[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 122 (Thursday, July 31, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCING A RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING THE DESIGNATION OF A PRESIDENTIAL 
                      SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE BALKANS

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                            HON. JANICE HAHN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 31, 2014

  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing a resolution to 
recommend the designation of a Presidential Special Envoy to the 
Balkans.
  In November of 1995 the United States government spearheaded a series 
of peace talks in Dayton, Ohio ending more than three years of warfare 
and genocide plaguing the Croats of the Balkans. Ultimately, from those 
talks stemmed the Dayton Peace Accords, establishing the new nation-
state of Bosnia-Herzegovina. However, as time has lapsed for the Dayton 
Peace Accords the U.S. has made no attempt to revisit the many faults 
in the original agreements. The time has come to lend our services in 
aid of the Republic of Croatia and effect positive, and lasting 
diplomatic change.
  While the U.S. has demanded that the Bosnian people initiate these 
revisions themselves, we have witnessed a nation-state with great 
political and economic potential fall back into violent patterns. As 
the Representative of the 44th district of California, an area steeped 
in Croatian culture, I have heard firsthand the concerns arising from 
growing political instability in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian region. This 
region is integral to the future success of our interdependent 
international community. We have an obligation to support the 
democratic and free market progress that has been hard won over the 
last two decades.
  Therefore, I call upon this 113th Congress to designate a special 
presidential envoy to evaluate the successes and shortcomings of the 
Dayton Peace Accords, and to provide tangible policy recommendations to 
the Republic of Croatia. It is my greatest hope that the United States 
can be a catalyst for change and success in the new Bosnia-Herzegovina 
region.

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