WASHINGTON-Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement marking the 20th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords.
“I’ve visited Bosnia a number of times in the last 20 years. I’ve seen a society that has pulled itself out of the depths of a brutal war, begun to establish democracy, and taken the first steps toward integration into a Europe whole and free. There is no doubt that the peace that flowed from the Dayton Accords set the stage for that progress. But the absence of war-even the presence of peace-is not the same as the progress and prosperity of a country. A peace treaty is not a charter for freedom, justice, and democracy. So, while acknowledging what it accomplished, it’s time be clear-eyed about Dayton, take a hard look at what comes next, and set a course toward a brighter future."
Earlier this month, Rep. Engel delivered a keynote address at a conference at the American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina addressing the country’s path forward 20 years after the Dayton Accords.
