holbrooke, US ambassador to the United Nations, gestures as he delivers the keynote address to the Fifth Anniversary Commemoration of The Dayton Peace Accords 17 November 2000 at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. [AFP]

Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, Bosnia and Herzegovina President Alija Izetbegovic (centre) and Croatian President Franjo Tudjman (right) put their initials to a peace accord between their countries on 21 November 1995 at Wright-Patterson AFB, near Dayton, Ohio. [AFP]

High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Wolfgang Petritsch holds a press conference on 24 May 2000 at the Justus Lipsius in Brussels, after a meeting of the Bosnian Peace Implementation Council. [AFP]

A map of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina. As agreed under Dayton, the country consists of two entities -- the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and Republika Srpksa. [File]

Despite peace of Dayton, reality presents difficult challenges

Ten years after the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, issues remain unresolved for many in Bosnia. The Dayton agreement secured the peace and has set the conditions to enable the country to right itself. The next 10 years will prove pivotal in the future of Bosnia, particularly as it deals with the linked challenges of economic recovery, constitutional reform, and efforts to further integrate into mainstream Europe through memberships in NATO and the European Union.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a unique political structure, and with it comes unique problems. Take, for example, the case of Fata Orlovic -- a Bosniak refugee who has been waging a legal battle in the Bosnian Serb entity's court over an Orthodox church in her backyard.

Prior to the conflict in BiH, Croats were the smallest of the country's three ethnic populations, and many feel shortchanged by the current political divisions. In Herzegovina, traditionally a hardline bastion, many are calling for the creation of a third entity. Other Croats disagree, arguing instead that BiH should leave separatism behind and seek a multiethnic future.

Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb entity, faces a 38 per cent unemployment rate and widespread disatisfaction. Bleak as the situation is, many are resistant to changing the status quo if it means undermining the basic arrangement set out in the Dayton Accords.

The way ahead

On the Highway to Europe

Ten years after Dayton, BiH has embarked on key reforms that are paving the way for future economic growth and higher living standards. However, issues such as unemployment and sluggish investment must be tackled more quickly to ensure the momentum is sustained, writes the international community's Principal Deputy High Representative, Lawrence E. Butler.

• Process of Changes to the Constitution
• Military and Police Reform

Progress in refugee return and internal displaced persons

• UNHCR
• Office of the High Representative
• Human Rights Watch
• Human Rights Ombudsman of BiH
• Bosnian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights

BiH Federal and State institutions

• BiH Presidency
• Council of Ministers
• Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• House of Representatives
• House of Peoples
• Federation Parliament
• RS Parliament