Croatia–Montenegro border
A short land border near Dubrovnik. Its end at the Prevlaka peninsula was disputed after Yugoslavia broke up, and UN military observers watched over it for ten years until an interim deal in 2002.
Written from cited sourcesLast checked 29 September 2026Suggest a correction
See it on the globe:Croatia →Montenegro →
A peninsula under UN watch
After Yugoslavia broke up, Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, of which Montenegro was then part, both claimed the strategically important Prevlaka peninsula. From 20 October 1992 UN military observers monitored its demilitarisation, first under UNPROFOR and then under UNCRO.[1]
From 1 February 1996 the task passed to a separate UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka (UNMOP), with up to 28 observers and liaison teams in Dubrovnik and Herceg Novi. A Croatia–Yugoslavia normalisation agreement of 23 August 1996 provided for a negotiated settlement, but talks started only in 1998 and stopped when NATO began military action against Yugoslavia in March 1999.[1]
An interim deal
After new governments came to power in both countries in 2000, they set up a joint Interstate Diplomatic Commission in December 2001 to settle their border disputes. On 10 December 2002 they signed a protocol on an interim regime along their southern border, setting up a provisional cross-border arrangement on Prevlaka.[1]
The UN Secretary-General said an international monitoring mechanism was no longer needed, and UNMOP ended on 15 December 2002. He noted that settling the dispute itself remained the two countries’ responsibility.[1]
Timeline
199220 October 1992
UN observers arrive
UNPROFOR begins monitoring Prevlaka’s demilitarisation.[1]
19961 February 1996
UNMOP
A separate UN observer mission takes over.[1]
199623 August 1996
Normalisation agreement
Croatia and Yugoslavia agree to negotiate over Prevlaka.[1]
2001December 2001
Diplomatic commission
A joint commission is set up on border disputes.[1]
200210 December 2002
Interim protocol
A provisional regime is agreed for Prevlaka.[1]
200215 December 2002
UN mission ends
UNMOP’s mandate expires.[1]
More borders
Sources
- [1]Prevlaka Peninsula – UNMOP – Background · United Nations (Department of Public Information) · 2002
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.