Synopsis of the Dayton Peace Accords

Dayton Peace Accords – A Hands-on Approach to Peace

Thrust into the spotlight in 1995 during 20 intense days of negotiation, the Dayton community could have been content to shine as the city that brought amity to the Balkan region.  But it soon became clear that the signing of the accords was only the beginning of a long and tenuous road to peace, and one cannot be content to leave this fragile hope to the mercy of political rhetoric.  While continuing communication between our nations’ leaders is essential, the Dayton Peace Accords effort illustrated how true peace could only be achieved through extending hands at a grassroots level.  Giving the people of the Balkan’s region the gift of hope, through ongoing interest in their struggles and victories, allowed the people of Dayton to continue to be an integral part of the international peace process.

“But if we are to succeed and make our vision a reality, we must also complete our mission and fully implement the Dayton Accords for peace in Bosnia.

Like the Marshall Plan, Dayton is a call to cooperative action – in this case, to bring together a nation and mend a region shattered by the worst violence in Europe since Hitler’s final days.  And like the earlier initiative, it depends on military and civilians working together, on support from other democracies, and on the willingness of those eligible for assistance to do all they can on their own behalf.”

-Madeline Albright
Secretary of State, United States of America
In an address to the Annual Fleet Week Gala,
May 22, 1997