International conference on reconciliation and human rights held in Bosnia

An four-day international conference on conflict resolution, reconciliation and human rights began in Sarajevo.

The meeting offers academics, politicians and activists a chance to discuss theories and experiences in establishing stability in post-conflict countries.

Participants will discuss different ways countries have responded to conflict and tried to reconcile post-conflict grievances, organizers said. Among the cases being evaluated this year were Northern Ireland's peace process and the former Indonesian province of East Timor.

Organizers chose to hold this fourth annual conference in Bosnia because it remains a focus for academic discourse on human rights and post-conflict reconciliation, the UNDP said in a statement.

"The country's complex political structure also raises a range of practical and theoretical questions," the statement said. The peace agreement that ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war left the country divided into a Bosnian Serb ministate and a Bosniak-Croat federation _ each with its own government, army and police.

Previous conferences were held in Australia, England and India.

This year's participants included U.S. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, head of the Society for Threatened People, Tilman Zuelch, political theorist Benjamin Barber and University of Pennsylvania Professor of Political Science Brendan O' Leary.

The event was organized by the Global Reconciliation Network, UNDP mission to Bosnia, and the Globalism Institute of RMIT University from Melbourne, Australia, the AP reports.