US sanctions Bosnia and Herzegovina officials for violating peace agreement News
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US sanctions Bosnia and Herzegovina officials for violating peace agreement

The US announced on Monday it sanctioned four officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina for actions it says undermines the Dayton Peace Agreement. This comes after the Republika Srpska National Assembly (RSNA) passed a law saying decisions from Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitutional court were null in the Republika Srpska, one of the two states that makes up Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Office of the High Representative previously called the law “an unacceptable offence against the Dayton Peace Agreement, a serious challenge to the rule of law in the RS, and an assault on the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

The sanctions from the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) apply to one state-level official in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zeljka Cvijanovic, who is the Serb member of the country’s three-person presidency. The sanctions also apply to three officials in Republika Srpska: RSNA Speaker and President Nenad Stevandic, Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic and Minister of Justice Milos Bukejlovic. Any assets they have in the US have been frozen and restrictions have been placed on people doing business with them.

US officials condemned the actions of the four people sanctioned, arguing they contributed to instability in the region and undermined the decades-old Dayton Peace Agreement by supporting separatist and nationalist legislation. Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said the sanctions were implemented in the name of peace and expressed commitment to maintaining the Dayton Peace Agreement:

This action threatens the stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the hard-won peace underpinned by the Dayton Peace Agreement. This behavior further threatens the country’s future trajectory and successful integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions. We will continue to support the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina in their efforts to maintain the rule of law and make sure peace and prosperity prevail.

The Dayton Peace Agreement is a US-brokered accord that followed the Bosnian war, which broke out after the breakup of Yugoslavia and resulted in the death of 100,000 Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks. The agreement established Bosnia and Herzegovina as a multi-ethnic state with institutions in place to prevent further ethnic violence. Tensions still remain, however, with the memory of the war still heavy and accused war criminals still being prosecuted. Recently, tensions have been high as many Bosnian Serb leaders endorse separatist and nationalist movements, leading the UN to suspend certain laws. These latest sanctions follow similar actions by US officials last year against other Bosnian Serb officials.

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