NATO HQ Sarajevo

NHQ Sarajevo provides advice to the Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) authorities on defence aspects of Security Sector Reform (SSR) including co-ordination of potential Partnership for Peace (PfP)-related activities and its integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. It is the legal successor of the NATO Stabilisation Force (SFOR) and recognised as such by UNSCR 1575. The Commander NHQ SA exercises full responsibility for NATO's military support to implementing the Dayton Peace Accords (DPA) General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP).

 

NHQ SA current manning: 38 troops and 50 civilian employees

When Yugoslavia broke up at the end of the cold war conflicts broke out throughout the Balkans. In 1992 NATO foreign ministers committed the Alliance to supporting peacekeeping activities. In July of that year, NATO began monitoring operations in the Adriatic in support of UNSCRs 713 and 757. By October NATO AWACS aircraft were acting under UNSCR 781 to support a ban on unauthorised military flights over BiH. On 28 Feb 1994, in the Alliance's first ever military engagement, NATO shot down 4 warplanes which violated the ban. With the cessation of hostilities and signing of the GFAP, NATO established its first-ever crisis response operation, the Implementation Force (IFOR), which replaced the UN Protection Force (UNPROFOR) and had a mandate to implement the military aspects of the GFAP. IFOR was succeeded by the NATO Stabilisation Force (SFOR). Over the course of the missions, a total of 36 Allied and Partner countries contributed troops. In addition, five nations that were neither NATO members nor Partner countries participated at different times, these being Argentina, Australia, Chile, Malaysia and New Zealand.