Apartment Bosnia Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Dayton Accords) created the independent state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), previously one of the constituent republics of Yugoslavia. The agreement also created two multiethnic constituent entities within the state: The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation) and the Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation has a postwar Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) and Croat majority while the RS has a postwar Bosnian Serb majority. The Constitution (Annex 4 of the Dayton Accords) established a central government with a bicameral legislature, a three-member presidency (consisting of a Bosniak, a Serb, and a Croat), a council of ministers, a constitutional court, and a central bank. The Accords assigned many governmental functions to the two entities, which have their own governments, Parliaments, militaries and police forces. The Accords also provided for the Office of the ... [Read More]
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Dayton Accords) created the independent state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), previously one of the constituent republics of Yugoslavia. The Agreement also created two multiethnic constituent entities within the state: The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation) and the Republika Srpska (RS), along with the independent District of Brcko. The Federation has a postwar Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) and Croat majority, while the RS has a postwar Bosnian Serb majority. The Constitution (Annex 4 of the Dayton Accords) established a federal democratic republic and assigned many governmental functions to the two entities, which have their own governments. The Accords also provided for the Office of the High Representative (OHR) to oversee implementation of civilian provisions. The OHR has the power to impose legislation and remove officials who obstruct the implement ... [Read More]
Bosnia and Herzegovina
The 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Dayton Accords) ended the 1991-95 war and created the independent state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), previously one of the constituent republics of Yugoslavia. The agreement also created two multiethnic constituent entities within the state: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation) and the Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation has a postwar Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) and Croat majority while the RS has a postwar Bosnian Serb majority. The Constitution (Annex 4 of the Dayton Accords) established a central government with a bicameral legislature, a three-member presidency (consisting of a Bosniak, a Serb, and a Croat), a council of ministers, a constitutional court, and a central bank. The Accords assigned many governmental functions to the two entities, which have their own governments, parliaments, and police forces. The Accords also provided for the Office of the High Representative (OHR) ... [Read More]
Bosnia-Herzegovina
The State Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entity constitutions of the State's two constituent entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, provide for freedom of religion, and individuals generally enjoy this right in ethnically mixed areas or in areas where they are adherents of the majority religion; however, adherents of minority religions in non-ethnically mixed areas have had their right to worship restricted, sometimes violently.There was no change in the status of respect for religious freedom during the period covered by this report. After a significant increase in 2001-2002 in the number of refugees returning to areas in which they constituted a religious minority, the number of returns sharply declined during the first 5 ... [Read More]
US Department Of State Post Report
Bosnia and Herzegovina is located on the Balkan Peninsula, and is bordered by Croatia on the west and north, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia on the east. It is almost entirely landlocked, except for a narrow, undeveloped outlet to the Adriatic along the Neretva River, which gives Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.4 miles of Adriatic coastline. The size of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 19,781-sq. mi. (total), is slightly larger than the State of Tennessee. The land boundaries are 850.8 miles long. Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of two land regions: Bosnia, the northern part, is mountainous, and covered with thick forests; Herzegovina, the southern part, is composed largely of rocky hills and flat farmland. Major rivers in Bosnia include the Bosna, Drina, Neretva, Vrbas and Sava. ... [Read More]
2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Dayton Accords) created the independent state of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), previously one of the constituent republics of Yugoslavia. The Agreement also created two multiethnic constituent entities within the state: The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation) and the Republika Srpska (RS), along with the independent District of Brcko. The Federation has a postwar Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) and Croat majority, while the RS has a postwar Bosnian Serb majority. The Constitution (Annex 4 of the Dayton Accords) established a federal democratic republic and assigned many governmental functions to the two entities, which have their own governments. The Accords also provided for the Office of the High Representative (OHR) to oversee implementation of civilian provisions. The OHR has the power to impose legislation and remove officials who obstruct the implementation of the Dayton Accords. Candidates o ... [Read More]
Europe and Eurasia
In 2004, U.S. officials raised human rights issues during their trips to Bosnia and Herzegovina. In August 2004, Secretary of State Powell visited Bosnia and reiterated that Bosnias integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions and further development as an independent, democratic state hinges on Bosnia and Herzegovinas efforts to promote human rights and democracy. Other high-level U.S. visitors included Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Lincoln Bloomfield, who emphasized the need for respect for human rights in the defense reform process. The Ambassador traveled extensively within Bosnia and Herzegovina and continued to raise key human rights issues such as trafficking and minority returns with senior Bosnian officials. Presidency member Sulejman Tihic, Council of Ministers Chairman Adnan Terzic, Minister of Defense Nikola Radovanovic and Republika Srpska Prime Minister Dragan Mikerevic also visited Washington D.C., where senior U.S. officials stressed the i ... [Read More]
Croatia
A significant number of internally displaced persons remains in the country, although not all are under the Government's direct care. While the government reported some 57,000 persons (34,000 internally displaced and 23,000 refugees, mostly from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Yugoslavia) with refugee or displaced person status at year's end, this number does not reflect fully an additional 140,000 former refugees (nearly all ethnic Croats from Bosnia-Herzegovina) who have become citizens of Croatia. ... [Read More]
Croatia
Domestic courts continued to adjudicate war crimes cases arising from the 1991-95 conflicts in Bosnia and Croatia; courts opened or reopened several outstanding allegations involving Croatian forces and took steps to depoliticize cases against ethnic Serbs (see Section 1.e.). In March the Constitutional Court ordered a retrial in the case of former Croatian policeman Antun Gudelj, who was convicted but improperly amnestied in 1997 for the 1991 murder of Osijek police chief Josip Reihl-Kir, who, at the time of his death, had been negotiating actively between ethnic Croats and Serbs and attempting to ease tensions in the region (see Section 1.e.). In December the Government sought Gudelj's arrest and extradition from Australia, where he has resided since 1997. In March the Supreme Court ordered the release of two Bosnian Croat suspects who had been detained as part of the investigation of the 1993 Ahmici massacre in central Bosnia after they had been detained for the le ... [Read More]
Croatia
There were no reports that the Government revoked citizenship for political reasons. The Government's procedures to verify and document the citizenship of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serbs who fled the country after the military operations in 1995 improved during the year; however, there were regular reports of obstruction by some local officials. In Donji Srb, many Serb returnees experienced difficulties in obtaining identity cards and other forms of documentation that would allow them to verify their citizenship status. The municipal government in Gracac obstructed returns to Donji Srb and other municipalities under its jurisdiction while at the same time providing immediate assistance to ethnic Croat settlers from Bosnia who continue to arrive in the municipality. By the end of November, in returns organized by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) or the Government, 10,748 persons who were refugees in Yugoslavia and Bosnia-Herzegovina returned to Croatia. ... [Read More]
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