43. Bosnia-Herzegovina (1990-present)

Crisis Phase (November 18, 1990-March 15, 1992):  Elections were held in Bosnia-Herzegovina on November 18, 1990.  Alija Izetbegovic of the Party for Democratic Action (PDA) was named president of Bosnia-Herzegovina on December 20, 1990.  The European Community (EC) imposed military sanctions (arms embargo) against the Bosnian government and Bosnian Serbs on July 5, 1991.  The United Nations (UN) Security Council imposed military sanctions (arms embargo) against the Bosnian government and Bosnian Serbs on September 25, 1991.  The Serbian Assembly of the Autonomous Region of Bosanka Krajina declared its independence from the Bosnia-Herzegovina republic on January 9, 1992.  On February 21, 1992, the UN Security Council authorized the establishment of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) for the former Yugoslavia, initially with the primary mandate to oversee demilitarization in United Nations Protected Areas (UNPAs) in Croatia.  Bosnian Muslims and Croats voted for independence from Yugoslavia in a referendum held on March 2, 1992 (Bosnian Serbs boycotted the referendum), and Bosnia declared its independence from Yugoslavia on March 3, 1992.  The Yugoslavian government (Serbia and Montenegro) provided military assistance to the Bosnian Serbs.

Conflict Phase (March 16, 1992-October 12, 1995): Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Serbs clashed in Bosanki Brod on March 16, 1992.  Eleven Bosnian Serbs were killed in the town of Sijekovac on March 26, 1992.  Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Serbs clashed near Bijeljina on April 2, 1992, resulting in the deaths of 27 Bosnian Muslims.  Some 200 individuals were killed during clashes between Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Serbs near Kupres, and ten individuals were killed in Sarajevo on April 4-5, 1992.  The EC provided diplomatic assistance (diplomatic recognition) to the Bosnian Muslim government on April 6, 1992, and the U.S. government provided diplomatic assistance (diplomatic recognition) to the Bosnian Muslim government on April 7, 1992.  Bosnian Serbs declared the Serbian Republic of Bosnia on April 7, 1992.  On April 8, 1992, the Bosnian Muslim government declared a state-of-emergency and requested assistance from the EC, UN, and US.  The UN Security Council appealed for a cessation of military hostilities on April 10, 1992.  Jose Cutileiro of Portugal, representing the EC, mediated a ceasefire agreement on April 12, 1992.  In April 1992, the European Community deployed  the European Community Monitoring Mission (ECMM) consisting of 80 personnel to monitor the ceasefire agreement in Bosnia.  The UN secretary-general sent 40 UNPROFOR military observers to the Mostar region in Bosnia-Herzegovina from April 30 to May 14, 1992.  One member of the ECMM was killed near Mostar on May 2, 1992, and the EC suspended the ECMM in Bosnia-Herzegovina on May 3, 1992.  The UN Security Council demanded a cessation of military hostilities on May 15, 1992.  On May 30, 1992, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and demanded that parties to the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina create the conditions necessary for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Sarajevo and other locations in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The UN Security Council also called for the establishment of a security zone around Sarajevo and the airport.  The parties agreed to a ceasefire that went into effect on June 15, 1992.  The Western European Union (WEU) Council of Ministers appealed for a cessation of military hostilities on June 19, 1992.  On June 29, 1992, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of UNPROFOR peacekeeping troops to provide security at the airport in Sarajevo.  UNPROFOR peacekeeping troops were deployed at the Sarajevo airport on July 3, 1992.  UNPROFOR – Bosnia-Herzegovina, which consisted of some 22,000 peacekeeping troops from 39 countries commanded by Major-General Lewis MacKenzie of Canada, was authorized to protect the delivery of humanitarian assistance, to provide security for safe havens in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and to monitor ceasefire agreements between the Bosnian government and Bosnian Croat and Serb military forces.  