International experts urge Canada to block Dodik’s referendum, warn of genocide risk in Bosnia

 

 

 

Dear Prime Minister of Canada,

 

On behalf of the Bosnian diaspora in Canada, many international experts and the Institute for the Research of Genocide Canada, I am writing to bring to your attention the alarming escalation of destabilizing actions by Milorad Dodik in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

 

I and more than fifty distinguished professors, researchers, genocide survivors, journalists, and human rights activists send you an urgent appeal warning that recent actions by Milorad Dodik pose a direct threat to peace and risk a repetition of the atrocities and genocide of the 1990s.

 

We voiced alarm over Dodik’s defiance of the rule of law following his recent conviction and removal from office. The appeal describes his plan to hold a referendum on October 25 in Republika Srpska as a “brazen rejection of the rule of law” that could destabilise the state and the wider region.

Given Canada’s longstanding commitment to peace, democracy, and the rule of law in the Western Balkans, we urge the Government of Canada to take decisive action in response to these developments. In the attached letter, we outline the current situation and propose concrete steps that Canada can take to join its allies and reaffirm its support for Bosnia and Herzegovina’s territorial integrity and democratic institutions.

 

We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to discuss this matter further at your earliest convenience. Please let us know a suitable time for a meeting or any further steps we can take to support Canada’s engagement on this urgent issue.

 

Thank you for your attention and leadership. We look forward to your response.

 

Best regards,

 

Dr. Emir Ramic

Director of the Institute for research of Genocide Canada

 

 

 

October 06, 2025

The Right Honourable Mark Carney, P.C., M.P.

Prime Minister of Canada

80 Wellington Street

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A2

 

Dear Prime Minister:

 

We are sending you an urgent appeal because of our concern about the threat to the peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina which has been caused by the recent actions and statements of Milorad Dodik. The current crisis risks no less than a repetition of the mass atrocities and genocide of the 1990s. 

 

Mr. Dodik is undermining the rule of law by challenging his recentconviction and removal from office by holding a referendum. Following Dodik’s conviction, the Assembly of Republika Srpskafurther escalated the constitutional crisis by passing laws that rejected the authority of the state judicial and prosecutorial institutions within the entity of Republika Srpska. In addition, Mr. Dodik has alluded to at an additional referendum regarding secession and has sought and received pledges of support from the Russian Federation. All of these actions destabilizing the state, as well as the region, are a grave threat to peace and call for immediate action from the Peace Implementation Council.

 

Mr. Dodik’s sentence included a one-year prison sentence and a six-year ban from the office of President. Mr. Dodik paid a fine of approximately 18,660 euros, as a substitute for his one-year prison sentence, as is permitted by Bosnia’s Criminal Code. However,following the termination of his mandate by Central Election Commission, Mr. Dodik has organized a referendum on October 25 in Republika Srpska that will challenge his conviction and removal. The referendum reads: “Do you accept the decisions of the unelected foreigner Christian Schmidt and the rulings of the unconstitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued against the President of Republika Srpska, as well as the decision of the Central Election Commission to strip the President of RepublikaSrpska, Milorad Dodik, of his mandate?” Such a referendum is a brazen rejection of the rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Respect for the rule of law is crucial for preserving constitutionaldemocracy and preventing authoritarianism. Dodik’s referendum sets a dangerous precedent and should not be allowed to take place.

 

Immediately after Mr. Dodik’s conviction in the first instance verdict on February 26, 2025, the Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted laws rejecting all laws and decisions issued by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA). This was an intentionally provocative action aimed at further undermining the constitutional order. This was just one more provocation in a series of efforts to destabilize the state in advance of a referendum on secession.

 

Further, following the second instance verdict on August 1, a judgement that confirmed Mr. Dodik’s sentence and led to the termination of his mandate, the Russian Ambassador in Bosnia issued a statement condemning the verdict along with a thinly veiled threat. Mr. Dodik subsequently met Foreign Minister Lavrov in Moscow on September 9. Minister Lavrov issued a statement condemning Mr. Dodik’s guilty verdict as well asWestern interference in Bosnia. Minister Lavrov reiterated President Putin’s support of Mr. Dodik and Republika Srpska, pledging continued diplomatic and economic relations. It has been President Putin’s official foreign policy to “unify orthodoxy” as he seeks to lend his full support to “brother peoples”.  We are concerned that Mr. Dodik’s current actions would generate incidents that could lead to Putin opening another front in the Balkans.

 

The clear implication is that the Milorad Dodik, Republika Srpska and the Russian Federation are working together to undermine the rule of law and destabilize the Bosnia and Herzegovina as a sovereign state. Further, following a recent meeting with Mr. Dodik in Belgrade, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vu?i? made the ominous declaration that Republika Srpska will “always have Serbia behind them and will be able to count on its support and assistance.” Hence, we send this urgent appeal to the members of PIC to take action to prevent a repetition of the mass atrocities and genocide in Bosnia. The referendum on October 25 should be prevented and the early elections called by the Central Election Committee November 23 to elect a new President in RepublikaSrpska should be supported. All necessary action should be taken to prevent further deterioration of the political situation, including the strategic deployment of EUFOR troops.

 

Thank you for your prompt action.

 

Yours respectfully,

Emir Ramic, Ph.D., Professor, Director of Institute for Research of Genocide, Hamilton, Canada

 

Letter signatories:

 

David Pettigrew, Ph.D., CSU Professor, Southern Connecticut State University;

Satko Mujagi?, LL.M., Former Concentration Camp Prisoner, Human Rights Activist, the Netherlands;

Munira Subaši?, President of the Association of Mothers of the Srebrenica and Žepa Enclaves;

Bakira Hase?i?, Association of Women Victims of War;

Murat Tahirovi?, President of the Association of Genocide Victims and Witnesses;

Samir Vranovi?, President of the Association of Kalinovik Truth, 92’

Safet Alispahi?, Council of the Bosnian Community of New South Wales, Australia; 

Ida Sefer, Bosnian American Genocide Institute;

Adil Kulenovi?, President of KRUG 99-Association of Independent Intellectuals;

Jasna ?auševi?, Society for Threatened Peoples, Germany;

Patrick McCarthy, Working Group for Bosnia and Herzegovina, St. Louis;

Meho Kapo, Architect, MSA, Union of Associations of Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden;

Lejla Pidi?, Bosnian Cultural Center, Finland;

Adem Pobri?, President of the NGO “For Bosnia”, Brussels, Belgium;

Sonja Biserko, President of the Helsinki Committee, Belgrade, Serbia;
Azra Zorni?, Holder of the status of a party before the ECtHR with a final judgment in the case

Zorni? v. BiH, Member of KRUG 99, Retired Sociology Professor;

Adnan Mahmutovi?, Professor, Stockholm University, Sweden;

Dragan Bursa?, Journalist and Writer; 

Bert Bakker, Former Member of the Parliament, the Netherlands;

Chris Keulemans, Journalist and Writer, the Netherlands;

Christophe Buch, Director of Hannah Arendt Institute, Mechelen, Belgium;

Dr. Johan de Boose, Journalist and Writer, University of Ghent, Belgium;

Hariz Halilovich, Professor, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia;

Srdjan Šušnica, Cultural Studies Expert;

Alma Mustafi?, Srebrenica genocide survivor, lecturer and researcher at HU Utrecht, the Netherlands;

Jan Pronk, Former Minister and Member of the Parliament, the Netherlands;
Edin Osman?evi?, freelance debater;

Suzana Kadiri?, Human Rights Activist;

Azra Muranovi?, Member of Swedish Parliament;
Dženan ?išija, Member of Swedish Parliament;
Erna Rijsdijk, Ph.D., research project leader of the Facing Srebrenica Project, University of Amsterdam / Netherlands Defense Academy, Signing in a personal capacity;

Dubravka Stojanovi?, historian, professor at the University of Belgrade, Serbia;

Senad Pe?anin, lawyer, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Senada Šelo Šabi?, scientific advisor, IRMO Zagreb;

Dijana Begovi?, journalist, Biha?, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Esad Durakovi?, Arabist, professor emeritus at the University of Sarajevo, full member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Safet Muši?, Ph.D., security expert, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Kemal Balihodži?, journalist and publicist, Bugojno, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Suad Haznadarevi?, researcher and publicist, Bugojno, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Duhan Sira?, author, President of the Bosnian Academic Society in Vienna, Austria;

Senadin Lavi?, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Hazim Baši?, Ph.D., Professor at the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Emir Medanhodži?, researcher and publicist, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Abdullah Daul, B.Ecc., Professor, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Fuad ?idi?, Diplomat and Publicist, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Fuad Džaka, Ph.D., Security Expert, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Ahmed Kico, Security Expert, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Mulo Hadži?, publicist, Donji Vakuf, Bosnia and Herzegovina;

Emsuda Mujagi?, Women’s Association Through Heart to Peace;

Ružica ?ubela, Lecturer at University of Vienna and at International University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

 

cc.

Peace Implementation Council

Steering Board

Office of the High Representative
Emerika Bluma 1
71000 Sarajevo
Bosnia and Herzegovina

 

Dr. Michael O`Flaherty

Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights
Council of Europe

Strasbourg, France

 

Mr. Volker Türk

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

Geneva, Switzerland