Authorities in Bosnia’s Serb-majority region must ensure adherence to the rule of law and transparency in their work and their activities must be fully in line with the Constitution, the EU Delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina said regarding the region’s decision to declare a state of emergency.
“The EU also reminds that measures taken by any level of government in BiH have to comply with the highest international human rights standards. They have to be lawful, necessary, proportionate, and, in this case, temporary,” the EU Delegation/Special Representative sent in a statement to N1.
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Republika Srpska (RS), one of the two semi-autonomous entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, has declared a state of emergency on Saturday in an effort to make the decision-making process faster and easier.
RS President, Zeljka Cvijanovic, said that the decision was made because all other options were exhausted.
“We need to change the laws responsibly, to allow us to intervene and adopt measures that will help the economy, in order to create space for relief for the business sector,” Cvijanovic said.
“I hope this will be temporary, a few weeks or a few months, we all want to get out of this and live normally. We had to intervene. We are determined to take action and protect the economy,” she added.
The EU Delegation said it is monitoring the developments closely and that it expects from RS authorities “to ensure adherence to the rule of law and transparency in their work, whilst fully respecting the constitutions of BiH and the RS.”
“We reiterate our support to all levels of authority in BiH in measures undertaken to stem the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and protect public health and the well-being of citizens. It is of the utmost importance for all levels of authority in BiH to continue cooperating and coordinating in the fight against COVID-19, in particular through the state-level coordination body. Joint and coordinated actions aimed at minimising the socio-economic impact of the pandemic are essential,” the EU Delegation said.