The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) coordinated the emergency airlift of humanitarian assistance to residents of Sarajevo between July 3, 1992 and January 9, 1996 (the humanitarian mission involved personnel and planes from Algeria, Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, and the U.S.).  The WEU Council of Ministers approved the participation of WEU naval units in monitoring UN sanctions in the Adriatic Sea on July 10, 1992.   North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) naval ships began monitoring UN sanctions in the Adriatic Sea in July 1992.  The International Rescue Committee (IRC) established a mission to provide humanitarian assistance to Bosnians in August 1992.  On August 13, 1992, the UN Security Council called on UN member-states to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Sarajevo and other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.  Cyrus Vance, representing the UN, and David Owens, representing the European Union (EU), were the first co-chairmen of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia (ICFY) that attempted to mediate negotiations between the parties from August 22, 1992 to January 31, 1996.  An Italian military aircraft, which was participating in the UNHCR humanitarian assistance mission, was shot down on September 3, 1992, resulting in the deaths of four crewmen.  The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) appealed for a cessation of military hostilities, and condemned the Bosnian-Serbs for ethnic cleansing on September 12, 1992.  On September 14, 1992, the UN Security Council authorized an expansion of the mandate of UNPROFOR to include the protection of the delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) established the EU/OSCE Sanctions Assistance Mission (SAM) on September 18, 1992.  The EU/OSCE mission, which consisted of some 200 customs officials, assisted in the enforcement of UN sanctions in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Croatia, and the Ukraine.  The UN Security Council established a five-member commission of inquiry on October 6, 1992 to investigate war crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  On October 9, 1992, the UN Security Council authorized the establishment of a no-fly zone over Bosnia-Herzegovina, which banned military flights except those of UNPROFOR and other flights in support of UN operations.  The UN Security Council authorized the enforcement of sanctions in Bosnia-Herzegovina on November 16, 1992.  The WEU and NATO established sanctions enforcement missions on November 22, 1992.   The Paris-based non-governmental organization, Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), established a mission to provide humanitarian assistance.  The ECMM returned to Bosnia in January 1993.  The Vance-Owen peace plan, which would have created a federation of ten provinces in Bosnia, was signed by the parties on January 30, 1993.  Antonio Napolitano of Italy was appointed as head of the EU/OSCE sanctions assistance mission in February 1993.  The parties agreed to a ceasefire that went into effect on March 27, 1993.  The UN Security Council authorized the enforcement of the no-fly zone over Bosnia on March 31, 1993.  On April 5, 1993, the WEU Council of Ministers agreed to offer sanctions enforcement assistance (250 police and customs officers) to Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania on the Danube River.  NATO established Operation Deny Flight to enforce the no-fly zone over Bosnia beginning on April 12, 1993.  The IPU condemned the Bosnian Serbs for “ethnic cleansing” on April 17, 1993.  Bosnian Serbs attacked Muslim civilians in Zepa on May 3-4, 1993.  Refugees International (RI) condemned the Bosnian Serb attack against Zepa on May 4, 1993.  The Bosnian Serb assembly rejected the Vance-Owens peace plan on May 5, 1993, and the UN Security Council established six safe havens in Bosnia on May 6, 1993.  