Jurist Lawmakers in Bosnia’s Republika Srpska pass ‘foreign agent’ law, drawing condemnation from EU

[Dadparvar]

The EU expressed concern on Thursday over a decision by lawmakers in Bosnia’s autonomous Republika Srpska to pass a draft law that labels non-governmental organizations (NGOs) supported by foreign funding as “foreign agents.” Under the the Special Registry and Publicity of the Work of Non-Profit Organizations draft law, these NGOs will now be required to inscribe onto a special register, despite criticism from domestic opposition, civic organizations and Western diplomats.

In a statement, the EU said:

The final adoption of the Law would directly contradict the repeated commitments of the Republika Srpska leadership to advance Bosnia and Herzegovina’s European integration, and specifically key priority 11 on civil society and key priority 12 on freedom of expression and of the media.

The EU’s lead spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, Peter Stano, also voiced concern on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday. He claimed that the new legislative initiatives in the Republika Srpska—including the draft law—”run counter to the EU path” and “contradicts commitments” made by the autonomous region to the EU.

President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik first announced the law in early March. It is just one in a series of controversial laws recently introduced and passed in the autonomous region. On June 27, the Republika Srpska National Assembly (RSNA) passed a controversial law to disregard decisions from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitutional court. Proposing this new law, Dodik claimed that the constitutional court violated the Constitution for their decision to delete Article 39 of the court’s rules. This article provided for the postponement of the session when at least one judge elected by the RSNA is not present.

The legislative actions come as a coalition of human rights experts warned earlier this year that the new draft law “contains serious deficiencies.” Specifically, the experts raised concern that the draft law may effectively lead to the ban of NGO activities and presence in the autonomous region altogether. Additionally, the experts said that language contained in the draft law likely runs afoul of protections on the freedom of association and proportionality. As a result, they urged the authorities to “reconsider its adoption entirely.”

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country comprised of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, which mainly contain ethnic Bosniaks and Serbs respectively. Dodik has actively called for the independence of the Republika Srpska.

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