Bosnia & Herzegovina: Bill On Registering NGOs Will Increase Govt Control Over Civil Society Operations, Say UN Experts

GENEVA (7 February 2025) – A draft law aimed at creating a register of non-profit groups receiving foreign funding in one of the entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, will impose severe restrictions on non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and grant disproportionate government control over their operations, independent human rights experts* warned today.

“If adopted in its current form, the draft bill titled ‘Republika Srpska Law on the Special Registry and Publicity of the Work on non-profit organisations’ will deeply affect freedom of association in the country,” the experts said.

“This legislation appears to be aimed at intimidating NGOs and silencing critics,” they warned.

The draft legislation that may be considered in the coming months by the Republika Srpska legislative body aims to regulate associations, foundations and foreign and international NGOs receiving any form of foreign funding or other assistance of foreign origin and designate them as “non-profit organisations” (NPOs).

The experts already expressed serious concerns about the draft law in 2023, and are concerned at the reintroduction of the bill, after it was withdrawn in May 2024.

“We urge the Republika Srpska entity authorities to take into account concerns of all sectors of civil society and refrain from approving this draft legislation,” the experts said. “The legislation would place on civil society organisations restrictions that are inconsistent with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s international human rights obligations and will likely lead to unnecessary impingements on civil society and on the work of human rights defenders.”

According to the experts, the law would limit the independence and autonomy of civil society organisations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, contrary to the right of associations to organise their activities and formulate their programmes without undue government interference as protected by Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The experts also noted a lack of genuine consultation with NGOs in drafting the provisions of the Bill.

“We call for urgent and definitive withdrawal of the draft Republika Srpska Law on the Special Registry and Publicity of the Work on Non-Profit Organisations,” the experts said. “We also urge political leaders to refrain from stigmatising NGOs by calling them pejorative names and designating them as ‘foreign agents.’”

*The experts: Ms. Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; Ms. Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Mr. Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.

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