The UN Security Council authorized the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTFY) consisting of eleven judges and 370 staff personnel on May 25, 1993.  The WEU and NATO established Operation Sharp Guard to jointly enforce UN sanctions on June 8, 1993.  WEU/NATO’s Operation Sharp Guard consisted of 23 naval vessels from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Denmark, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Britain, and the U.S. commanded by Admiral Mario Angeli of Italy.  NATO foreign minister appealed for a cessation of military hostilities on June 11, 1993.  The IPU condemned the Bosnian Serbs for “ethnic cleansing” on September 18, 1993.  On January 3, 1994, Yasushi Akashi of Japan replaced Thorvald Stoltenberg of Norway) as the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the former Yugoslavia and Chief of Mission of UNPROFOR.  Bosnian Serbs bombed Sarajevo on February 4, 1994, resulting in the deaths of 68 individuals.  On February 9, 1994, NATO warned Bosnian Serbs to withdraw its artillery from the Sarajevo region or face military air strikes.  Bosnian Serb military forces were withdrawn from Sarajevo on February 17, 1994, and Russian peacekeeping troops were deployed in Sarajevo on February 20, 1994.  NATO military aircraft shot down four Bosnian Serb military aircraft that had violated the no-fly zone over Bosnia on February 28, 1994.  On March 16, 1994, the WEU approved the deployment of the Western European Union Police Force (WEUPF) in Mostar.  WEUPF, which consisted of 182 police from thirteen countries headed by Germany, was deployed on July 23, 1994.  The EU Council approved the establishment of the European Union Administration in Mostar (EUAM) headed by H. Koschnick of Germany on May 16, 1994.  The EUAM, which consisted of 45 personnel, began its operations in Mostar on July 23, 1994.  On June 2, 1994, the OSCE Permanent Council established the OSCE Mission to Sarajevo to promote and monitor human rights conditions in the country.  The OSCE mission, which consisted of 6 personnel, was deployed in the country on October 31, 1994.  The IPU sent a three-member fact-finding mission (Argentina, Australia, Iceland) headed by Hipolito Solari Yrigoyen of Argentina to investigate the situation in Bosnia-Herzegovina beginning on July 31, 1994.  The IPU fact-finding mission issued a report on August 22, 1994.  NATO military aircraft attacked Bosnian Serb targets near Sarajevo on August 5, 1994, and NATO military aircraft attacked a Bosnian Serb tank near Sarajevo on September 22, 1994.  The UN Security Council condemned ethnic cleansing by the Bosnian Serbs on September 23, 1994.  An ICFY civilian mission, which consisted of 152 civilian personnel from 18 countries headed by Bo Pellnas of Sweden and Tauno Nieminen of Finland, monitored the delivery of humanitarian assistance into Bosnia-Herzegovina from September 1994 to January 31, 1996.  The NATO Council condemned Bosnian Serbs for attacks against the Bihac safe haven, and appealed for a ceasefire on November 24, 1994.  Bosnian Serb troops shelled Tuzla on May 25, 1995, resulting in the deaths of some 60 civilians.  The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) condemned the shelling of Tuzla on May 26, 1995.  NATO military aircraft attacked Bosnian Serb ammunition depots in Pale on May 25-26, 1995.  NATO foreign ministers condemned Bosnian Serbs on May 30, 1995.  Bosnian Serb troops shelled Sarajevo on August 28, 1995, resulting in the deaths of 37 individuals.  NATO launch “Operation Deliberate Force” as a result of the attack against Sarajevo.  NATO military aircraft from France, the Netherlands, Spain, Britain, and the US attacked Bosnian Serb military targets near Sarajevo on August 30, 1995, and attacked Bosnian Serb military targets near Tuzla on October 9, 1995.  Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke of the US mediated the signing of a ceasefire agreement that went into effect on October 12, 1995. Some 110,000 individuals were killed during the conflict.  Some 720,000 individuals fled as refugees to neighboring countries, and some 1.1 million individuals were internally displaced during the conflict.

