Arria-Formula meeting in commemoration of the 25^th anniversary of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dayton Accords)

Remarks by Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti,

Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations

24 November 2020

Mr. Chairman,

This month is the 25^th Anniversary of the Dayton Agreement, an agreement that has provided 25 years of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina. While we have our own reservations on the Arria format per se, we thank you for commemorating this important event today. 

Dayton Agreement was the aftermath of the worst blood bath on European territory since the Second World War. The priority was to not only stop the bloodshed and heal the wounds of ethnic division, but to also produce an agreement that would enable state-building reforms in the future.

It is clear that significant progress has been achieved in Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially during the first decade after the signing of the Agreement. To cite just a few examples – state symbols were successfully adopted, a new common currency established, a common passport and flag, a national anthem (and even a national football league!), common licence plates in order to enable freedom of movement, the taxation system improved, judicial reforms were implemented, and joint Armed Forces were established in a country where earlier three armies had fought against each other. These developments are important. 

However, even as we commemorate the achievements ushered in by the signing of the General Framework Agreement for Peace, we would do well to also recognize that the Dayton Agreement also brought forth an imperfect peace.

Effective and efficient governance, that could patch up ethnic fissures and result in social cohesion and inter-ethnic reconciliation, was the need of the hour but this was hampered by mistrust and in-built instability of a decentralised political system based on ethnicity and sustained by nationalist rhetoric, thereby undermining rule of law and the State’s authority. 

These include inter alia blockages of institutions primarily at the entity-level and lately also at the state level. There are reports of systemic discrimination of the so-called ‘Others’ by vested interests, trying to invoke religious or nationalistic and divisive policies.

Mr. Chairman, 

We pay homage to those who lost their lives during the genocide. Having witnessed genocide in our own neighbourhood 50 years ago, we are convinced that while the attempts to seek justice for those who were killed continue, we must resist attempts to glorify war criminals. 

We welcome the adoption of the Revised War Crimes Processing Strategy by Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Council of Ministers in September this year, in which the most serious war crimes cases need to be prioritized for prosecution and completion by 2023. We remain hopeful that the judicial institutions will reach an objective outcome. 

The vote for local elections on 15^th November, where the Bosnian people voted for political parties of all hues and ideologies, was a vote for continuity with change. 

Going forward, the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina lies in the hands of the people of Bosnia and their elected leaders. The choice is between a future of cooperation, development and peace or of divisiveness. As a democratic and pluralistic country, India hopes that the right choice will be made and all parties and leaders re-commit themselves to work together in a constructive and inclusive manner.  

Thank you.