[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 529 Reported in Senate (RS)]
<DOC>
Calendar No. 378
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 529
Supporting a democratic, pluralistic, and prosperous Bosnia and
Herzegovina on the 30th Anniversary of its declaration of independence.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 2, 2022
Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Durbin, Mr.
Wicker, Mr. Peters, Mr. Markey, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Grassley, and Mr.
Coons) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Relations
May 24, 2022
Reported by Mr. Menendez, with an amendment and an amendment to the
preamble
[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting a democratic, pluralistic, and prosperous Bosnia and
Herzegovina on the 30th Anniversary of its declaration of independence.
Whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina has historically been a pluralistic society
influenced by and composed of a diverse set of religions, cultures, and
ethnicities;
Whereas, on March 3, 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence, and on
April 7, 1992, the United States recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina as an
independent state;
Whereas more than 100,000 people died and 2,000,000 more were displaced in
Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995;
Whereas the United States, alongside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), played a crucial role in ending the war in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and brokering the General Framework Agreement for Bosnia and
Herzegovina (also known as the ``Dayton Agreement'' and the ``Dayton
Accords'') in November 1995;
Whereas the Dayton Accords ended the war, affirmed the territorial integrity and
political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, established the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, and two tiers of
government at the state, entity, district, canton, and municipal levels,
installed the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) as an international
interim peacekeeping force, and created the Office of the High
Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (OHR) to oversee civilian
implementation of the accords;
Whereas, since the Dayton Accords were signed, the Government and people of
Bosnia and Herzegovina have made important strides toward re-building a
peaceful society based on democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and
a free-market economy;
Whereas, in 2004, the United Nations Security Council adopted United Nations
Security Council Resolution 1575 authorizing a multinational
stabilization force led by the European Union (EUFOR) as the legal
successor to SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Whereas, in 2008, the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board set out the
requirements that need to be met prior to the closure of the OHR in the
5+2 Agenda;
Whereas, since 2009 and the case of Sejdic-Finci, the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR) has issued judgments concerning ethnic- and territory-
based discrimination in the elections of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
requiring reforms, which have yet to be implemented;
Whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina was invited to join a NATO Membership Action Plan
in 2010, and Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted its first Reform Program
to NATO in 2019;
Whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina formally applied for European Union membership on
February 15, 2016;
Whereas, on May 29, 2019, the European Union adopted a roadmap to membership for
Bosnia and Herzegovina, outlining needed reforms in the areas of
democracy, the rule of law, fundamental rights, and public
administration;
Whereas the United States and the European Union have called on Bosnia and
Herzegovina to implement election and targeted constitutional reforms to
ensure broad participation in the 2022 general election in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and to comply with the Sejdic-Finci judgments from the ECHR;
Whereas, on October 20, 2021, the United States and the European Union issued a
joint statement supporting the territorial integrity of Bosnia and
Herzegovina and calling ``on all parties to respect and protect state
institutions, resume constructive dialogue, and take steps to advance
progress on the EU integration path--including on relevant reforms'';
Whereas some politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the
region continue to make statements downplaying or denying the 1995
Srebrenica genocide;
Whereas Milorad Dodik, a Bosnian Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, has hampered reconciliation efforts through genocide
denial, engaged in proactive and destabilizing security maneuvers,
threatened to withdraw Republika Srpska from state-level institutions,
including the judiciary, the security services, the Indirect Tax
Authority, and the armed forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and called
for the dissolution of the OHR;
Whereas, on December 10, 2021, the parliament of Republika Srpska voted in favor
of denying the constitutional and legitimate authority of Bosnia and
Herzegovina in the areas of taxation, justice, and security and defense;
Whereas the United States has imposed sanctions on Milorad Dodik pursuant to
Executive Order 13304 (68 Fed. Reg. 32313; relating to the Termination
of Emergencies With Respect to Yugoslavia and Modification of Executive
Order 13219 of June 26, 2001) and Executive Order 14033 (86 Fed. Reg.
