On June 6, 2022, The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for threatening the stability of Western Balkan region by undermining the Dayton Peace Accords. The Dayton Peace Accords, also known as the 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace in BiH, is the basis for BIH’s structure of government and includes the country’s current constitution. The Dayton Peace Accords also established the BiH as two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and the Republika Srpska (RS). OFAC designated FBiH President Marinko Cavara and RS Minister of Health and Social Welfare Alen Seranic pursuant to Executive Order 14033 for deviating from the established policies and procedures established in the Dayton Peace Accords which has had a destabilizing effect on the BiH government.
OFAC reports that Cavara has refused, since 2019, to nominate judges from a list of candidates provided by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council to fill vacancies on the Court, thereby blocking the functionality and constitutional operation of the FBiH. OFAC has designated Seranic for furthering RS secession efforts by attempting to disrupt the authority of a the state-level Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices which was established to serve and oversee both the RS and FBiH. According to OFAC, Seranic is attempting to establish a new medicines agency solely within the RS that mirrors the functions of the state-level agency but transfers authority from the state-level agency to a regulatory authority within the RS – an act that obstructs or threatens the implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords.
As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of these designees within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated persons. US persons may face civil or criminal penalties for violating EO 14033.
Department of Treasury Press Release