Petersberg Declaration

on the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Upon the invitation and under the chairmanship of German Foreign Minister Dr. Klaus Kinkel, High Officials from the Federation and the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, High Officials from the Governments of Germany, the United States of America and Croatia, from the Office of the High Representative, from the United Nations and from the World Bank, met in Bonn-Petersberg on 25 April 1996.
The meeting was, among others, attended by Federation President Kresimir Zubak, Federation Vice President Prof. Ejup Ganic, Federation Prime Minister Dr. Izudin Kapetanovic and his Deputy, Finance Minister Drago Bilandzija, Federation Minister of the Interior Avdo Hebib and his Deputy Jozo Leutar, the Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr. Hasan Muratovic, the Foreign Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr. Jadranko Prlic and of the Republic of Croatia Dr. Mate Granic, the U.S Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Peter Tarnoff, the Political Director of the German Foreign Office Wolfgang Ischinger, Principal Deputy High Representative Ambassador Michael Steiner, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General Iqbal Riza, Federation Mediator Dr. Christian Schwartz-Schilling and Federation Arbitrator Roberts Owen.
The participants thank Foreign Minister Dr. Klaus Kinkel for his invitation and the German Foreign Office and the Office of the High Representative for the preparation and organization of the meeting.
The participants came to the following conclusions:
We reiterate our strong commitment to the speedy implementation and full functioning of the Federation and all its institutions. We reaffirm our commitment to the Dayton Agreement on Implementing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina of 10 November 1995 and to the obligations of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina of 14 December 1995. We confirm our support for the Rome Statement of 18 February 1996, the Geneva Statement of 18 March 1996 and the Sarajevo Agreement on the Federation of 30 March 1996. We commit ourselves to the full and rapid implementation of those provisions of the Sarajevo Agreement that have not yet been fulfilled.
We take note with appreciation of the reports of the Federation Mediator and the Federation Arbitrator on their work concerning the resolution of disputes within the Federation. We continue to support the Federation Mediator and the Federation Arbitrator in their efforts to review contentious issues regarding the implementation of the Federation and call upon all those concerned to respect fully and implement the letter and spirit of their decisons.
Acknowledging the key role the city of Mostar plays for the Federation, we reiterate our support for the European Union Administrator of Mostar and the early holding of elections in the city in May.
We reiterate our commitment with regard to the provisions of the Peace Agreement that all refugees and displaced persons have the right to return to their homes in the whole territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina with full protection of their human and other rights.

Federation implementation:

While welcoming recent progress in the constitution of the Cantons of the Federation, we stress the necessity to establish in full the legislative and executive structures of all Cantons and Municipalities throughout the Federation, by the time of the Federation Forum in Washington on 14 May 1996, and with reference to the provisons in Article 5 above.
We raffirm the commitment under the Rome Statement on Sarajevo of 18 February 1996 that there will be equal treatment and non-discrimination for Bosniacs, Croats, Serbs and Others in Sarajevo. This includes, in line with paragraph 7 above, the right of return for refugees and displaced persons of all peoples that left Sarajevo and the full protection of their human and other rights. It also means that all these peoples will have the opportunity to participate fully in the governance of the city. The Joint Civilian Commission Sarajevo will continue to function, as stipulated in the Rome Statement, as a consultative and coordinating body for this purpose.
We stress the importance of an agreed solution for the future organizational structure of Sarajevo which takes account not only of the interests of all of the peoples concerned, but also of the role of Sarajevo as the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina and of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We endorse the agreement in principle concerning the future organization of Sarajevo which stipulates that Sarajevo shall, in the future, be organized in three layers: an overarching Canton with its suburban Municipalities, a City consisting of the urban core Municipalities, and a Capital District under the authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina around those buildings that are essential for the functioning of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a whole.
We call upon the Federation partners and all political parties concerned to come to a rapid consensus concerning the legal and practical implementation of this solution for Sarajevo.

