Statement of 17 July 1993 by Dr Franjo Tudjman and Slobodan Milosevic

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Country/entity: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Yugoslavia (former)
Region: Europe and Eurasia
Agreement name: Statement of 17 July 1993 by Dr Franjo Tudjman and Slobodan Milosevic
Date: 17 Jul 1993
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Interstate/intrastate conflict(s)
Balkan Conflicts (1991 - 1995) (1998 - 2001)
Former Yugoslavia

The disintegration of former Yugoslavia post cold war saw conflicts which became mediated and produced peace agreements in Slovenia (where the brief independence conflict was mediated by the EC Troika in 1991), Croatia (between Croatian and Serb populations 1991-1995), in Bosnia (between Croatian, Serb and Bosniak populations 1992-1995), in Macedonia (where mediation played a key pre-emptive role in preventing large scale conflict in 2001), in Kosovo (between Kosovar Albanians and Serbian population and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), but also between FRY and NATO, 1998-1999), and a conflict in the Presevo Valley (between Albanians in South Serbia and FRY, 2000-2001). The continued fall-out of the disintegration of former Yugoslavia also saw mediated agreement and ultimate dissolution of the Union between Serbia and Montenegro.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

In 1991, after nationalist parties won the first multi-party elections in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a violent process of disintegration commenced. With its mixed population, Bosnia-Herzegovina became the centre of the following civil war that began in 1992 between the newly formed army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly Muslim Bosniacs), and the parastatal forces of self-declared Bosnian Croat (Herzeg-Bosnia) and Bosnian Serb (Republika Srpska) entities within Bosnia-Herzegovina, supported by Croatia and Serbia, with various, often short-lived, coalitions. The General Framework Agreement (Dayton Peace Agreement), signed in 1995, split the country into two ethno-federal entities, the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the Republika Srpska, and included continued peacekeeping and institutional administration by international actors.

Kosovo

The conflict between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians has a long history and always involved territorial disputes as well as ethno-political, cultural and linguistic factors. The most recent phase of the conflict began in November 1997 when the Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA or UCK) began their campaign for the independence of Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY – then Serbia and Montenegro). The subsequent war lasted until the NATO intervention, which undertook bombing campaigns of Belgrade and other places in Serbia during spring 1999. The main agreements solving the conflict were internationally driven and, finally, a UNSC resolution imposed a post-conflict arrangement in the wake of what was essentially a NATO military victory. In February 2008, Kosovo’s parliament declared independence, but independence is still internationally disputed.
Stage: Pre-negotiation/process
Conflict nature: Government/territory
Peace process: Bosnia peace process
Parties: President of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Franjo Tudjman; President of the Republic of Serbia, Slobodan Milosevic
Third parties: Meeting held under the auspices of the Co-Chairmen of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia Thorvald Stoltenberg and Lord Owen
Description: In this short agreement the parties state common principles regarding the status and conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and confirm the importance of a cessation of hostilities agreement.

Agreement document: HR_930717_Statement of 17 July 1993.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Groups

Children/youth: No specific mention.
Disabled persons: No specific mention.
Elderly/age: No specific mention.
Migrant workers: No specific mention.
Racial/ethnic/national group: Groups→Racial/ethnic/national group→Rhetorical
Page 1, 2.
The only way to achieve permanent peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina lies in the recognition of the interests of all the three constituent peoples and in the achievement of the agreement on the establishment of three republics within the scope of a confederation.
Religious groups: No specific mention.
Indigenous people: No specific mention.
Other groups: No specific mention.
Refugees/displaced persons: No specific mention.
Social class: No specific mention.

Gender

Women, girls and gender: No specific mention.
Men and boys: No specific mention.
LGBTI: No specific mention.
Family: No specific mention.

State definition

Nature of state (general): No specific mention.
State configuration: Page 1, 2.
The only way to achieve permanent peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina lies in the recognition of the interests of all the three constituent peoples and in the achievement of the agreement on the establishment of three republics within the scope of a confederation.
Self determination: No specific mention.
Referendum: No specific mention.
State symbols: No specific mention.
Independence/secession: Page 1, 1.
All speculations about a partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina between Croatia and Serbia are entirely unfounded.
Accession/unification: No specific mention.
Border delimitation: No specific mention.
Cross-border provision: No specific mention.

