A controversial draft law approved by the government of Republika Srpska that would require nonprofit organizations funded from abroad and active in Bosnia-Herzegovina's Serb entity to register and report on their work will require them to submit their "financial flows" to the Justice Ministry of Republika Srpska.
The draft law, approved by the Republika Srpska's executive on March 23, is now being debated by the entity's parliament -- the National Assembly. After a two-month period for public discussion, an adapted version of the law would then return to the National Assembly for approval.
The proposal has been sharply criticized by the United States and the European Union, with American officials calling it "repressive, anti-democratic legislation."
Justice Minister Milos Bukejlovic, however, justified the move, saying in a video message released on March 28 that the goal of the legislation is "to prevent the misuse of nonprofit organizations."
"There are organizations that use these funds through illegal financial flows for social destruction, destabilization, and eventual financing of terrorist organizations," Bukejlovic said.
If adopted, it would then be signed into law by the entity's president, Milorad Dodik, who has been backing the measure.
After approving the draft on March 23, the government issued a statement justifying the move as necessary to plug a hole in the current legislation that does not require the NGOs to exercise financial transparency.
It said this gap in regulation creates a situation that could lead to "the collapse of the legal system and constitutional framework of [Republika Srpska], while harmful consequences are caused for the institutions and organizations of [Republika Srpska]."
Dodik, who has been blacklisted by the United States and Britain in multiple rounds of sanctions over alleged destabilization efforts and corruption, has claimed the draft law is based on the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
A similar foreign agents law in Russia has proved controversial and has been used to disrupt the work of media organizations, including RFE/RL.
Russia also claimed its law was in response to FARA.
U.S. officials have argued that Russia uses its foreign agents law to silence dissent and discourage the free exchange of ideas and have said there is there "no equivalence" between FARA and Russia’s foreign agents law.
"[The law], if implemented, would drastically impinge on the rights and freedoms of the people living in the Republika Srpska. This legislation would benefit only the ruling coalition in its effort to consolidate power. It will hurt everyone else," the U.S. Embassy in Sarajevo said on March 10.
Civil society organizations in Republika Srpska say the proposed foreign agents law has more in common with the Russian law than with the U.S. FARA. They also said is about "establishing supervision and total control over the work of civil society."
The EU delegation in Bosnia has said in a statement that the move is "regrettable, as it further limits the work of civil society organizations, and thus the realization of freedom of association and assembly."
In a statement released on March 27, the delegation also voiced its hope that Republika Srpska authorities will withdraw proposed laws on introducing criminal sanctions for defamation and controlling nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).
As per the electronic register of associations and foundations in Bosnia-Herzegovina, there are currently around 25,600 nongovernmental organizations. More than 7,500 of these are registered in Republika Srpska. However, there is no data on how many of them are funded from abroad.