Sunčica Kovačević
Sunčica Kovačević is a woman environmental rights defender who is part of an informal civil initiative “Stop building small hydro-power plants on Kasindolska river”. This initiative has been speaking out against the damaging human rights and environmental impacts linked to the construction of hydro-power plants and showcasing the risks through demonstrations, legal actions, press conferences and photo exhibitions. The civil initiative gained more than 2,000 signatures against the construction of the hydro-power plants and support from the mayors of all three affected municipalities objecting to the construction of small hydro-power plants on the Kasindolska river.
Human rights defenders and journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina face threats and harassment from local authorities and hostility from the general public. Judicial harassment, trumped up charges, smear campaigns followed by anonymous online threats, hate speech and threatening phone calls are often used by the authorities and non-state actors to intimidate human rights defenders and to undermine their peaceful and legitimate work. Human rights defenders are often presented by media as “foreign agents”, promoters of “illegal immigration” and at odds with traditional values.