Post-Conflict Phase (October 13, 1995-present):  U.S. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke mediated negotiations between the parties in Dayton, Ohio from November 1 to November 21, 1995.  On December 8, 1995, the OSCE Ministerial Council established the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (merging it with the OSCE Mission in Sarajevo) to promote and monitor human rights conditions and to facilitate the monitoring of arms control and confidence-building arrangements.  The OSCE mission, which consisted of 238 personnel headed by Robert Frowick of the U.S., was deployed on December 29, 1995.  Representatives of the Bosnia Serbs, Bosnian Croats, and Bosnian Muslims signed the Dayton Peace Accords (or Paris Protocol) in Paris on December 14, 1995.  The Dayton Peace Accords created the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska within the country of Bosnia & Herzegovina.  The UN Security Council terminated the no-fly zone, and authorized NATO to implement the military components of the peace agreement on December 15, 1995.  The NATO Implementation Force (IFOR), which consisted of 50,000 NATO peacekeeping troops from 15 countries and 10,000 non-NATO peacekeeping troops from 18 countries, was deployed in Bosnia beginning on December 16, 1995.  UNPROFOR – Bosnia-Herzegovina was terminated on December 20, 1995.  Some 150 UNPROFOR peacekeeping troops, including 56 French peacekeeping troops and 18 British peacekeeping troops, were killed during the mission.  On December 21, 1995, the UN Security Council condemned Bosnian Serbs for human rights abuses against civilians.  On December 21, 1995, the UN Security Council established the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) to maintain law and order in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  UNMIBH consisted of a maximum of 2,047 civilian police personnel and 395 international civilian staff personnel from 47 countries commanded by Police Commissioner Thomas Fitzgerald of Ireland.  The World Bank provided reconstruction assistance to the government between February 29, 1996 and June 30, 2000.  The World Bank and EU jointly coordinated reconstruction assistance to the government beginning in 1996.  The donors included the ICRC, IMF, OIC, UNDP, WHO, Austria, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, and the U.S.  The U.S. government provided de-mining assistance to the government through the Slovenian International Trust Fund for De-mining and Mine Victim Assistance beginning in January 1996.  The UN Security Council suspended military sanctions (arms embargo) against the parties on June 18, 1996.  The WEU/NATO suspended its sanctions enforcement mission on June 18, 1996, and terminated the sanctions enforcement mission on October 2, 1996.  The EUAM was terminated in July 1996.  Parliamentary elections were held on September 14, 1996, and the PDA won 19 out of 42 seats in the House of Representatives.  The Serbian Democratic Party (SDP) won nine seats in the House of Representatives.  The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) established a mission consisting of some 725 observers to monitor the parliamentary elections beginning in July 1996.  The Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC) sent 32 observers to monitor the parliamentary elections beginning in July 1996.  On October 11, 1996, the NHC mission reported that the parliamentary elections were not free and fair.  The UN Security Council terminated military sanctions (arms embargo) against the parties on October 1, 1996, and the EU/OSCE mission was disbanded on October 1, 1996.  The WEUPF was disbanded on October 15, 1996.  NATO defense ministers approved the establishment of the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) on December 18, 1996, and NATO disbanded the IFOR mission on December 19, 1996.  Fifty-two IFOR soldiers were killed during the mission.  SFOR, which consisted of some 29,000 NATO peacekeeping troops from 16 countries and 6,000 non-NATO peacekeeping troops from 20 countries, was deployed in the country on December 20, 1996.  The UNHCR and International Organization for Migration (IOM) provided repatriation assistance to Bosnia refugees in Macedonia and Turkey beginning in December 1996.  President Plavsic of the Republika Srpska dissolved the National Assembly on July 3, 1997.  Municipal elections were held on September 13-14, 1997.  The OSCE/ODIHR established an election observation mission consisting of 250 observers from 27 countries headed by Javier Ruperez of Spain to monitor the municipal elections from September 9-15, 1997.  The OSCE/ODIHR mission reported that the elections were free and fair.  The Council of Europe (COE) Parliamentary Assembly and Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe (CLRA) sent 19 observers from 14 countries headed by Alain Chenard of France to monitor the municipal elections from September 12-15, 1997.  Parliamentary elections were held on the Republika Srpska on November 22-23, 1997, and the SDP won some 33 percent of the vote.  