Atrocity Crime Responses in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Navigating Tensions in Multifaceted Approaches

Abstract

The post-conflict landscape of Bosnia and Herzegovina remains deeply fragmented, characterized by the interplay of international and domestic responses to atrocity crimes committed during the 1992–1995 war. The Dayton Peace Agreement established frameworks to address these atrocities but also entrenched ethnic divisions. Bosnia and Herzegovina’s judicial measures, led by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and domestic courts, aimed to establish accountability but faced significant challenges, including political polarization. Civil society organizations and cultural initiatives have played important roles, yet their efforts are often hindered with, for example, the continuity of ethnic grievances. Drawing on the EU cost Action ca18228 Scoping Survey on states’ interactions with international criminal justice, this paper explores how different actors in BiH navigated the responses to atrocity crimes and assesses what has been fulfilled or left unfulfilled.