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Bosnia and Herzegovina

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1. Latest developments at the Security Council

— On 14 May 2013, the Security Council held a debate on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the presence of the Bosnian, Croat, Serb and European Union Representatives.

At this occasion, Mr. Valentin Inzko, UN High Representative for the country, presented his 9th report on the implementation of the Dayton Agreements. He reported some advances, such as the apologies of the Serbian President for the “Srebenica crime”, but the situation remained worrying, especially because of the secessionist rhetoric of some community leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In his intervention, the French Representative expressed his concerns on the recurrent political crises which paralyzed the country and detracted Bosnian authorities from the objective of a Euro-Atlantic integration. He welcomed the current reconfiguration of the international presence in the country, which illustrated the key role European Union has to play there.

The complete timeline of events here.

2. Overview

The Dayton-Paris Agreements, signed in November and December 1995, ended the conflict that had caused instability in Bosnia and Herzegovina since the break-up of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991. The agreements established the institutions that currently govern the country, as well as an international trusteeship, executed by a High Representative. The application of the agreements is guaranteed through the deployment of a NATO multinational peace implementation force, IFOR, authorized by Security Council Resolution 1031 (1995). The NATO-led multinational stabilization force, SFOR, took over in 1996 (Resolution 1088.)

The UN continues to play a key role in Bosnia and Herzegovina in several ways:

— Resolution 827 of 25 May 1993 established the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) to prosecute war criminals. Cooperation with this tribunal was a pre-requisite for the signing of a Stabilization and European Union Association Agreement., which finally took place on 16 June 2008. The Serbs delivered Radovan Karadzic to the ICTY in July 2008. The Serbian authorities arrested Ratko Mladic on 26 May 2011 and Goran Hadzic on 20 July 2011.

— The Dayton-Paris Agreements established an international trusteeship executed by a High Representative (from the international community) with significant powers: the “Bonn” powers, which in particular allow him to dismiss key political leaders and to impose laws. The High Representative is assisted by a Peace Implementation Council (PIC) led by a steering board with representatives from France and the States and organizations most involved in the stabilization of the Balkans (Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, the European Union and the Organization of the Islamic Conference represented by Turkey).

The current High Representative is the Austrian diplomat Valentin Inzko, who replaced the Slovak Miroslav Lajcak in March 2009. As of 2003, the High Representative is also the European Union’s Special Representative (EUSR) and, as such, coordinates the activities of all of the EU stakeholders in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The High Representative, although not a UN envoy, gives six-monthly reports to the Secretary General on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. These reports prompt debates at the Security Council.

With the support of the Security Council, the European Union plays a key role in the stabilization of the country:

— Through Resolution 1575 of 22 November 2004, the Security Council authorized the European Union implementation of the EUFOR-Althea military operation, which took over from the NATO-led SFOR. The force had around 1600 personnel. Its mandate was renewed for a year under Security Council resolution 1948 in November 2010.

— A European Union Police Mission (EUPM) has also been deployed since 1 January 2003. EUPM (as of May 2010) has around 120 experts and 150 local members. The mission’s mandate was refocused in early 2010 on the support to the fight against organised crime and corruption.

A transition from the High Representative to the European Union’s Special Representative, at the same time as the transfer of responsibilities to the Bosnian authorities, was originally planned for June 2008. However, this was not possible due to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the PIC unanimously decided, when it met in February 2008, to extend the mandate of the High Representative without setting a new deadline for closing the Office of the High Representative. It also made the transition dependent on Bosnia and Herzegovina achieving five specific objectives (lasting and equitable agreement on the distribution of State property, distribution of military property, the continuation of the special status of the district of Brcko, financial sustainability and strengthening the rule of law), and on fulfilling two conditions (signing the Stabilization and Association Agreement and a positive evaluation of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, based on compliance with the Dayton-Paris Agreements).

In his April 2011 report, the High Representative made a globally negative assessments of recent developments, citing numerous internal conflicts and deadlocks. He particularly regretted that the authorities of Republika Srpska were willing to organize a referendum to challenge the judiciary power and all decisions taken by the High Representative since his position was created. He estimated that such a referendum would violate the Dayton accords. Mr. Inzko also expressed his concern at the lack of central government, which caused a slowdown in the European process.

The signing of a Stabilization and Association Agreement in 2008 was a positive step in the path towards EU integration, as well as the liberalisation of the visa regime for all Bosnian citizen at the end of 2010.

Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the Security Council on 1 January 2010 for two years as an elected member.

(November 2012)