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Summary of The Dayton Peace Agreement

Fact sheet released by the Bureau of Public Affairs, December 11, 1995.

The Dayton proximity talks culminated in the initialing on November 21, 1995, of a General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The agreement was initialled by the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It was witnessed by representatives of the Contact Group nations-the United States, Britain, France, Germany, and Russia-and the European Union Special Negotiator. According to the terms of the agreement, a sovereign state known as the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina will consist of two entities: the Bosnian Serb Republic and the Federation of Bosnia.

The agreement and its annexes are summarized below.

General Framework Agreement

• Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) agree to fully respect the sovereign equality of one another and to settle disputes by peaceful means;
• The FRY and Bosnia and Herzegovina recognize each other and agree to discuss further aspects of their mutual recognition;
• The parties agree to fully respect and promote fulfillment of the commitments made in the various annexes, and they obligate themselves to respect human rights and the rights of refugees and displaced persons; and
• The parties agree to cooperate fully with all entities, including those authorized by the United Nations Security Council, in implementing the peace settlement and investigating and prosecuting war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law.

Annex 1-A: Military Aspects

• The cease-fire that began with the agreement of October 5, 1995, will continue;
• Foreign combatant forces currently in Bosnia are to be withdrawn within 30 days;
• The parties must complete withdrawal of forces behind a zone of separation of approximately 4 km within an agreed period. Special provisions relate to Sarajevo and Gorazde;
• As a confidence-building measure, the parties agree to withdraw heavy weapons and forces to cantonment/barracks areas within an agreed period and to demobilize forces which cannot be accommodated in those areas;
• The agreement invites into Bosnia and Herzegovina a multinational military implementation force, the IFOR, under the command of NATO, with a grant of authority from the UN;
• The IFOR will have the right to monitor and help ensure compliance with the agreement on military aspects and fulfill certain supporting tasks. The IFOR will have the right to carry out its mission vigorously, including with the use of force as necessary. It will have unimpeded freedom of movement, control over airspace, and status of forces protection;
• A Joint Military Commission is established, to be chaired by the IFOR Commander. Persons under indictment by the international war crimes tribunal cannot participate;
• Information on mines, military personnel, weaponry, and other items must be provided to the Joint Military Commission within agreed periods; and
• All combatants and civilians must be released and transferred without delay in accordance with a plan to be developed by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Annex 1-B: Regional Stabilization

• Representatives of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia, and the Bosnian Serb Republic must begin negotiations within 7 days, under Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) auspices, with the objective of agreeing on confidence-building measures within 45 days. These could include, for example, restrictions on military deployments and exercises, notification of military activities, and exchange of data;
• The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Federation of Bosnia, and the Bosnian Serb Republic, as well as Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, agree not to import arms for 90 days and not to import any heavy weapons, heavy weapons ammunition, mines, military aircraft, and helicopters for 180 days or until an arms control agreement takes effect;
• All five parties must begin negotiations within 30 days, under OSCE auspices, to agree on numerical limits on holdings of tanks, artillery, armored combat vehicles, combat aircraft, and attack helicopters;
• If the parties fail to establish limits on these categories within 180 days, the agreement provides for specified limits to come into force for the parties; and
• The OSCE will organize and conduct negotiations to establish a regional balance in and around the former Yugoslavia.

Annex 2: Inter-Entity Boundary

• An inter-entity boundary line between the Federation of Bosnia and the Bosnian Serb Republic is agreed to;
• Sarajevo will be reunified within the Federation of Bosnia and will be open to all people of the country;
• Gorazde will remain secure and accessible, linked to the Federation of Bosnia by a land corridor; and
• The status of Brcko will be determined by arbitration within one year.

Annex 3: Elections

• Free and fair, internationally supervised elections will be conducted within six to nine months for the presidency and House of Representatives of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the House of Representatives of the Federation of Bosnia, and the National Assembly and presidency of the Bosnian Serb Republic, and, if feasible, for local offices;
• Refugees and persons displaced by the conflict will have the right to vote (including by absentee ballot) in their original place of residence if they choose to do so;
• The parties must create conditions in which free and fair elections can be held by protecting the right to vote in secret and ensuring freedom of expression and the press;
• The OSCE is requested to supervise the preparation and conduct of these elections; and
• All citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina aged 18 or older listed on the 1991 Bosnian census are eligible to vote.