Governance

Political institutions (new or reformed): No specific mention.
Elections: No specific mention.
Electoral commission: No specific mention.
Political parties reform: No specific mention.
Civil society: No specific mention.
Traditional/religious leaders: No specific mention.
Public administration: No specific mention.
Constitution: No specific mention.

Power sharing

Political power sharing: No specific mention.
Territorial power sharing: No specific mention.
Economic power sharing: No specific mention.
Military power sharing: No specific mention.

Human rights and equality

Human rights/RoL general: No specific mention.
Bill of rights/similar: No specific mention.
Treaty incorporation: No specific mention.
Civil and political rights: No specific mention.
Socio-economic rights: No specific mention.

Rights related issues

Citizenship: No specific mention.
Democracy: No specific mention.
Detention procedures: No specific mention.
Media and communication: No specific mention.
Mobility/access: No specific mention.
Protection measures: No specific mention.
Other: No specific mention.

Rights institutions

NHRI: No specific mention.
Regional or international human rights institutions: No specific mention.

Justice sector reform

Criminal justice and emergency law: No specific mention.
State of emergency provisions: No specific mention.
Judiciary and courts: No specific mention.
Prisons and detention: No specific mention.
Traditional Laws: No specific mention.

Socio-economic reconstruction

Development or socio-economic reconstruction: No specific mention.
National economic plan: No specific mention.
Natural resources: No specific mention.
International funds: No specific mention.
Business: No specific mention.
Taxation: No specific mention.
Banks: No specific mention.

Land, property and environment

Land reform/rights: No specific mention.
Pastoralist/nomadism rights: No specific mention.
Cultural heritage: No specific mention.
Environment: No specific mention.
Water or riparian rights or access: No specific mention.

Security sector

Security Guarantees: No specific mention.
Ceasefire: Security sector→Ceasefire→General commitments
Page 1, 3.
In expressing their satisfaction with the solution of the problem of Maslenica Bridge, Zemunik and Peruca, the Presidents welcome the achieved agreement on the cessation of hostilities and express they believe that each individual or group responsible for the violation of the agreement should bear full responsibility.
Police: No specific mention.
Armed forces: No specific mention.
DDR: No specific mention.
Intelligence services: No specific mention.
Parastatal/rebel and opposition group forces: No specific mention.
Withdrawal of foreign forces: No specific mention.
Corruption: No specific mention.
Crime/organised crime: No specific mention.
Drugs: No specific mention.
Terrorism: No specific mention.

Transitional justice

Transitional justice general: No specific mention.
Amnesty/pardon: No specific mention.
Courts: No specific mention.
Mechanism: No specific mention.
Prisoner release: No specific mention.
Vetting: No specific mention.
Victims: No specific mention.
Missing persons: No specific mention.
Reparations: No specific mention.
Reconciliation: No specific mention.

Implementation

UN signatory: No specific mention.
Other international signatory: No specific mention.
Referendum for agreement: No specific mention.
International mission/force/similar: No specific mention.
Enforcement mechanism: No specific mention.
Related cases: No specific mention.
Source: B.G. Ramcharan (ed.) The International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia: Vol 2 : Official Papers (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 1997), p. 1345

STATEMENT OF 17 JULY BY DR.

FRANJO TUDJMAN AND SLOBODAN MILOSEVIC

The president of the Republic of Croatia, Dr. Franjo Tudjman and the President of the Republic of Serbia Slobodan Milosevic hereby issue, after the meeting held under the auspices of the Co-Chairmen on the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia Thorvald Stoltenberg and Lord Owen, the following

Statement

1. All speculations about a partition of Bosnia and Herzegovina between Croatia and Serbia are entirely unfounded.

2. The only way to achieve permanent peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina lies in the recognition of the interests of all the three constituent peoples and in the achievement of the agreement on the establishment of three republics within the scope of a confederation.

3. In expressing their satisfaction with the solution of the problem of Maslenica Bridge, Zemunik and Peruca, the Presidents welcome the achieved agreement on the cessation of hostilities and express they believe that each individual or group responsible for the violation of the agreement should bear full responsibility.

The presidents point out the significance of the achieved agreement as a model for the solution of disputes by peaceful means, and consider it an important step towards the normalization of Croato-Serbian relations as a whole.