Speaking with one voice on defence issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina
The foundations for arms control negotiations in BiH were set out in 1995 in Article IV, Annex 1B of the Dayton Peace Accords (officially known as the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina), with the aim of reducing the risk of future regional conflict.
These negotiations began in January 1996 under the auspices of the OSCE and an agreement on regional arms control was signed in Florence on 14 June the same year. There were five signatories to this agreement: the two entities of BiH (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina [FBiH] and the Republika Srpska [RS]), as well as state officials of BiH, Croatia, and Serbia and Montenegro.
Fast-forward ten years, and the OSCE found itself urging the parties to amend the regional agreement to acknowledge that arms control in BiH is best managed by the State, and therefore a single delegation should represent the country on this issue and a single verification agency should implement the agreement on behalf of BiH.
These proposed amendments were signed on 10 March 2006 at a meeting of the Sub-Regional Consultative Commission (SRCC), which administers Article IV of the Dayton Peace Accords.
Important politico-military achievement
Jenet Redfern, Policy and Information Advisor in the OSCE Mission to BiH's Department of Security Co-operation, welcomes the amendments. "This is one of the single most important politico-military achievements since the signing of the General Framework Agreement," she says.
"This decision is in line with the country's current defence reforms and demonstrates the entities' willingness to co-operate with each other to form a strong coalition represented by an internationally-recognized state."
Pierre-François Lemaire, Head of the OSCE Mission's Arms Control Section, agrees. "Bosnia and Herzegovina is finally an adult state. The fact that the FBiH and the RS have agreed to sign an amendment transferring their rights and obligations to the state level and giving up their role in international arms control negotiations shows that these entities understand and admit that global security is a state responsibility.
"At the same time, they remain signatories of the Dayton Peace Accords, and therefore it is still their duty to co-operate with the State of BiH."
The changes mean that while previously five parties were involved in the regional arms control measures, three are currently engaged in the process: BiH, Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia.
More signs of progress
Another sign of progress is the fact that this year, BiH for the first time submitted a single information exchange document; previously the two entities had each submitted one. Verification of the information will continue to help build trust between the three neighbours.
General Claudio Sampaolo, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office for Article IV, points out that the two major objectives set out in 2005 have now been reached: the participation of BiH in the SRCC as a single state, and the centralization of the verification agencies in BiH at the state level.
"Both goals have been achieved with the entry into force of the Law on Defence of BiH, and the signature of the amendments to Article IV. The agreement is witness, once again, to the strong will of the Parties to pursue our common objectives," says General Sampaolo.
Outlining the way ahead
"The way ahead is, as usual, neither simple nor easy. It will need hard work and a heavy scheduled timetable to accomplish the mission. But I am confident that the process will be completed without any particular problems."
As the OSCE Mission's Redfern acknowledges, the arms control aspect of regional stabilization has been a long, slow and, at times, frustrating process.
"However, the OSCE has always had confidence in the ability of the BiH delegations to represent the best interests of their country. Now that an agreement has been reached, we should congratulate those people who are trying to improve the security not just of the country, but of the whole region."