Presented by
Center for Balkan Development/Friends of Bosnia
Boston College
Tufts University/Dayton Peace Accords Project

Keynote Address
Ambassador Donald Hays, Principal Deputy High Representative, Office of the High Representative (OHR), Bosnia
Lessons Learned from the Balkan Conflicts

Saturday-Sunday, October 16-17, 2004
Boston College, Chestnut Hill Campus

Overview
Nine years after the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords, the international community has spent tens of billions of dollars on peacekeeping, war, economic and physical reconstruction, and reconciliation efforts in the former Yugoslavia. Some of these efforts have been successful, some have not.

September 11, 2001 changed the focus of the international community from a decade of conflict in the Balkans to ongoing war, peacekeeping, reconstruction in Afghanistan and Iraq, and recognition that failed states and humanitarian disasters anywhere are a threat to our security.

The international community, with the support and cooperation of local efforts, has achieved remarkable success in creating a secure and prosperous future for millions of people in the region. There have also been notable failures along the way that can serve as important lessons—both for the future of reconstruction in the Balkans and for other post-conflict and nation-building situations worldwide.

It is within this framework that this conference and policy discussion was conceived.

Event Summary
This two-day conference will look back at what the international community has learned from the wars in the Balkans and look forward to viable solutions for reconstruction, reconciliation, and lasting security—both from the perspective of the former Yugoslavia and also as a laboratory for those doing similar work in other parts of the world, specifically Afghanistan and Iraq.