IV 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 746 
Expressing support for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina as they seek 
to hold government officials accountable, prepare for elections at the 
state, entity, and cantonal level, and consider constitutional or other 
reforms to enhance the country’s prospects for European and Euro- 
Atlantic integration. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. KEATING) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina 
as they seek to hold government officials accountable, 
prepare for elections at the state, entity, and cantonal 
level, and consider constitutional or other reforms to 
enhance the country’s prospects for European and Euro- 
Atlantic integration. 
Whereas a brutal conflict marked by more than three years 
of aggression and ethnic cleansing, including the commis-
sion of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and geno-
cide as well as the use of sexual violence, especially rape, 
as a tool of war, was brought to an end by the decisive 
actions eventually undertaken by the international com-
munity with the strong leadership by the United States, 
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•HRES 746 IH 
culminating in the General Framework Agreement for 
Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (commonly referred to 
as the ‘‘Dayton Peace Accords’’), which was agreed to at 
Wright Patterson Air Force base in Dayton, Ohio, on 
November 21, 1995, and signed in Paris on December 
14, 1995; 
Whereas considerable progress on post-conflict recovery was 
achieved by Bosnia and Herzegovina in partnership with 
an actively engaged international community during the 
first decade of the implementation of the Dayton Peace 
Accords, generating efforts to move beyond the Accord’s 
compromises that were originally intended to restore 
peace more quickly and preserve and protect human life, 
but have been considered in a more stable and secure en-
vironment to be a hindrance to the development of more 
democratic, efficient and effective political institutions, 
particularly at the state level, during a time when the 
prospects for European and Euro-Atlantic integration 
make the existence of such institutions necessary; 
Whereas the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission has con-
cluded that the current constitutional arrangements of 
Bosnia and Herzegovina are neither efficient nor rational 
and need to be reformed to make state-level institutions 
more effective and democratic if the country is to move 
forward, and the European Court for Human Rights has 
found certain provisions of the constitution of Bosnia and 
Herzegovina to be in breach of the European Convention 
on Human Rights because they establish ethnic criteria 
for certain elected positions that are discriminatory; 
Whereas the failure to reach consensus on constitutional re-
forms in the second decade of the implementation of the 
Dayton Peace Accords has led to a deterioration of the 
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•HRES 746 IH 
political atmosphere in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which 
has been marred by divisive rhetoric, unwillingness to 
work constructively with representatives of the inter-
national community, threats to the sovereignty, legal con-
tinuity, unity, and territorial integrity of the country and 
pervasive official corruption; 
Whereas citizens in various municipalities of Bosnia and 
Herzegovina reacted to their severely worsening socio-
economic conditions in 2014 with public protest and the 
formulation of demands for the accountability of govern-
ment officials, an end to rampant corruption and numer-
ous other actions to address their grievances, particularly 
at the local level; 
Whereas elections at the state, entity, and cantonal level are 
scheduled to be held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Octo-
ber 12, 2014; 
Whereas the European Union (EU) has expressed its full and 
firm support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU perspec-
tive, considers the country to be a potential candidate 
country for membership, but views it at a standstill in 
the European integration process while other countries in 
the region are moving ahead; 
Whereas the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is 
committed to open membership to any European country 
in a position to undertake the commitments and obliga-
tions of membership and contribute to security in the 
Euro-Atlantic area, including Bosnia and Herzegovina 
once it has achieved the necessary progress in its reform 
efforts; 
Whereas the international community retains the robust pow-
ers given to it by the Dayton Peace Accords, but has de-
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•HRES 746 IH 
clined in recent years to use those powers adequately to 
address the deterioration of the political atmosphere in 
Bosnia and Herzegovina and the resulting stagnation in 
the country’s progress toward integration; and 
Whereas it is in the national interest of the United States to 
ensure that the sovereignty, legal continuity, unity, and 
territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina within its 
internationally recognized borders, are respected and that 
Bosnia and Herzegovina make progress in achieving its 
aspirations for Euro-Atlantic and European integration 
through genuine reform efforts: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) reaffirms its continuing strong support for 
the sovereignty, legal continuity, unity, and terri-
torial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina within its 
internationally recognized borders; 
(2) affirms equally strong support for the peo-
ple of Bosnia and Herzegovina as they seek greater 
democracy, economic prosperity, and successful inte-
gration in European and Euro-Atlantic institutions; 
(3) expresses profound dissatisfaction with the 
inability of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s political lead-
ers to achieve agreement on reforms necessary for 
progress in these areas; 
(4) deplores the divisive rhetoric and abuse of 
legal protections that have become part of Bosnia 
and Herzegovina’s political discourse, including the 
wrongful denial or mischaracterization of crimes and 
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genocide associated with the conflict between 1992 
and 1995, the excessive and unwarranted reliance on 
veto powers to block decisionmaking at the state- 
level even when such decisions do not present any 
reasonable threat to the ‘‘vital interests’’ of con-
stituent peoples, and the general fomenting of dis-
trust, division, and fear among citizens based on the 
country’s ethnic and religious diversity; 
(5) views the October 12, 2014, elections at the 
state, entity, and cantonal level as an opportunity 
for voters to address Bosnia and Herzegovina’s cur-
rent political stagnation and associated problems as 
well as to express support for reform and for Euro-
pean and Euro-Atlantic integration; 
(6) calls upon the relevant authorities of Bosnia 
and Herzegovina to ensure these elections are con-
ducted in a free and fair manner; 
(7) encourages the growth of peaceful, civic ac-
tivism to hold public officials accountable and to en-
gage citizens in the political life of the country, in-
cluding in the election process and any new initia-
tives to achieve structural or constitutional reform, 
in order to achieve increased public trust in the po-
litical process, broader consensus on the reforms to 
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