The OSCE/ODIHR established an election observation mission consisting of 21 short-term observers and 130 long-term observers from 28 countries headed by Javier Ruperez of Spain and Kare Vollan of Norway to monitor the parliamentary elections.  The OSCE/ODIHR mission reported that the election had fallen “short of democratic standards.”  The COE Parliamentary Assembly and CLRA sent seven observers from five countries to monitor the parliamentary elections from November 21-24, 1997.  Elizabeth Rehn of Finland was appointed as special representative of the UN secretary-general in Bosnia and Herzegovina on November 26, 1997.  The OSCE appointed Robert Barry of the US as head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina on January 17, 1998.  The UNHCR established a mine-clearing mission in 1998.  Elections for the three-member rotating presidency were held on September 12-13, 1998, and Alija Izetbegovic of the Coalition for a Single and Democratic Bosnia-Herzegovina (CSDBH) won the Bosnian-Muslim slot with some 87 percent of the vote.  Zivko Radisic of the Socialist Party (SP) won some 51 percent of the vote for the Bosnian-Serb slot, and Ante Jelavic of the Croatian Democratic Union (CDU) won some 53 percent of the vote for the Bosnian-Croat slot.  Parliamentary elections were held in the Bosnia-Herzegovina Federation on September 12-13, 1998, and the CSDBH won 68 out of 140 seats in the House of Representatives.  The CDU won 28 seats in the House of Representatives.  Parliamentary elections were held in the Bosnian Serb republic on September 12-13, 1998, and the SDP won 19 out of 83 seats in the People’s Assembly.  The Coalition for a Unified and Democratic Bosnia-Herzegovina (CUDBH) won 15 seats in the People’s Assembly.  The OSCE/ODIHR established an election observation mission consisting of 19 long-term observers and 230 short-term observers headed by Tana de Zulueta of Italy and Mark Power-Stevens of Britain to monitor the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina from July 21 to September 17, 1998.  The COE Parliamentary Assembly sent 14 observers from seven countries headed by Hanne Severinsen of Denmark to monitor the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina on September 10-14, 1998.  The COE CLRA sent eleven observers from eight countries headed by Gianfranco Martini of Italy to monitor the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina from September 10-14, 1998.  The Japanese government sent 30 observers to monitor the elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  One NATO peacekeeping soldier was killed in an accident on May 8, 1999.  On July 12, 1999, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Jacques Klein of the US as Special Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  One NATO peacekeeping soldier was killed in an explosion on September 11, 1999.  Two NATO peacekeeping soldiers were killed in an accident on December 6, 1999.  Local elections were held in Bosnia-Herzegovina on April 8, 2000.  Japan sent eleven observers to monitor the local elections on March 30-April 10, 2000.  Parliamentary elections were held in Bosnia-Herzegovina on November 11, 2000.  The COE Parliamentary Assembly sent eleven observers from seven countries to monitor the parliamentary elections on November 9-12, 2000.  Bozidar Matic of the Alliance for Change (AFC) formed a government as prime minister on February 22, 2001, but he resigned after parliament failed to approve a new election law in June 2001.  Zlatko Lagumdzija of the AFC formed a government as prime minister on July 18, 2001.  Lord Ashdown of Britain was appointed as EU Special Representative on March 11, 2002.  Parliamentary and presidential elections were held on October 5, 2002.  The PDA won ten out of 42 seats in the House of Representatives.  Sulejman Tihić (Bosniaks), Dragan Covic (Croats), and Mirko Sarovic (Serbs) were elected to the three-member state presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The OSCE/ODIHR sent some 280 observers headed by Peter Eicher of the US and Pieter de Crem of Belgium to monitor the elections from September 4 to October 6, 2002.  The UNMIBH was disbanded on December 31, 2002.  Seven UNMIBH personnel, including one military personnel and eight civilian police, were killed during the mission.  On January 1, 2003, the EU deployed the European Union Police Mission (EUPM) in Bosnia-Herzegovina, replacing the UN International Police Task Force (IPTF) of the UNMIBH.  At maximum strength, The EUPM-Bosnia consisted of 498 civilian police officers from 27 EU countries and six non-EU countries, as well as 58 international civilian staff personnel, headed by Police Commissioner Sven Frederiksen of Denmark (January 2003-February 2004), Bartholomew Kevin Carty of the UK (February 2004-November 2005), Brig. General Vincenzo Coppola of Italy (November 2005-November 2008), and Brig. General Stefan Feller of Germany (November 2008 to June 2012).  On January 17, 2003, Dragan Mikerevic was elected prime minister of the Bosnian Serb republic.  