General Treaty of Peace Day in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Flag of Bosnia and HerzegovinaOn November 21, 1995, the so-called General Framework Treaty for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, better known as the Dayton Peace Accords, was drafted at the Wright Paterson military base near Dayton, Ohio, which officially ended the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina that broke out in 1991. They also became the foundation of the future state structure of Bosnia, which continues to this day.

The peace conference lasted from 1 to 21 November 1995, and its main participants were the President of Bosnia and Herzegovina Alia Izetbegovic, the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic, the President of Croatia Franjo Tudjman, as well as the chief American mediator Richard Hulbrook and the American General Wesley Clark. The agreements were officially signed in Paris on December 14 of the same year.

The Dayton Accords were the culmination of American diplomacy, initiated by Richard Hulbrook and later called Shuttle diplomacy. It was based on mediation between the warring parties. Even a year before the peace conference, thanks to this diplomacy, many key points of future agreements were identified, and, in general, its implementation became possible.

The main point of the agreements was the division of the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina in relation to 51:49 between the federation of Bosniaks and Croats and the Serbian Republic. They also discussed the recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina by neighboring states, the composition of the government, the distribution of power between the federal center and constituent entities, state institutions, and the return of refugees. The most important territorial issues were also resolved: the status of Sarajevo, the Gorazde and Brčko corridors, the territory adjacent to the Sava River and Western Slavonia.

Despite the agreements reached, half an hour before the end of the peace conference, it was declared unsuccessful because the Bosnian side did not agree with the final text.

Despite the fact that the leadership of Republika Srpska is in favor of a constitutional reform of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will allow it to hold a referendum on independence, it was the Serbian side that, during one of the last attempts to develop a general law on holidays, proposed to declare November 21 a public holiday, and on its territory it is.