Conflict settlement and the role of human and minority rights

The overall objective is to understand which strategic decisions with regard to territorial arrangements and the distribution of populations have to be made by the parties involved in the conflict and external mediators.

A special focus will be given to the question which institutional balance of individual human rights and group related minority rights is necessary in order to provide for democratic and legal accountability of political representatives and ethnic accommodation of people, in short for effective state- and nation-building?

In order to find out which strategic decisions and institutional mixes have been found, the conflict settlement agreements adopted in Croatia (1991 and 1995), Bosnia-Herzegovina (1995), Kosovo (1999) and Macedonia (2001) will be analysed. In particular, the current constitutions of the countries of the region will be analysed in order to determine how these constitutions meet the international standards pertaining to human rights and rights of minorities and how they can contribute to the post-conflict reconciliation phase.

Expected results

The analysis of the conflict settlement agreements and the role of the parties incl. the EU in bringing them about will contribute to the understanding of compromises between the different normative and political concepts. In this way, obstacles for the following reconstruction and reconciliation phase will be detected.

3 reports expected from the study in the WP3 are:

•             Reports on Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo and Macedonia
•             EU/CFSP influence on conflict settlements
•             Synthetic report