Bosnia and Herzegovina Country Brief
General
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) lies at the heart of the Balkans. It shares its northern, western and southern borders with the Republic of Croatia and borders Montenegro and Serbia to the east. With a territory of 51,129 square kilometers, Bosnia and Herzegovina is slightly smaller than Tasmania. Its population of approximately four million (2008) is made up of three main ethnic groups - Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. The capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina is Sarajevo.
Bilateral Relations
Australia recognised Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 1992, soon after independence. Bosnia and Herzegovina established resident diplomatic representation in Australia in late 1994 under a Charge d'Affaires, and the first Ambassador presented credentials in 2000. The first Australian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, resident in Vienna, presented credentials in Sarajevo in November 1995. Australia opened an Honorary Consulate in Sarajevo on 3 January 2005.
In June 2005 the Chairman of the Presidency at the time, HE Mr Borislav Paravac, conducted Bosnia and Herzegovina’s first high level visit to Australia.
An Australian parliamentary delegation led by Senator John Hogg visited Bosnia and Herzegovina from 5 to 8 October 2008. Calls were made on the Speakers of both houses of the legislature, government representatives, the Inter-religious council and Australian members of the Bosnian community. A return visit by a Parliamentary Delegation from Bosnia and Herzegovina is expected in October 2009.
Australia has a continuing interest in efforts to maintain peace and build prosperity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since 1993-94, Australia has contributed humanitarian assistance worth over A$17 million to countries in the region, including to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most of these funds have been provided through international aid agencies, for example the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the World Food Program and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Australian Embassy in Vienna has a small direct aid program for Bosnia and Herzegovina aimed at grass roots humanitarian needs.
Bilateral trade with Bosnia and Herzegovina is modest, with a total two-way trade of
approximately A$5.75 million in 2008. Australian exports in 2008 was $A3.5 million and consisted mostly of beef, while imports of around $A2.2 million comprised mainly furniture and footwear. The EU is Bosnia and Herzegovina’s main trading partner, accounting for
71.4 percent of its exports and 66.7 percent of its imports.
Political Overview
Previously a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina proclaimed independence in March 1992. This triggered a three-year conflict during which the three ethnic groups were at war with each other in varying alliances. The Dayton Peace Agreement, signed on 21 November 1995, put an official end to the fighting.
The Dayton Agreement endorsed the principle that Bosnia and Herzegovina would remain a single state within existing borders. It divided the country into two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation), populated mainly by Bosniaks and Croats and comprising 51 per cent of the country; and the Republika Srpska (RS), with a predominantly Serb population, holding 49 per cent of the territory. Dayton set up a federal government with the following elements:
- A three-person rotating Presidency, comprising two members from the Federation (one Croat and one Bosniak) and one member from the Republika Srpska. All three members are elected for a collective four year term. The chairmanship of the presidency rotates on an eight month cycle, so that each member occupies the chairmanship twice during their four year term. The Presidency is responsible for executing decisions of the parliamentary assembly, foreign policy, the appointment of ambassadors, international treaties and coordination with international and non-governmental organisations;A Council of Ministers, equally divided between the three ethnic groups and responsible for overseeing foreign, economic and fiscal policy;
- A Parliament, comprised of a House of Representatives, a 42-member body -
28 from the Federation and 14 from the RS - elected by party list vote, and a House of Peoples, with 15 members (5 Serb, 5 Bosniak and 5 Croat) indirectly elected by the Federation's House of Peoples and the Republika Srpska National Assembly; and - A Central Bank.
The Federation and the Republika Srpska both have their own parliamentary assemblies.
The Dayton Agreement also established the Office of the High Representative (OHR) as the highest authority with powers to impose legislation and remove unsatisfactory officials. The High Representative (Valentin Inzko, former Austrian diplomat, since 26 March 2009) holds wide-ranging powers to impose laws and binding decisions in cases where the Government is unable to agree, or where it is deemed to be in the interest of the economic and political development of the country. The willingness by successive High Representatives to use these ‘Bonn Powers’ has been crucial to progressing reforms. The High Representative is also the Special Representative of the European Union (EU) in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The NATO-led Stabilisation Force (SFOR) had the task of maintaining peace on the ground in Bosnia and Herzegovina from the end of the war in 1995, when troops totalled 60,000, to early December 2004. As the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina improved, the focus of its activities shifted from peacekeeping to crime prevention, principally targeting the trafficking of people, weapons and drugs.
In July 2004, the Council of the European Union decided to conduct a military operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the framework of the European Security and Defence Policy. In December 2004, the EU Force (EUFOR) took over from SFOR. EUFOR aims to build a stable, viable, peaceful and multiethnic country which co-operates peacefully with its neighbours and is on its way towards EU membership
NATO has maintained a small headquarters in Sarajevo with the task of providing advice on defence reform and certain operational tasks such as counter terrorism, supporting the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and intelligence sharing with the EU.
NATO invited Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the Partnership for Peace program at its Summit in Riga on 29 November 2006. Membership of the Partnership for Peace program is an important step towards joining NATO.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a member of the Stability Pact for Eastern Europe, which was established in June 1999 at the EU's initiative. The Stability Pact is a long-term conflict prevention strategy, in which more than 40 partner countries and organisations are joined in their efforts to foster peace, democracy, respect for human rights and economic prosperity in the region.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was accepted as a member of the Council of Europe in April 2002, a significant achievement in terms of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s desire to be part of European integration.
In June 2008, Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU.
Bosnia and Herzegovina became a full member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement in September 2007. Bosnia and Herzegovina benefits from autonomous trade measures introduced by the EU in September 2000 which allow more than 95 percent of all exports (including agricultural products) to enter the EU duty and quota free.
Recent political developments
The most recent general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina took place in October 2006. Results showed a slight shift towards moderate parties who are now represented in the tripartite Presidency and Council of Ministers (cabinet).
HE Mr Nebojsa Radmanovic, HE Mr Haris Silajdzic and HE Mr Zeljko Komsic will rotate the presidency chairmanship, in eight month periods, over the period 2006-2010. Mr Zeljko Komsic is currently serving as Chairman and will remain in the position until March 2010.
In February 2007, following considerable coalition negotiations, the Bosnia and Herzegovina House of Representatives confirmed the members of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister Nikola Spiric. The next parliamentary election is scheduled for 2010.
Local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina took place in October 2008. While preserving power at state and entity levels, nationalist ethnically-based parties, the Bosniak Party of Democratic Action (SDA), the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) and predominantly Serb party the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) gained power in the local communities.
Updated 18 September 2009