Latest news with #DaytonPeaceAgreement
Scoop
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Security Council Urged To Stand Firm As Bosnia And Herzegovina Faces Deepening Crisis
High Representative Christian Schmidt briefed on latest developments surrounding implementation of the 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which ended more than three years of bloodshed and genocide following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. The accord, also known as the Dayton Peace Agreement, established a new constitution and created two entities within the country: the mainly Bosniak and Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the ethnically Serb Republika Srpska. Constitutional order under attack Mr. Schmidt – who's key role is overseeing implementation of the 1995 agreement – said conditions for the full implementation of the civilian aspects of the deal have vastly deteriorated. 'The first quarter of this year was marked by a significant rise of tensions, which without question amounts to an extraordinary crisis in the country since the signing of the Dayton Agreement,' he said. ' I may underline that I see a political crisis. I do not yet have indications for a security crisis.' The sudden deterioration stems from reactions following the 26 February conviction of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik for failing to enforce the decisions of the High Representative. He was sentenced to one year in prison and banned from political office for six years but has appealed the decision. ' After the verdict, Mr. Dodik intensified his attacks on the constitutional order of the country by directing the authorities of the Republika Srpska to adopt legislation that effectively bans State-level judiciary and State-level law enforcement in the Republika Srpska and by even putting on the table a draft Entity constitution, hinting at de facto secession,' said Mr. Schmidt. He told the Council that given the speed with which the draft laws and constitution were made public strongly suggests that they had been prepared well in advance. Fears of disintegration He said these acts and legislation fundamentally contradict the implementation of the Dayton Accords and ' endanger the territorial and societal integrity of the country and of its peoples by performing secessionist acts.' Furthermore, 'they also create legal and executive insecurity by establishing Entity laws and institutions that contradict and compete with State law and competence.' He stressed that 'it will require institutions created in Dayton, such as the Constitutional Court, to prevent this country from falling apart, and when it comes to safeguarding the functionality of the State, my legal competencies as High Representative as well.' As a result, the State-level coalition has been seriously affected, momentum towards European Union (EU) accession has stalled and the functionality of the State is being undermined, while reforms have been sidelined. ' This development is not irreversible, but it is severe,' he warned. 'It needs to be addressed without delay, it requires active engagement by the international community.' Communities shun extremism The High Representative noted that the Serb community 'did not pay heed to Mr. Dodik's unlawful directives.' For example, although ethnic Serbs working in State-level institutions have been pressured to abandon their posts, ' these calls and threats have been left overwhelmingly unanswered.' Meanwhile, the Bosniak community 'has been able to remain calm despite the tensions and to continue on the path of patient dialogue also in order to keep the country's European integration on the table.' He also noticed 'a continuing pro-European commitment' on the part of the Croat community, 'as well as an increased willingness to engage in inter-ethnic dialogue, including in local disputes.' Mr. Schmidt was adamant that the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina can and do live together. ' For the most part, the communities in the country do not support extremism or secessionism,' he said. 'There is ample evidence for that in daily life, but ethnocentric politics spends too much time on dividing the communities rather than uniting them.' Peace accord remains crucial While the country is facing complex and varied challenges, he said the current extraordinary crisis is the result of severe attacks against the Dayton Agreement 'encompassing the constitutional and legal order' and has nothing to do with the peace deal itself. 'Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing difficult times. Nobody would have expected 30 years ago that the international community is needed as much today as it is,' he said. 'But the Peace Agreement that this UN Security Council endorsed 30 years ago remains the very foundation on which the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina with its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence can be built.' Although reopening or redefining Dayton challenges the basis for peace and prosperity in the country, 'this does not mean we should not talk about necessary amendments and adoptions of this constitution,' he said. Attacks threaten 'very foundation' 'The way forward includes countering threats and attacks to its very foundation, but also implementing meaningful reforms, including in the context of the country's European integration,' he continued. 'It is about strengthening institutional stability and functionality of the State and continuing to reinforce election integrity in view of the country's general elections in 2026.' Mr. Schmidt concluded his remarks by urging the international community to continue to support and assist the country and the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina to shape their future and to reassure the population that they have not been forgotten.
