In the three decades of peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the international community has transitioned from a judicial role to a crucial partner in strengthening institutions and non-governmental organizations, respecting human rights, implementing transitional justice, and supporting young people.
The conclusion drawn from the international conference “Dayton Legacies: 30 Years of Peace” was that there is no option other than peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
On March 1, 2021, the 11th meeting of the Stabilisation and Association Council between the EU and Albania took place. This was the first SA Council meeting since their decision to open accession negotiations for Albania in March 2020. While North Macedonia, Albania, Serbia and Montenegro are in the process of integrating EU legislation into national law, Bosnia Herzegovina and Kosovo still lag behind as potential candidates.
In the early ‘90s, no one believed that war would hit Sarajevo or that the Yugoslav National Army could turn into an enemy of the city’s people. For centuries, Sarajevo had been a multicultural city with its mosques, synagogues, and Catholic and Orthodox churches.
Daily life in Sarajevo is vastly different today than it was in the midst of the siege but whilst the city and the region now operate in relative peace, there are still people that remain deeply affected by the conflicts of the 1990s.