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Bosnia
and Herzegovina Project
Page Contents
Project Description
The
Balkan Action Council
Congressional
Testimony
Op-Eds
Articles, Monographs and Field
Reports
Books
Media Appearances
Project
Team
Advisory
Council
Project Description
Since
1995 the Public International Law & Policy Group has provided
legal
assistance to the government of Bosnia-Herzegovina in an effort first
to help bring an end to the genocidal conflict, and then to promote the
creation of an effective form of government.
Dayton Peace Negotiations. Paul
Williams, Executive Director of PILPG, served as a Legal Adviser on the
Bosnian delegation to the Dayton Peace negotiations.
Post-Dayton Legal Assistance. PILPG
assisted the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina on matters of state
succession related to the Brussels Conference on State Succession.
PILPG also provided legal and political counsel to the Government of
Bosnia and Herzegovina on matters relating to the arbitration of the
municipality of Brcko.
Post-Dayton
Constitution. On
November 21, 2005, Bosnia's political
leaders signed
a statement committing to adopt reforms to the Dayton
Constitution. The Public International Law & Policy
Group
assisted the Bosnian government with a review of the current
constitution and with the preparation of amendments that will increase
the efficiency and effectiveness of the central government. PILPG
supplied the core legal documents and drafting model amendments for
Bosnia and Herzegovina's negotiating group. PILPG
also cooperated with several law
firms to prepare a variety of memoranda that
provided comparative legal research to support reforms. In these
efforts, PILPG worked with mediators Ambassador Donald Hays and
Professor R. Bruce Hitchner.
Independent Commission on the United Nations
Protection Force (UNPROFOR). Two
members of PILPG served on the UK-based Independent Commission on
UNPROFOR, which evaluated the overall effectiveness of the UNPROFOR
deployment and made recommendations for improving its ability to
accomplish its mandate.
UN General Assembly Resolution. Together
with diplomatic representatives of Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey,
and Venezuela, PILPG assisted in the drafting of a UN General Assembly
resolution declaring that the UN arms embargo may not legitimately be
applied to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Brcko Arbitration. PILPG
provided legal and political assistance to the Government of Bosnia and
Herzegovina on matters relating to the arbitration of the municipality
of Brcko.
State Succession. PILPG
assisted the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina on matters of state
succession related to the Brussels Conference on State Succession.
Asylum. Members
of PILPG provided expert testimony concerning the political asylum
applications of refugees from the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
Assistance in Prosecuting War Criminals. In
cooperation with the International Bar Association and the
International Legal Assistance consortium, PILPG provided legal
assistance and training to Serbian officials involved in the domestic
prosecution of suspected war criminals.
Policy Planning. PILPG
participated in a series of policy-planning workshops directed by the
Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina to develop a post-Dayton policy
for peace in the Balkans. PILPG also participated in a number of
conferences in Stockholm, Sarajevo, and Dayton designed to establish a
blueprint for a post-Dayton peace in Bosnia.
The
Balkan Action Council
A
program affiliated with PILPG, the Balkan Action Council implemented an
active educational and advocacy effort on a range of Balkan issues that
initially focused heavily on Dayton implementation. Utilizing an
Executive Committee of former senior U.S. Government officials
including Morton Abramowitz, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Frank Carlucci, Max
Kampelman, Jeane Kirkpatrick, Helmut Sonnenfeldt, and Paul Wolfowitz,
the Council developed policy alternatives and communicated them to
officials and the media.
The
Council also worked closely with members of the then-Serbian democratic
opposition to encourage broader-based cooperation within Serbia and
U.S. government funding for democratization efforts via the National
Endowment for Democracy. The Council helped organize visits to
Washington by democratic opposition leaders. In a related effort, the
Council provided strong support for measures to uphold the security of
Montenegro, which broke with FRY President Slobodan Milosevic and
served as a crucial base of operations for the Serbian democratic
opposition and media.
The
Balkan Action Council prepared a report outlining the electoral
obstacles to attaining self-sustaining peace in Bosnia and recommended
specific reforms to improve the multiethnic and democratic aspects of
the electoral process. PILPG promoted this report during two trips to
Bosnia and during discussions with U.S. decision-makers. It was also
widely disseminated to congressional staff members, foreign government
representatives, the media, and others.
Congressional
Testimony
Op-eds
Articles,
Monographs and Field Reports
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A Prima Facie Case for the
Indictment of Slobodan Milosevic,
published by the Bosnia Institute and reprinted in the United Kingdom,
United States, Germany and Bosnia (April 1996).
Books
Media
Appearances
Members
of PILPG have been interviewed about the peace process and
post-conflict reconstruction more than 200 times. Outlets include the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, BBC, Boston Globe,
CBS News, Christian Science Monitor, CNN, Court TV,
Fox News, MSNBC, National Public Radio, NBC News, PBS NewsHour
with Jim Lehrer, USA Today, Voice of
America, and the Washington Post, among others.
Pictures from the field
Project
Team
Julia Rieper ,
Senior Research Associate
Ryan Vogel,
Senior Research Associate
Lauren Baillie, Research Associate
Nathan Borgford-Parnell, Research Associate
Craig Saperstein, Research Associate
Scott Simpson, Research Associate
Advisory
Council
Christ
Goebel
Liz Matthew (former Project
Director)
Melissa Mandour
Bridget Mazour
James Newton
Annemarie Brennan
Meghan Stewart (former Project
Director)
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