Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders on her visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina (10-20 June 2025)
From 10 to 20 June 2025, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders – at the time Mary Lawlor – conducted an official visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina to assess the situation of human rights defenders in the context of the State’s obligations under international human rights law, including identifying positive developments and ongoing challenges in relation to the protection of human rights defenders and the environment in which they operate.
Presented to the Human Rights Council in March 2026, the report of the visit recognized that Bosnia and Herzegovina has a vibrant and active civil society, with human rights defenders showing resilience and adaptability in a complex political and legal environment. At the same time, the report highlighted significant challenges faced by human rights defenders, particularly in Republika Srpska where recent legislative initiatives contributed to further shrinking civic space.
The report concludes with recommendations addressed to authorities across the country to strengthen the protection of human rights defenders and foster an environment conducive to the free and safe exercise of their work. In particular, the report recommends that authorities at all levels ensure respect for the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Marking and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; significantly strengthen the network of contact points for the safety of journalists in prosecutors’ offices and ministries of the interior, and take steps to create focal points for civil society organizations working on human rights within the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina and all other relevant ministries; and legislate and take awareness-raising measures to prevent the misuse of criminal and civil law through strategic lawsuits against the public participation of human rights defenders, including journalists. The report additionally addressed recommendations to the Republika Srpska, including to repeal amendments to the Criminal Code that recriminalize defamation and concerning gender identity, and to ensure an impartial and effective investigation into the attacks on defenders of LGBTI+ rights in Banja Luka in March 2023; to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to consider advancing the draft law on civil initiatives and the protection of citizens and activists; and to the cantonal authorities to ensure compliance of cantonal-level laws with international human rights standards and to ensure that the costs of security measures do not fall on the organizers of public assemblies. The report also recommends that the Institution of the Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina prepare a special report on the situation of human rights defenders, include sections on human rights defenders in other relevant thematic reports, collect and publish disaggregated statistics on complaints received from human rights defenders, and attend court proceedings in cases concerning human rights defenders.
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