Budapest Times
03-04-2025
- Business
- Budapest Times
Hungary and Serbia boost military cooperation
Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said in Belgrade on Tuesday that Hungary and Serbia have agreed to boost military cooperation and signed an agreement on the 2025 plan. 'It is especially important in today's fast-changing international environment that Serbia and Hungary, two neighbouring countries, conduct frequent high-level consultations to ensure the stability of the region,' Minister Szalay-Bobrovniczky told a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Hungary and Serbia have the strongest bilateral defense and military ties among non-EU or NATO member states, and Hungary is helping to upgrade Serbia's armed forces, he said. Serbia and Hungary's strategic partnership was expanded to include defense and military cooperation in 2023, and cooperation between the ministries and armed forces is strengthening, he said. Under the agreement signed on Tuesday, the two countries will organise 79 joint programmes in 2025, including flotilla training, an international exercise for volunteer reservists and marksmanship training, Szalay-Bobrovniczky said. Hungary is committed 'to [maintaining] the stability and peace of the Western Balkans, and Serbia is key to that.' Hungary also sticks to its stance that 'the European Union is not whole without the Western Balkans, including Serbia,' he said. 'A credible and meaningful enlargement policy has been our strategic goal for years, and it was one of the priorities of Hungary's presidency of the Council of the EU in 2024.' Budapest also stands by the Dayton Peace Agreement, he added. Vucic said Serbia's defense ties with Hungary were the strongest among all its neighbours. A comprehensive defense agreement is one of the most important points of the two countries' strategic partnership, he said. In 1999, during the Balkan wars, 'it was thanks to Prime Minister Viktor Orban that NATO could not launch a land attack against what was then Yugoslavia,' Vucic said. 'A full 26 years later, the two parties now have the opportunity to build extremely close strategic ties, to further deepen cooperation, coming closer to a Hungarian-Serbian military alliance.' 'Serbia can learn a lot from Hungary, and there is interest in certain military equipment,' he said. Vucic thanked Hungary for standing by Serbia 'in hard times as well as in good ones,' and said Budapest could always count on Serbia's support. Besides military cooperation, Serbia and Hungary are reliable partners in energy matters, and bilateral trade has been growing steadily year after year, he said.
Russia Today
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Western ‘interventionism' has turned Bosnia and Herzegovina into a ‘failed state'
Western interference has turned Bosnia and Herzegovina into a 'failed state,' and the country now needs Russia's help to resolve the crisis, Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has told RT. Dodik, the president of Republika Srpska – the Serb-majority autonomous region within Bosnia and Herzegovina – arrived in Russia on Monday for talks with President Vladimir Putin. Bosnia and Herzegovina was created under the 1995 US-brokered Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the civil war in the former Yugoslavia. It formed a state comprised of the Bosniak-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska, with a tripartite presidency and an international overseer – the Office of the High Representative (OHR), now held by Christian Schmidt, a former German lawmaker appointed in 2021. Dodik has long rejected the OHR's authority, accusing it of overreach and undermining Republika Srpska's autonomy. He was sentenced in February to a year in prison and a six-year political ban for defying the OHR. Sarajevo issued a national arrest warrant for him and is reportedly seeking Interpol warrants. In an interview with RT on Tuesday, Dodik said the Dayton agreement, which formed his country, is no longer upheld, and that he has asked the Russian president, who he met with earlier that day, to assist him in bringing the situation to the attention of the UN Security Council (UNSC). READ MORE: Interpol considering arrest warrants for Serb leaders – media '[Putin] knows of the existence of foreigners that are making up laws and decisions in our country, that there are courts which abide by these decisions… and that this is not in the spirit of Dayton,' Dodik said. He added that as a permanent UNSC member and Dayton signatory, Russia is in a position to effect change. 'We talked about the need to engage in the monitoring of the UNSC. Russia is the only one from which we can expect to have an objective approach... to end international interventionism which degraded Bosnia and Herzegovina and made it into a failed state,' he added. Commenting on the Interpol warrants, Dodik said, 'we'll see how it goes,' adding that he already has the backing of Serbia, Hungary, and now Russia. He went on to call the charges 'a political failure' by Sarajevo and the OHR. READ MORE: Moscow comments on conviction of Bosnian Serb leader 'I think they would like to see me dead, not just in prison. They can't get the Bosnia they want, in which there is no Republika Srpska, if Milorad Dodik remains president,' he said, adding that critics will try to demonize him for meeting with Putin. Dodik has opposed Bosnia's NATO membership and called for closer ties with Russia. He previously suggested that Bosnia would be better off in BRICS and has pledged continued cooperation with Moscow despite Western pressure. Russia, which does not recognize Schmidt's legitimacy due to the lack of UNSC approval, has denounced Dodik's conviction as 'political' and based on 'pseudo-law' imposed by the OHR. After meeting with Putin, Dodik said on X that he will return to Republika Srpska on Saturday to meet with regional leaders, adding that Russia has agreed to advocate for an end to the work of international bodies in Bosnia, including the OHR. .mediaplayer { min-height: 150px; } .jwplayer .jw-controls .jw-controlbar .jw-icon-cc { display: none; } .media__video_noscript { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; height: 100%; width: 100%; } .full_transcript_text { display: block; } прап
Jordan News
29-03-2025
- Politics
- Jordan News
Security Council Members Express Concern Over Developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Jordan News
Security Council Members Express Concern Over Developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina Members of the United Nations Security Council expressed their deep concern early this morning regarding recent developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reaffirming their full support for the implementation of the country's General Framework Agreement for Peace and its annexes. اضافة اعلان In a statement issued on their behalf, the Security Council members urged the entities, the three constituent peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina, other relevant parties, and all political actors in the country to adhere to the provisions of the Dayton Peace Agreement and the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They called for sincere, open, and constructive dialogue to maintain the country's unity and political stability. They stressed the need to avoid confrontational methods, maintain peace, and enhance stability to resolve conflicts in the spirit of consensus, urging all parties to refrain from divisive and provocative statements and actions. The Security Council members expressed their support for the EUFOR Althea operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which operates under its mandate. They reiterated that the Security Council "remains firmly committed to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in full accordance with the Dayton Peace Agreement." It is worth mentioning that Security Council statements are issued on behalf of the members, not the Council itself, and are adopted unanimously. -- (Petra)
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
NATO committed to Bosnia's territorial integrity, Rutte says
SARAJEVO (Reuters) - NATO fully supports Bosnia's territorial integrity and political leaders should resolve tensions that have been fuelled by a jail sentence imposed on the president of the Bosnian Serb region, the alliance's Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Monday. Tensions have been running high in Bosnia since a court last month sentenced the Serb region's pro-Russian president, Milorad Dodik, to one year in jail and banned him from politics for six years. He rejected the verdict and the Serb regional parliament barred the national police and judiciary from its territory. The verdict prompted the European Union's peacekeeping mission, EUFOR, to announce a temporary increase in the size of its 1,100-strong force in the country. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Rutte said NATO would not allow a security vacuum to develop and that disrespect for Bosnia's peace deal and constitution was "not acceptable". He was referring to the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the 1992-95 war in which 100,000 people were killed. It left Bosnia divided into two regions - the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the Serb republic, or Republika Srpska, with weak central institutions. "We will not allow hard-won peace to be jeopardized," Rutte told reporters after meeting Bosnia's tripartite presidency and urging its three members to "take responsibility". "This country is looking at the three of you. Make this country proud of this presidency and solve this problem," he said. Bosnia's constitutional court last Friday temporarily suspended separatist laws passed by the Bosnian Serb parliament on Dodik's orders. The court said those laws endanger Bosnia's constitutional order and sovereignty. Critics say Dodik, who has long called for the Serb Republic to break away and form a union with neighbouring Serbia, has been a destabilising force who has fuelled the kind of ethnic and political tensions that tore Yugoslavia apart in the 1990s. But he has allies in Russia, in Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Moscow has called the Bosnian court's ruling "a strike on stability in the Balkan region".
