Full respect for the Peace Agreement is non-negotiable

Twenty years after the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed, Bosnia and Herzegovina can be a country where there is decent work for decent pay, where citizens are able to raise their families in security and with dignity, the High Representative Valentin Inzko said today, but this will only happen if the people take the political process into their own hands.

The High Representative was speaking at a seminar on the Dayton settlement organized at City University in London.

“Progress is absolutely possible,” he said. “We have seen this in recent months as the authorities adopted a Reform Agenda worked out with the European Union. This is a socio-economic plan that has a real chance of improving the lives of BiH citizens. It has the support of the International Community, which will provide practical help if such help is requested. If adopted and implemented it will open up new opportunities for the country as a whole and its citizens.”

During his two-day visit to London, the High Representative held talks with senior UK officials, including Minister of State for Europe David Lidington. The High Representative noted that both he and the Peace Implementation Council are fully committed to upholding the Dayton Agreement, the centrepiece of which is the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Challenging Dayton means challenging the framework that has kept the peace for 20 years.