Post-War Bosnia and Herzegovina

In the late summer of 2025, a 19-year-old Bosnian farmer was killed by a landmine while tending to his goats in a village near Doboj. Such an event may feel out of place in a country whose war ended in the 1990s. However, it serves as a stark reminder that the work of mine clearance is far from over. Beyond this legacy of the war, the broader process of postwar recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) remains unfinished. After the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995, BiH adopted a new political system while entering a long journey of recovery. Within this process, a range of challenges emerged. Among them are the persistence of landmines and the ongoing emigration of young people. Together, they offer insight into how the effects of Dayton continue to shape the country’s postwar society today.

Status of Mine Clearance in BiH

BiH remains one of the most mine-contaminated countries in the world. Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) have killed more than 600 people and injured over 1,700 since 1995. Although the country has received three extensions to its Article 5 obligations under the Ottawa Treaty to clear all anti-personnel mine contamination, progress remains slow. BiH is not on track to meet its current deadline of 1 March 2027. While a range of factors contribute to these delays, questions of governance and coordination have been a recurring concern throughout the country’s mine action program. In the early postwar years, assessments of BiH’s mine action program identified coordination challenges attributed to weak governance and a lack of a coherent national plan. This fragmentation reflects the broader governance pattern established after Dayton.

Decentralization and Division

The National Demining Commission is explicitly structured to mirror the country’s tripartite ethnic division. Officials are selected to formally represent ethnic Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs. On the ground, BiH’s Mine Action Center (BHMAC) is tasked with coordinating clearance efforts. It distributes operations across a decentralized network of about 13 active anti-personnel mine survey and clearance operators. Rather than being financed through a single national budgetary channel, mine action funding is dispersed across state and entity institutions. BHMAC and the Armed Forces are funded at the state level. The Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska fund their respective civil protection administrations: the Federal Administration of Civil Protection (FUCZ) and the Civil Protection Administration of Republika Srpska (RUCZ).

A Declining Workforce

The mine action sector is also facing a mounting workforce challenge as many experienced deminers approach retirement. Former BHMAC director Saša Obradović noted that “the entire staff is changing” as fewer people are interested in being deminers because of low pay. As experienced workers leave the profession, the sector faces the compounding obstacle of recruiting replacements in a country with heightened youth emigration. This additional pressure reflects wider labor and demographic challenges affecting the country as a whole.

Youth in the Workforce

In 2016, BiH had one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world, with 56.3% of young people aged 15 to 24 unemployed, according to the International Labour Organization. While youth unemployment has slowly improved over the past decade in BiH, as of December 2025, the youth unemployment rate stands at a staggering 33.5% compared to the overall unemployment rate of 11.2%. According to the European Commission’s European Education and Culture Executive Agency, young people cite employment barriers and a lack of systemic support as reasons for seeking employment opportunities outside the country. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OSCE) found that in 2023 the majority of youth from BiH emigrated to EU member states that far exceed BiH’s GDP/capita, like Germany, Slovenia, and Austria.

Learned Helpnessness

In an interview with the authors of this article, Tara-Michelle Gliha, program facilitator for the Post-Conflict Research Center in Sarajevo, observed: “After years of hearing the same narratives [of political polarization and war rhetoric] while seeing very little institutional change, some begin to develop a sense of learned helplessness and the feeling that no matter what they do, nothing will improve. When ambition isn’t matched with opportunities or encouragement, leaving begins to feel like the only realistic way to regain agency over one’s own future.”

Youth Intending to Leave

A study conducted by Balkan Diskurs in 2020 found that 38% of young people in BiH intended to leave the country, while only 14% wanted to stay, with the remaining saying they might leave. A study conducted for the United Nations Population Fund found that the largest factor keeping young people in the country is family and friends. In the interview, Gliha goes on to say, “Young people who have a family home, financial support, or relatives they can rely on have much greater freedom to pursue careers in civil society, research, or activism. For someone who has to immediately provide for themselves, the decision to stay becomes much more difficult.”

Roadblock to EU Accession

As the country continues to seek full EU membership, youth departure and landmine clearance remain among the many barriers to EU accession. The persistence of landmines and youth emigration are both products of an unfinished postwar recovery. Gliha says, “For me, landmine clearance isn’t only about fulfilling another EU requirement. It symbolizes completing the unfinished work of peace.” The political and economic conditions that have encouraged many young people to leave have also left institutions, including the mine action sector that operates with a shrinking workforce. Gliha concludes the interview by noting, “While demining alone will not determine EU membership, it reflects the broader capacity of the country to meet international commitments and build a safer future for its citizens.” As seen in neighboring Croatia, EU accession brought new resources and opportunities the country had lacked as a candidate state – an example BiH is keen to follow.