The Dayton Accords ended a three-year war in Bosnia and Herzegovina that claimed the lives of tens of thousands. What did they achieve and what does the Balkan country look like today?
30 years ago, the Dayton Accords ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. But the problems remain to this day:
How was the Dayton Agreement reached?
The Dayton Peace Agreement was concluded on November 21, 1995 and signed on December 14, 1995 in Paris. It ended the three-year war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The fighting between Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats was marked by ethnic cleansing, the siege of Sarajevo and the genocide in Srebrenica. In total, 100,000 people lost their lives and millions were displaced. It was not until NATO intervention in August 1995 that a ceasefire was reached, and peace talks began in October. Under the leadership of American diplomat Richard Holbrooke, the warring parties meet at the US Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, to work out a peace plan.
Who is involved in drafting the agreement?
The presidents of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina - Slobodan Milošević, Franjo Tuđman and Alija Izetbegović - sit at the negotiating table. Each of them pursues their own interests: Milošević wants to secure influence and the territories seized during the war and subjected to ethnic cleansing by the Bosnian Serbs, Tuđman seeks territorial advantages for Croatia, and Izetbegović fights for the recognition of the state integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
There are no negotiations with the political and military representatives of the Bosnian Serbs - such as Radovan Karadžić and Ratko Mladić. In 1996, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia issued a warrant for Karadžić's arrest, but charges against him and Mladić had been filed as early as 1995.
What does the agreement contain?
The agreement stipulates: Bosnia and Herzegovina remains a single sovereign state within internationally recognized borders with the capital Sarajevo. The state consists of two entities: the Bosniak-Croat Federation (51% of the territory) and the Republika Srpska (49% of the territory), populated mainly by Bosnian Serbs. The status of the town of Brcko in northern Bosnia was determined later.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is governed by a state presidency, which includes three members to maintain ethnic balance. It has a bicameral parliament, a Council of Ministers, a Constitutional Court, and a Central Bank. State institutions are responsible for foreign, trade, customs and monetary policy, immigration issues, air transport control, and since 2005, military and defense policy.
All other competencies are in the hands of the individual constituent units of the state.
Why did the war break out in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
The war in Bosnia broke out in 1992, after the majority of the country's population voted in a referendum for independence from Yugoslavia. Before that, Slovenia and Croatia, which were also part of Yugoslavia, seceded and declared independence. However, only Muslim Bosniaks and Croats participated in the referendum in Bosnia. The majority of Serbs living in Bosnia supported remaining part of the Yugoslav state and therefore boycotted the vote. As a result, many politicians proclaimed the creation of a "Republika Srpska" in Bosnia.
Militia led by these politicians began to terrorize and expel the local non-Serb population, consisting of Bosniaks and Croats. Nationalist leaders such as Serbian President Slobodan Milošević and Republika Srpska President Radovan Karadžić fueled the hatred and fear that led to ethnic cleansing, mass murder, and the Siege of Sarajevo.
Initially, Bosniaks and Croats defended themselves together against Serbian attacks. Later, war broke out between them as well. Most Bosniaks and Serbs were expelled from the territory of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia, which was declared by the Croatian leadership. Mostar became a divided city - divided between Croats and Bosniaks.
What is Germany's role?
At the initiative of the United States and with the support of the German government, in January 1994, Franjo Tuđman and Alija Izetbegović met at the Petersberg residence near Bonn. As a result of this meeting, the Washington Agreement of March 1994 was reached, which ended the war between Bosniaks and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosna was dissolved and the Bosnian-Croat Federation was established. The German politician and social democrat Hans Košnik was appointed EU administrator in Mostar.
The international community also created the position of High Representative, who was to oversee the implementation of the civilian part of the Dayton Agreement. In January 1996, Berlin sent German diplomat Michael Steiner to Sarajevo. Until July 1997, he was the first Deputy High Representative. In 2006, former German Post Minister Christian Schwarz-Schilling took over the function of High Representative for a period of one and a half years. Since 1 August 2021, former Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt has held this position, based in Sarajevo.
The central instrument of the High Representative is the Bonn mandate, adopted in 1997 at a conference in Bonn. They give him the right to pass or repeal laws, as well as to dismiss elected officials if they obstruct the peace process.
Criticisms of the Dayton Agreement
The Dayton Agreement created a controversial political system that entrenched ethnic tensions and encouraged separatist aspirations. The complex state structure with parallel structures slows down and often blocks decision-making processes, making reforms difficult.
Only the three ethnic groups defined as constituent have national rights: Bosniaks, Croats, and Muslims. Other ethnic groups - such as Roma and Jews - remain excluded from decision-making processes.