The EUPM-Bosnia Police Commissioner Sven Frederiksen died of natural causes in Sarajevo on January 26, 2004.  The Council of the EU appointed Lord Ashdown of Britain as EU Special Representative (EUSR) in Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 12, 2004.  On November 22, 2004, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1575, authorizing the EU to established a peacekeeping force to replace SFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina.  SFOR was disbanded on December 1, 2004.  On December 2, 2004, the EU deployed the European Union Military Force in Bosnia-Herzegovina (Operation Althea), which consisted of some 7,000 military personnel from 22 EU countries and 11 non-EU countries commanded by General Sir John Reith of Britain (Operation Commander) and Lt. General Arundell David Leakey (Force Commander) from Britain.  The main tasks of EUFOR-Bosnia included disarmament, maintaining law & order, and providing security to the civilian population.  Bosnian Serb Prime Minister Dragan Mikerevic resigned on December 17, 2004.  The EU lifted military sanctions (arms embargo) against the Bosnian government and Bosnia Serbs on January 23, 2006.  Christian Schwarz-Schilling of Germany was appointed as EU Special Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina beginning on February 1, 2006.  Parliamentary and presidential elections were held on October 1, 2006.  The PDA won seven out of 42 seats in the House of Representatives, and the Party of Independent Social Democrats (PISD) also won seven seats in the House of Representatives of Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Haris Silajdzic (Bosnian-Muslim), Zeljko Komsic (Bosnian-Croat), and Nebojsa Radmanovic (Bosnian-Serb) were elected to the three-member state presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The OSCE/ODIHR established an election observation mission consisting of14 election experts, 17 long-term observers, and 364 short-term observers from 43 countries headed by David Heath of Britain to monitor the elections from August 25 to October 2, 2006.  The COE Parliamentary Assembly sent 19 observers to monitor the elections.  Bosnian Serb politician, Nikola Spiric, was approved as prime minister by the national parliament of Bosnia-Herzegovina on February 10, 2007.  Miroslav Lajcak of Slovakia took over from Christian Schwarz-Schilling of Germany as International High Representative for Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 1, 2007.  Milan Jelic, president of the Bosnian Serb republic, died of a heart attack in Doboj on September 30, 2007.  Prime Minister Nikola Spiric resigned on November 1, 2007.  Rajko Kuzmanovic was elected president of the Bosnian Serb republic with 42 percent of the vote on December 10, 2007.  Eleven Macedonian soldiers, members of the EUFOR-Bosnia peacekeeping force, were killed in a helicopter crash in Macedonia on January 12, 2008.  Four EUFOR-Bosnia military personnel were killed in a helicopter crash in Bosnia on June 19, 2008. One police officer was killed in a bombing of a police station in the town of Bugojno on June 27, 2010.  Parliamentary and presidential elections were held on October 3, 2010.  The Social Democratic Party of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SDP BiH) won eight out of 42 seats in the House of Representatives, and the Party of Independent Social Democrats (PISD) also won eight seats in the House of Representatives of Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Bakir Izetbegovic (Bosnian-Muslim), Zeljko Komsic (Bosnian-Croat), and Nebojsa Radmanovic (Bosnian-Serb) were elected to the three-member state presidency of Bosnia-Herzegovina.  The OSCE/ODIHR established an election observation mission consisting of 15 election experts, 20 long-term observers, and 237 short-term observers from 39 countries headed by Daan Everts of the Netherlands to monitor the elections from August 30 to October 4, 2010.  The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (COE) sent 26 short-term observers headed by Tiny Kox of the Netherlands to monitor the elections.  The Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) sent five observers headed by Wladyslaw Sidorowicz of Poland to monitor the elections.  Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, who had been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTFY), was arrested in northern Serbia on May 26, 2011.  On December 28, 2011, Bosnian Muslim, Serb, and Croat leaders agreed on the formation of the central government for Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Vjekoslav Bevanda, a Bosnian Croat, was elected by a 36-2 vote as Chairman of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister) of Bosnia-Herzegovina by the House of Representatives on January 12, 2012.  The EUPM-Bosnia was disbanded on June 30, 2012.  Three EUPM-Bosnia personnel died during the mission.

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Selected Bibliography

Osland, Kari M. 2004. “The EU Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” International Peacekeeping, vol. 11 (3), pp. 544-560.