31079; relating to Blocking Property and Suspending Entry Into the
United States of Certain Persons Contributing to the Destabilizing
Situation in the Western Balkans) for obstructing the Dayton Accords and
corruption;
Whereas, on January 9, 2022, Milorad Dodik presided over commemorations of an
unconstitutional holiday, Republika Srpska Day, which coincided with the
day Bosnian Serbs declared their own state and ignited four years of war
and bloodshed;
Whereas international financial institutions such as the International Monetary
Foundation have warned that withdrawal from the Indirect Tax Authority
would cripple the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Whereas, in 2020, the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina contracted by an
estimated 4.3 percent, and the youth unemployment rate rose to 33.6
percent, disrupting a five-year trend of decline in part due to the
rampant corruption that remains unaddressed; and
Whereas at least 400,000 citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have emigrated from
Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past 8 years: Now, therefore, be it
Whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina has historically been a pluralistic society
influenced by and composed of a diverse set of religions, cultures, and
ethnicities;
Whereas, on March 3, 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence, and on
April 7, 1992, the United States recognized Bosnia and Herzegovina as an
independent state;
Whereas more than 100,000 people died and 2,000,000 more were displaced in
Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995;
Whereas the United States, alongside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), played a crucial role in ending the war in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and brokering the General Framework Agreement for Bosnia and
Herzegovina (also known as the ``Dayton Agreement'' and the ``Dayton
Accords'') in November 1995;
Whereas the Dayton Accords ended the war, affirmed the territorial integrity and
political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, established the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, and two tiers of
government at the state, entity, district, canton, and municipal levels,
installed the NATO Stabilization Force (SFOR) as an international
interim peacekeeping force, and created the Office of the High
Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (OHR) to oversee civilian
implementation of the accords;
Whereas, since the Dayton Accords were signed, the Government and people of
Bosnia and Herzegovina have made important strides toward re-building a
peaceful society based on democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and
a free-market economy;
Whereas, in 2004, the United Nations Security Council adopted United Nations
Security Council Resolution 1575 authorizing a multinational
stabilization force led by the European Union (EUFOR) as the legal
successor to SFOR in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Whereas, in 2008, the Peace Implementation Council Steering Board set out the
requirements that need to be met prior to the closure of the OHR in the
5+2 Agenda;
Whereas, since 2009 and the case of Sejdic-Finci, the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR) has issued judgments concerning ethnic- and territory-
based discrimination in the elections of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
requiring reforms, which have yet to be implemented;
Whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina was invited to join a NATO Membership Action Plan
in 2010, and Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted its first Reform Program
to NATO in 2019;
Whereas Bosnia and Herzegovina formally applied for European Union membership on
February 15, 2016;
Whereas, on May 29, 2019, the European Union adopted a roadmap to membership for
Bosnia and Herzegovina, outlining needed reforms in the areas of
democracy, the rule of law, fundamental rights, and public
administration;
Whereas the United States and the European Union have called on Bosnia and
Herzegovina to implement election and targeted constitutional reforms to
ensure broad participation in the 2022 general election in Bosnia and
Herzegovina and to comply with the Sejdic-Finci judgments from the ECHR;
Whereas, on October 20, 2021, the United States and the European Union issued a
joint statement supporting the territorial integrity of Bosnia and
Herzegovina and calling ``on all parties to respect and protect state
institutions, resume constructive dialogue, and take steps to advance
progress on the EU integration path--including on relevant reforms'';
Whereas some politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other countries in the
region continue to make statements downplaying or denying the 1995
Srebrenica genocide;
Whereas Milorad Dodik, a Bosnian Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, has hampered reconciliation efforts through genocide
denial, engaged in proactive and destabilizing security maneuvers,
threatened to withdraw Republika Srpska from state-level institutions,
including the judiciary, the security services, the Indirect Tax
Authority, and the armed forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and called
for the dissolution of the OHR and the removal of EUFOR;
Whereas, on December 10, 2021, the parliament of Republika Srpska voted in favor
of denying the constitutional and legitimate authority of Bosnia and
Herzegovina in the areas of taxation, justice, and security and defense;
Whereas the United States has imposed sanctions on Milorad Dodik pursuant to
Executive Order 13304 (68 Fed. Reg. 32313; relating to the Termination
of Emergencies With Respect to Yugoslavia and Modification of Executive
Order 13219 of June 26, 2001) and Executive Order 14033 (86 Fed. Reg.
31079; relating to Blocking Property and Suspending Entry Into the
United States of Certain Persons Contributing to the Destabilizing
Situation in the Western Balkans) for obstructing the Dayton Accords and
corruption;
Whereas, on January 9, 2022, Milorad Dodik presided over commemorations of an
unconstitutional holiday, Republika Srpska Day, which coincided with the
day Bosnian Serbs declared their own state and ignited four years of war
and bloodshed;
Whereas international financial institutions such as the International Monetary
Foundation have warned that withdrawal from the Indirect Tax Authority
would cripple the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
Whereas, in 2020, the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina contracted by an
estimated 4.3 percent, and the youth unemployment rate rose to 33.6
percent, disrupting a five-year trend of decline in part due to the
rampant corruption that remains unaddressed; and
Whereas at least 400,000 citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina have emigrated from
Bosnia and Herzegovina over the past 8 years: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
<DELETED> (1) congratulates Bosnia and Herzegovina on the
30th anniversary of its declaration of independence;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (2) reaffirms strong and longstanding bipartisan
support for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and continues to believe
that peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina is integral
to the peace and stability of Europe as a whole;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (3) calls on all parties to uphold the spirit of
unity enshrined in the Dayton Accords and to redouble their
efforts to enact electoral and targeted constitutional reforms
prior to the 2022 general election in Bosnia and
Herzegovina;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (4) calls on the members of the Presidency of
Bosnia and Herzegovina to recognize their critical role in
preserving stability and to work together in the best interests