Annex 4: Constitution

• A new constitution for the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will be known as "Bosnia and Herzegovina," will be adopted upon signature at Paris;
• Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue as a sovereign state within its present internationally-recognized borders. It will consist of two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and the Bosnian Serb Republic;
• The constitution provides for the protection of human rights and the free movement of people, goods, capital and services throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• The central government will have a presidency, a two chamber legislature, and a constitutional court. Direct elections will be held for the presidency and one of the legislative chambers;
• There will be a central bank and monetary system, and the central government will also have responsibilities for foreign policy, law enforcement, air traffic control, communications and other areas to be agreed;
• Military coordination will take place through a committee including members of the presidency;
• No person who is serving a sentence imposed by the international tribunal, and no person who is under indictment by the tribunal and who has failed to comply with an order to appear before the tribunal, may stand as a candidate or hold any appointive, elective, or other public office in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Annex 5: Arbitration

• The Federation of Bosnia and the Bosnian Serb Republic agree to enter into reciprocal commitments to engage in binding arbitration to resolve disputes between them, and they agree to design and implement a system of arbitration.

Annex 6: Human Rights

• The agreement guarantees internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons within Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• A Commission on Human Rights, composed of a human rights ombudsman and a human rights chamber (court), is established;
• The ombudsman is authorized to investigate human rights violations, issue findings, and bring and participate in proceedings before the human rights chamber;
• The human rights chamber is authorized to hear and decide human rights claims and to issue binding decisions; and
• The parties agree to grant UN human rights agencies, the OSCE, the international tribunal and other organizations full access to monitor the human rights situation.

Annex 7: Refugees and Displaced Persons

• The agreement grants refugees and displaced persons the right to return home safely and either regain lost property or obtain just compensation;
• A Commission for Displaced Persons and Refugees will decide on return of real property or compensation, with the authority to issue final decisions;
• All persons are granted the right to move freely throughout the country, without harassment or discrimination; and
• The parties commit to cooperate with the ICRC in finding all missing persons.

Annex 8: Commission to Preserve National Monuments

• A Commission to Preserve National Monuments is established;
• The commission is authorized to receive and act upon petitions to designate as national monuments movable or immovable property of great importance to a group of people with a common cultural, historic, religious, or ethnic heritage; and
• When property is designated as a national monument, the entities will make every effort to take appropriate legal, technical, financial and other measures to protect and conserve the national monument and refrain from taking deliberate actions which might damage it.

Annex 9: Bosnia and Herzegovina Public Corporations

• A Bosnia and Herzegovina Transportation Corporation is established to organize and operate transportation facilities, such as roads, railways, and ports; and
• A Commission on Public Corporations is created to examine establishing other Bosnia and Herzegovina public corporations to operate joint public facilities such as utilities and postal service facilities.

Annex 10: Civilian Implementation

• The parties request that a high representative be designated, consistent with relevant UN Security Council resolutions, to coordinate and facilitate civilian aspects of the peace settlement, such as humanitarian aid, economic reconstruction, protection of human rights, and the holding of free elections;
• The high representative will chair a Joint Civilian Commission comprised of senior political representatives of the parties, the IFOR Commander, and representatives of civilian organizations; and
• The high representative has no authority over the IFOR.

Annex 11: International Police Task Force

• The UN is requested to establish a UN International Police Task Force (IPTF) to carry out various tasks, including training and advising local law enforcement personnel, as well as monitoring and inspecting law enforcement activities and facilities;
• The IPTF will be headed by a commissioner appointed by the UN Secretary General; and
• IPTF personnel must report any credible information on human rights violations to the Human Rights Commission, the International Tribunal or other appropriate organizations.

Agreement on Initialing the General Framework Agreement

• In this agreement, which was signed at Dayton, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia agree that the negotiations have been completed. They and the Entities they represent commit themselves to sign the General Framework Agreement and its annexes in Paris.
• They also agree that the initialing of the General Framework Agreement and its Annexes in Dayton expresses their consent to be bound by these agreements.

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