Bosnian Serb Officials Face US Sanctions for Undermining Peace Treaty

The United States has imposed sanctions on four Bosnian Serb officials for passing a law that undermines the country's state institutions. The law, signed into effect on July 7th, allows the Republika Srpska to ignore decisions made by Bosnia and Herzegovina's Constitutional Court.

The US Treasury and State Department have warned that this move could endanger the fragile peace brokered in 1995, after years of brutal war between the region's ethnic groups. The US has denounced the law as a threat to the authority of the Constitutional Court and has sanctioned the four individuals responsible for promoting the legislation.

Similar measures were taken in January against the Republika Srpska's President Milorad Dodik, who sponsored the bill. The Council of Europe has also condemned the law's adoption, reiterating its support for the Constitutional Court. Christian Schmidt, the high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, has ruled to annul the law. The US is joined by the international human rights organization, the Council of Europe, in taking action against the controversial law.