The US Embassy urged the Parliament of Bosnia and Herzegovina to heed the international peace envoy's call to action on criminal code amendments, which would ensure the sanctioning of genocide denial and, in turn, lead to the annulment of the law that was imposed earlier this year.

“We urge the Parliamentary Assembly to heed High Representative (Christian) Schmidt's call to action on criminal code amendments that meet standards for BiH's EU path and on reconciliation,” the embassy said, referring to the letter that Schmidt sent to the MPs, inviting them to amend the legislation banning the genocide denial, while he would annul the law amendments that were previously imposed by his predecessor, former High Representative Valentin Inzko.

The embassy said the United States strongly supports working through BiH institutions to reach agreement on issues affecting BiH citizens.

“Denying genocide and war crimes and glorifying war criminals insults the victims and their families and keeps BiH mired in a divisive past, while acknowledging individual responsibility contributes to mutual trust,” it stressed, adding that establishing an institutionalised process for reconciliation and urgently addressing the lack of transitional justice will help ensure that all victims are granted the respect that they deserve.

We urge the Parliamentary Assembly to heed @OHR_BiH High Representative Schmidt's call to action on criminal code amendments that meet standards for BiH's EU path and on reconciliation.⬇️ pic.twitter.com/BSg3e20zfY

— US Embassy Sarajevo (@USEmbassySJJ) December 9, 2021

“If the new law is adopted, i.e. if it is in line with the international standards, the law that was imposed earlier this year will be annulled,” reads the letter that Schmidt sent to the MPs.

The news comes a day after Schmidt told the media he would invite the Parliament to adopt a law that would treat and sanction the denial of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and glorifying of war criminals, “because this is in the context of the European Union's standards, international standards and those standards must be obeyed.”