Human rights issues:

We acknowledge the full realization of human rights throughout the Federation as a precondition for durable political and social stabilization and a return of refugees to their homes.
To enhance efforts in the field of human rights, the Federation President and Vice President, respectively, shall each have the authority to appoint an official of high moral standing in each Cantonal Administration to serve as Human Rights Officer for this Canton.
These Human Rights Officers will report through the Federation Liaison Officers on the human rights situation in their respective Cantons, with a special emphasis on the fields of freedom of movement, freedom of religion, freedom of media and of political expression and freedom of association. These Human Rights Officers shall have no executive functions in exercising their mandate.
Amalgamated reports will be forwarded by the Federation Liaison Officers and be promptly forwarded to the Federation President, the Federation Vice President, the Federation Ombudsmen and the Office of the High Representative for consideraton and action as appropriate.
The Office of the High Representative will provide appropriate assistance to facilitate their work.

Media issues:

After consideration of the implementation of previous agreements on the Federation, we stress the importance of realizing the provisions on media contained in the Petersberg Agreement of 10 March 1995. With this in mind, the President and the Vice President of the Federation will submit this issue to the Federation Assembly, with a view to ensuring free access of all citizens and peoples to the public media.

Police issues:

We support the Agreement on restructuring the police of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina concluded in Bonn-Petersberg today; we also welcome that the inaugural session of the Police Commission responsible for the implementation of the Agreement took place here today.
We reaffirm that a united policing structure designed to contribute to support the functioning of democratic institutions is one of the essentials to the success of the Federation. It will support the democratic system and protect internationally accepted human rights and fundamental freedoms.
We welcome the presentation of the newly designed grey Federation police uniforms today in Bonn-Petersberg that will be used by all uniformed police operating throughout the Federation, as has been decided by the Federation Government. This uniform is an important symbol of our commitment to the restructuring of policing in the Federation.

Economic issues:

Economic reconstruction is of key importance for reconciliation, reintegration and for a durable peace. The international community, at its Donors Conference in Brussels on 12/13 April 1996, pledged to provide an additonal $ 1.23 billion in new commitments to meet the external financing needs for economic reconstruction and recovery. A large share of these funds is earmarked for the Federation.
The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Government of the Federation, according to their respective responsabilities, have to adopt all decisions about spending and distribution of international support to the State, especially in so far as bilateral assistance is concerned.
We acknowledge that the international community will only be in a position to translate the pledges of assistance which were made at the Brussels Donor Conference and were pledged to the Federation into concrete projects and financial flows, when the adminitrative, economic and executive structures of the receiving side are properly established on the levels of the Federation Government, the Cantons and Municipalities.
We welcome the proposal of the World Bank for a Structural Adjustment Credit of at least $ 110 million (IDA credit plus donor co-financing) to Bosnia and Herzegovina, proposed to be considered by its Board of Directors by the end of June 1996.
We note that the World Bank supports the building up of key economic institutions of the Federation, as agreed in paragraph 7 of the Sarajevo Agreement on the Federation, i.e.:
- the Federation customs administration is fully operational (all Federation revenue accounts are open, and uninterrupted transfer of customs revenues into these accounts takes place and proper monitoring and control of all international border crossing is assured, in accordance with the Sarajevo Agreement);
- the Federation Payments Bureau is fully integrated and operates as a unique system;
- the Federation Assembly adopts a Federation Law on the Federation Banking Agency and its Director and Deputy Director are appointed.
We agree that these steps are essential for commercial development and economic reconstruction. We furthermore agree that the Federal Law on Tax Administration will be enacted.
We note the intention of the Federation Government to present a Law on the Federation Privatization Agency to the Federation Assembly.
We reconfirm our commitment and obligations with respect to consequences of non-implementation as stipulated in paragraphs 9 to 13 of the Sarajevo Agreement.

signed at Bonn-Petersberg on 25 April 1996

Kresimir Zubak: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ejup Ganic: Vice President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Izudin Kapetanovic: Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Hasan Muratovic: Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Jadranko Prlic: Foreign Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Drago Bilandzija: Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
as witnesses:
Mate Granic: Foreign Minister, Republic of Croatia
Wolfgang Ischinger: Political Director, Federal Republic of Germany
Peter Tarnoff: Under Secretary of State, United States of America
Ambassador Michael Steiner: Principal Deputy High Representative