The Government of the Republic of Srpska held today (4 May 2023) the first extraordinary session which beside the Government Ministers was also attended, at the invitation of the Prime Minister, by the President of the Republic of Srpska Milorad Dodik, Speaker of the National Assembly Nenad Stevandić and the Serb Member of BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović.  

The Government declared Friday, May 5, 2023, to be the Day of Mourning in the Republic of Srpska as a sign of solidarity with the families of those who had been killed in the tragic event in elementary school "Vladislav Ribnikar" in Belgrade.

On that day, the flags at the institutions of the Republic of Srpska will be at half-mast, all cultural events will be canceled and all sports events will be adjusted accordingly. 

The Government considered the Information on the activities undertaken by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Education and Culture related to the subject of the prevention of peer violence.

The Government of Republic of Srpska decided today at the extraordinary session that the Ministry of the Interior shall take additional security measures in schools, which, in addition to school police officers, will mean increased presence of police in schools.

At the same time, the Ministry of Education and Culture had been tasked to hold meetings with principals of primary and secondary schools in order to assess and urgently submit reports on the state of security in each individual school in conjunction with the school boards. 

The Government called upon all local communities to secure that school facilities, in cases where it had not been done, have video surveillance installed and also physical fences as a protective measure. Also, all weapon owners have been invited to take additional security measures related to storing of weapons and ammunition in addition to already prescribed measures prescribed by the Law on Arms and Ammunition.

Also, extraordinary controls of all shooting clubs in Republic of Srpska have been ordered, in order to check whether they comply with the legal restriction that prevent the minors from entering those clubs. If the controls prove otherwise, their work permits will be revoked.

The Government of the Republic of Srpska appealed to all employees in the education system to give their utmost personal contribution to identify potential security risks in educational institutions and in this way, prevent any undesirable and unfortunate events in the future. ​