•HRES 477 IH 
Whereas FBiH’s protracted poor functionality only exacer-
bates the existing predominant separatist tendency in the 
RS, the predominantly Serb entity of BiH, thus threat-
ening the very integrity of the country as a whole; 
Whereas continuous economic decline is a direct consequence 
of the fact that most of BiH’s gross domestic product 
(GDP) is generated from the publicly owned companies, 
which are run at the RS and FBiH entity levels by polit-
ical parties with enduring ethnocentric agendas reflecting 
their particular and non-common interests, preventing 
the further creation of much needed free enterprise busi-
ness development and closely integrated national internal 
markets; 
Whereas the social fabric of BiH is the single most important 
victim of the war and ensuing political conflict, and the 
need for repair, strengthening, and further development 
of civil society is fundamental to the country’s recovery 
and desired development; 
Whereas the Republic of Croatia has clearly demonstrated 
that allegiance to democracy, market economy, rule of 
law, and respect for human and citizen rights is condu-
cive to full integration into the Euro-Atlantic community, 
and the Government of Croatia continues to play an ac-
tive role in contributing to BiH’s political stability, inter-
nal integrity, and international viability; 
Whereas all the other neighbors of BiH share the ambition 
to join the European Union; and 
Whereas the future of BiH is in the European Union and 
NATO: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
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•HRES 477 IH 
(1) reiterates its support for the sovereignty, 
territorial integrity, and legal continuity of BiH 
within its internationally recognized borders, as well 
as the equality of its three constituent peoples and 
others within an integrated multiethnic country; 
(2) welcomes steps taken by the government of 
BiH towards integration into the Euro-Atlantic com-
munity and reiterates its position that this commit-
ment is in the interests of the further stabilization 
of the region of southeastern Europe; 
(3) emphasizes that it is urgent that BiH, as 
well as its internal political entities, all work toward 
the creation of an efficient and effective state able 
to meet its domestic and international obligations 
with effective and functional institutions, and that 
the national government of BiH—as well as the in-
stitutions of the entities—are able to instill nec-
essary reforms in order to fulfill European Union 
and North Atlantic Treaty Organization membership 
requirements; 
(4) reiterates its call that constitutional reform 
in BiH take the Dayton Peace Accords as its basis, 
but advance the principles of political, economic, 
legal, and religious equality and tolerance in order to 
rectify provisions that conflict with the European 
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•HRES 477 IH 
Charter of Human Rights and the ruling of the Eu-
ropean Court of Human Rights, and to rectify the 
conditions to enable economic development and the 
creation of a single economic space, including 
through the fair and effective functioning of public 
companies so as to be consistent with the goal of 
successful EU membership; 
(5) stresses the importance of privatization of 
the publicly owned enterprises through fully trans-
parent international tenders prepared in close co-
operation with the EU and the Office of the High 
Representative (OHR) as a means of avoiding the 
misplacement of political attention and energy to-
ward running companies rather than providing effec-
tive service to the citizens of the country; 
(6) commends the present focus of the United 
States Government in support of stronger civil soci-
ety in BiH, and urges the Department of State to 
further increase endeavors in that regard; 
(7) believes that the Department of State and 
the President must seek to address all these matters 
more emphatically in a manner that provides for a 
just evaluation of the current grievances of the three 
constituent peoples and the Others in the two enti-
ties of the BiH; 
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•HRES 477 IH 
(8) believes that it is of paramount importance 
that the United States Government work closely 
with the EU in conceiving and implementing an ac-
cession process specifically made for BiH, which 
would link in a causal and firmly conditional way the 
internal integration of BiH with its phased integra-
tion into the EU; 
(9) urges that it is substantially beneficial for 
the process of building up the functional capacities 
of BiH to the level of its full ability to enable mem-
bership in NATO and the EU, that the United 
States Government work closely with BiH’s neigh-
boring countries—especially those who are signato-
ries to the Dayton Peace Accords—ensuring consist-
ency along the lines of their own European ambi-
tions so that they actively contribute to BiH’s inter-
nal integration and political and administrative 
functionality conducive to BiH’s successful member-
ship in NATO and the EU; 
(10) reiterates that a fully functional Federa-
tion of BiH entity is essential for the future of BiH 
as a functional and stable state and therefore any 
envisaged reform should take into account protection 
of the constitutional rights of all, including Bosnian 
Croats—demographically smallest of the three Day-
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•HRES 477 IH 
ton Peace Accords recognized constituent peoples in 
BiH—and prevent further weakening of their posi-
tion; 
(11) believes that it is important that the 
United States Government, together with other 
international actors, support countries of the region 
in fulfilling their obligations as agreed through the 
launching of the Sarajevo Process in 2005, re-
affirmed in the 2011 Belgrade Declaration, as well 
as during the Donor Conference held in Sarajevo in 
April 2012, aimed at ending the protracted refugee 
and internal-displacement situation in the region of 
Southeast Europe and finding durable solutions for 
the refugees and internally displaced persons 
through the implementation of the Balkans Regional 
Housing Programme; 
(12) reiterates its call that the United States 
should designate a Presidential Special Envoy to the 
Balkans who should work in partnership with the 
OHR, the EU, NATO, and the political leaders in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as with neighboring 
countries, to facilitate much needed reforms at all 
levels of government and society in BiH; and 
(13) urges the Presidential Special Envoy, not 
later than one year after the date of the adoption of 
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•HRES 477 IH 
this resolution, to submit to the Committees on For-
eign Relations and Appropriations of the Senate and 
the Committees on Foreign Affairs and Appropria-
tions of the House of Representatives a report with 
targeted evaluations and discoveries, including to 
provide proposals on how to address any ongoing 
difficulties outlined above, as well as ways to over-
come any remaining political, economic, legal, or re-
ligious inequalities in BiH. 
Æ 
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