Numerous representatives of BiH civil society, media, experts and the international community called on the RS authorities to withdraw the draft legislation on ‘foreign agents’ at the “Civil Society and the Media: Critical Voices Under Pressure” conference held in Dom omladine in Banja Luka on 22 September 2023. The conference was organised by the EU Office in BiH with the OSCE Mission to BiH and Transparency International in BiH.

The Head of EU Delegation/EU Special Representative in BiH, Ambassador Johann Sattler recalled that the European Commission’s recent Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina identified the recent criminalisation of defamation, as well as the draft ‘foreign agents’ legislation as major backward steps for the EU path of the country.

He added, “Democracies do not place obstacles in the way of legitimate critical voices. Critical voices and diverse viewpoints are essential not only for the health of a democracy, but also the health of society, aiding for example the fight against corruption and the fight against intolerance. The draft legislation on ‘foreign agents’ would take Republika Srpska closer to standards in authoritarian regimes than to those in the European Union. The draft legislation on foreign agents is a step back for fundamental freedoms as well as the EU path and should therefore be withdrawn”, said Ambassador Sattler. 

The Head of the OSCE Mission to BiH, Brian Aggeler, recalled that the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) together with the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission, produced a detailed opinion on the RS 'foreign agents’ law which stated that the RS authorities must reconsider the adoption of this law since it seriously violates BiH’s human rights obligations and commitments regarding freedom of association and expression.

“We are deeply disappointed that the RS authorities chose to disregard this opinion, as well as the opinions of several other international human rights mechanisms, including three UN Special Rapporteurs, and instead proceed with the adoption of this harmful and regressive piece of legislation,” Aggeler added. 

Many civil society organisations and activists participated in the conference and shared their views against the proposed legislation as well as the overall atmosphere or shrinking space for critical voices which was particularly created in Republika Srpska in recent months.

"Now we have the labelling of civil society organisations as foreign agents, limiting the work of non-governmental organisations monitoring and criticising the work of institutions and authorities, while on the other hand, non-profit media, which are also citizens' associations, are under pressure. We see all this as a strategic approach by the government to stifle freedom of expression and to send a message that only the way of thinking and acting promoted by the members of the ruling coalition in RS can and should be present in the public," said Ivana Korajlić, Executive Director of Transparency International in BiH.

The conference also heard from civil society activists from Georgia – a country where public pressure recently forced the government to abandon plans to introduce similar legislation.