US House of Representatives passes bill on sanctions and support for BiH stability

(Patria) - The US House of Representatives has passed a bill titled "Maintaining the Dayton Peace Agreement Through Sanctions," aimed at deterring destabilizing activities in BiH, writes Voice of America (VOA).

For the bill to become law, it must also pass the Senate and then be signed by US President Joe Biden.

- The Dayton Agreement is a symbol of American leadership and commitment. If we allow it to collapse, then we risk violence returning to Bosnia.

Enemies like Russia or China would welcome such upheavals and strengthen their economic and security foothold - stated Republican Representative Ann Wagner, who represents a district in Missouri with tens of thousands of people of BiH origin, after the adoption.

Wagner, who proposed the bill, expressed hope that the Senate would also react quickly, adding that the bill "will introduce and codify sanctions against bad actors like Milorad Dodik in Bosnia who continue their agenda of secessionism, corruption, and destabilization".

The bill also provides for sanctions against individuals from abroad who undermine the Dayton Agreement or otherwise threaten the stability of BiH.

Along with Wagner, the bill's sponsors include Democrats Susan Wild (Pennsylvania) and William Keating (Massachusetts), and Republicans Thomas Kean (New Jersey), Michael Turner (Ohio), Michael Lawrel (New York), and Brett Guthrie (Kentucky).

When the draft bill was introduced in July 2023, Turner, who was the mayor of Dayton at the time of the BiH peace negotiations, stated that it shows the US commitment to promoting security and preventing violence.

- By holding accountable those who undermine peace agreements, we send a strong message that the international community will not tolerate actions that prolong conflict and human suffering - added Turner.

A similar bill, also proposed by Wagner, was passed by the House of Representatives in September 2022, during the term of the previous Congress, but was not confirmed by the Senate.

Sanctions are a tool that the US increasingly uses against individuals from BiH who undermine the country's stability and the Dayton Peace Agreement.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned three officials of Republika Srpska on March 13, citing as justification that they undermined peace and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Branislav Okuka, Srebrenka Golić, and Jelena Pajić Baštinac.

The justification stated that they assisted Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik in undermining the Dayton Peace Agreement, as well as the authority of the Constitutional Court of BiH and the High Representative.

In June 2021, Biden expanded sanctions authority to the Western Balkans, and the first to be sanctioned was Dodik himself, whom the Treasury Department had already sanctioned in 2017.

In the meantime, his children - Gorica and Igor - as well as other high-ranking officials of Republika Srpska, such as Nenad Stevandić, President of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska, and Radovan Višković, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, have also been sanctioned.