The Dayton Peace Agreement: Human Rights Guarantees and their Implementation

Abstract

In the aftermath of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations stated prophetically 'this is a time of hope.' However, before rosy projections are made, it is necessary to consider whether the Dayton Peace agreement is likely to succeed in improving the human condition in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina ('Bosnia and Herzegovina'). For surely to encourage hope for improvement among the beleaguered citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina without a realistic expectation that such an improvement may occur, is careless if not cruel. The objective in the following discussion is to consider how successful the Dayton Peace Agreement is likely to be in ameliorating the human rights situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and whether this is indeed a time of hope. The Agreement consists of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the 'General Framework Agreement') and its twelve annexes (1-A, 1-B and 2-11) (collectively the 'Peace Agreement'). I begin by briefly considering the human rights guarantees provided in the Peace Agreement; they are numerous and sweeping. Indeed, it would be difficult to construct an international treaty in which more human rights are guaranteed in more ways. I then proceed to analyze the methods contained in the Peace Agreement for the implementation of these guarantees. It is undeniable that the means for effective implementation are as important as the guarantee of the rights themselves. In fact implementation is, arguably, more important in view of the many 'guaranteed' rights which have been violated with impunity over the past several years in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I shall then briefly consider the success of the Peace Agreement in the protection of human