Society for Threatened Peoples calls on EU to impose sanctions on Dodik and other politicians contributing to the destabilization of BiH

(Patria) - The Society for Threatened Peoples, Department for Bosnia and Herzegovina, issued a statement today regarding the visit of US President Donald Trump Jr. to Banja Luka.

The Society for Threatened Peoples assessed this visit as a politically highly problematic signal and demanded concrete sanctions from the European Union and its member states.

- This visit is not a harmless act of courtesy, but a deliberately staged political event. All those who demonstratively align themselves with politicians like the Serbian nationalist Milorad Dodik legitimize structures that systematically undermine the state order of BiH and politically prepare for the secession of Republika Srpska - stated the director of the Society for Threatened Peoples in BiH, Belma Zulčić.

The Society for Threatened Peoples sees this visit as another attempt by the US administration to strengthen nationalist and anti-democratic actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina through international contacts and to provide them with new political and economic maneuvering space.

"Milorad Dodik's policy has been marked by a systematic secessionist agenda for years: his frequent questioning of BiH state institutions and blocking of key decision-making processes aim to gradually erode the country's constitutional order. Such a policy not only undermines the territorial integrity of the state but also deliberately destabilizes the entire Western Balkans," the Society emphasizes.

They particularly critically assess the role of informal networks around the Dodik family, which bypass the state institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and strengthen clientelist structures.

With particular concern, the Society for Threatened Peoples points to the fact that US sanctions against Milorad Dodik, members of his family, and leading representatives of the SNSD party were lifted as early as the end of October 2025, and notes that this move further accelerated the political affirmation of these networks and strengthened their international operability.

In this context, the Society for Threatened Peoples demands from the European Union:
• targeted sanctions against Milorad Dodik and other political actors who actively contribute to the destabilization of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• a clear political distancing of the European Union and its member states from actors and networks that promote unconstitutional secessionist projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• the implementation of binding transparency standards that ensure the full disclosure of international contacts and economic arrangements of political officials and their networks, especially when they arise outside of institutional procedures;
• strengthening the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina through consistent support and clear conditionality.

- Bosnia and Herzegovina needs reliable international partners who clearly advocate for the rule of law and territorial integrity - otherwise, there is a threat of further erosion of state structures, a permanent blockage of key institutions, and dangerous destabilization of the entire Western Balkans - emphasizes Zulčić.

The Society for Threatened Peoples therefore once again appeals to the European Union to finally shape the developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina proactively and with clear political instruments.