Bosnia and Herzegovina: Politics and Government

(asked on 14th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to call for a review of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reached on 21 November 1995, in order to find new consitutional arrangements for Bosnia–Herzegovina; and what plans they have to stipulate, as part of any such review, that the population of Bosnia–Herzegovina be consulted in any such review.


Answered by
 Portrait
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This question was answered on 24th December 2020

The importance of the General Framework Agreement for Peace, which brought an end to the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in the 1990s, cannot be overstated. However, it was not intended to be set in stone and was worded to enable local actors to make changes in the future. The United Kingdom remains committed to supporting BiH's security, democracy and prosperity, underpinned as necessary by constitutional reform. The international community will offer support, but it is essential that the authorities in BiH themselves make reforms based on broad consensus and for the greater good of all citizens. This path forward requires compromise and cooperation from all sides. All BiH citizens must have the right to participate equally in their country's future. The Foreign Secretary called on BiH's leaders to focus on a peaceful future and democratic rights for all in his statement to mark the anniversary of the Dayton Agreement on 21 November.

Reticulating Splines