of their constituents as part of a sovereign and independent
Bosnia and Herzegovina within its internationally recognized
borders;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (5) encourages the Government of Bosnia and
Herzegovina to continue pursuing membership in the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union and urges
the European Union to increase its efforts, cooperation, and
assistance to swiftly advance the accession process;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (6) calls on the President to prioritize efforts
to combat political corruption, democratic backsliding,
unemployment, and brain drain in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in
particular, by focusing on youth engagement;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (7) commends the continued efforts of the Office
of the High Representative (OHR) to advance reforms, reaffirms
the authority of the OHR as articulated in the Dayton Accords,
and calls on members of the Peace and Implementation Council to
provide their full support to the OHR and advancement of the
5+2 Agenda;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (8) calls on the President to develop an inclusive
and comprehensive strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina, in
coordination with Bosnian and Herzegovinian civil society and
the European Union, and to increase engagement with minority
groups in an effort to hear from a diverse cross-section of
citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina, inclusive of all ethnic,
political, or religious affiliations;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (9) encourages the United Nations and its member
states to continue to support the EUFOR-Althea stabilization
force and to review the current levels of the force in the face
of challenges to the integrity of Bosnia and
Herzegovina;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (10) encourages the United States to consider
additional steps to support security and stabilization in
Bosnia and Herzegovina and to support EUFOR;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (11) condemns individuals who are actively seeking
to undermine the security, stability, and territorial integrity
of Bosnia and Herzegovina and urges the President and European
allies of the United States to hold such individuals
accountable for their actions, including through the use of
sanctions where appropriate;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (12) condemns the inflammatory rhetoric of
politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina and others in the region
who deny the severity or perpetration of war crimes and
genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina;</DELETED>
<DELETED> (13) condemns politicians in Bosnian and
Herzegovina and the region who--</DELETED>
<DELETED> (A) persist in rampant corruption for
personal enrichment at the cost of the prosperity of
the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (B) prevent Bosnia and Herzegovina from
adopting the reforms necessary to secure membership in
the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization; and</DELETED>
<DELETED> (14) emphasizes that the United States Government
will continue to support the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina
in their quest to build a unified, pluralistic, prosperous, and
peaceful state.</DELETED>
That the Senate--
(1) congratulates Bosnia and Herzegovina on the 30th
anniversary of its declaration of independence;
(2) reaffirms strong and longstanding bipartisan support
for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and continues to believe that peace
and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina is integral to the
peace and stability of Europe as a whole;
(3) calls on all parties to uphold the spirit of unity
enshrined in the Dayton Accords and to redouble their efforts
to enact electoral and targeted constitutional reforms prior to
the 2022 general election in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
(4) calls on the members of the Presidency of Bosnia and
Herzegovina to recognize their critical role in preserving
stability and to work together in the best interests of their
constituents as part of a sovereign and independent Bosnia and
Herzegovina within its internationally recognized borders;
(5) encourages the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to
continue pursuing membership in the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization and the European Union and urges the European
Union to increase its efforts, cooperation, and assistance to
swiftly advance the accession process;
(6) calls on the President to prioritize efforts to combat
political corruption, democratic backsliding, unemployment, and
brain drain in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in particular, by
focusing on youth engagement;
(7) commends the continued efforts of the Office of the
High Representative (OHR) to advance reforms, reaffirms the
authority of the OHR as articulated in the Dayton Accords, and
calls on members of the Peace and Implementation Council to
provide their full support to the OHR and advancement of the
5+2 Agenda;
(8) calls on the President to develop an inclusive and
comprehensive strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina, in
coordination with Bosnian and Herzegovinian civil society and
the European Union, and to increase engagement with minority
groups in an effort to hear from a diverse cross-section of
citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina, inclusive of all ethnic,
political, or religious affiliations;
(9) encourages the United Nations and its member states to
continue to support the EUFOR-Althea stabilization force and to
review the current levels of the force in the face of
challenges to the integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
(10) encourages the United States, in coordination with the
EU and NATO, to consider a force posture review in light of the
deteriorating political situation in order to consider
additional steps to support security and stabilization in
Bosnia and Herzegovina and to support EUFOR;
(11) calls on the United States to work in close
cooperation with NATO, the EU, and the United Nations to ensure
that contingency plans are considered if the annual renewal of
EUFOR's mandate at the United Nations is put in jeopardy;
(12) condemns individuals who are actively seeking to
undermine the security, stability, and territorial integrity of
Bosnia and Herzegovina and urges the President and European
allies of the United States to hold such individuals
accountable for their actions, including through the use of
sanctions where appropriate;
(13) condemns the inflammatory rhetoric of politicians in
Bosnia and Herzegovina and others in the region who deny the
severity or perpetration of war crimes and genocide in Bosnia
and Herzegovina;
(14) condemns politicians in Bosnian and Herzegovina and
the region who--
(A) persist in rampant corruption for personal
enrichment at the cost of the prosperity of the
citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and
(B) prevent Bosnia and Herzegovina from adopting
the reforms necessary to secure membership in the
European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization; and
(15) emphasizes that the United States Government will
continue to support the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina in
their quest to build a unified, pluralistic, prosperous, and
peaceful state.
Calendar No. 378
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 529
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting a democratic, pluralistic, and prosperous Bosnia and
Herzegovina on the 30th Anniversary of its declaration of independence.
_______________________________________________________________________
May 24, 2022
Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble