At the initiative of the Union of the Blind of the Republic of Srpska, in July 2017, the ratification process of the Marrakesh Treaty began.
After the general elections in B&H in 2018 the Republic of Srpska government was constituted, but also the government in the cantons, the Federation of B&H and at the level of B&H. Only after the constitution of the newly elected government structures at the end of 2019, were the basic preconditions acquired to start the process of the Marrakesh Treaty ratification and to perform the process of harmonization of laws and bylaws that regulate these issues.
On 12th March 2019 we were informed that the ratification case was in the regular procedure for consideration in the B&H Council of Ministers, followed by a debate in the B&H Parliament, the House of Representatives and the House of Peoples, and finally the B&H Presidency would make a decision on ratification.
At the beginning of September 2020, we received official information from the Institute for Intellectual Property of B&H informing us that both Parliamentary Houses (House of Representatives and House of Peoples) passed the Decision on ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty in July 2020.
We expect that this process will be completed in the current year, and the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty will be officially accepted, which will bring our country into the group of ninety countries that have signed the ratifications of the Marrakesh Treaty. This opens up space for the standardization of books and other content in formats adapted to the specific needs of blind and partially sighted people and others who have difficulty reading common prints. The availability of books and other content without barriers is slowly and surely becoming a reality.
Branko Suzić, President of the Union of the Blind of the Republic of Srpska