On 29 and 30 September, 36 prosecutors and inspectors from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, and Montenegro gathered for a regional round table on Human Rights and Environmental Protection: Prosecutorial Responsibilities in Criminal Law. The event created a dynamic platform for exchanging experiences, practical cases, and strategies to ensure that environmental protection and human rights go hand in hand.

In this opening remarks, Mr Milorad Marković, the Supreme State Prosecutor of Montenegro, stated that ” …It is necessary to clearly recognise that environmental crime must not be marginalised or treated as a secondary threat. On the contrary, it is highly harmful and must be given a place at the very top of our judicial and institutional priorities. It is especially important to develop stronger legal instruments and investigative tools in order to uncover complex criminal schemes and ensure that the perpetrators are adequately sanctioned.”

Ms Lilja Gretarsdottir, Head of the Department for the Implementation of Human Rights, Justice and Legal Co-operation Standards, Council of Europe, underlined that “environmental cases are often technically complex and complicated... Many also have cross-border elements…This makes interregional cooperation indispensable, and the Council of Europe is committed to supporting peer-to-peer exchanges, regional networking, and knowledge sharing».”

Discussions highlighted the importance of reinforcing regional networks, as cross-border cooperation is vital in addressing crimes that do not stop at national boundaries. Participants emphasised the need for continuous capacity building, closer cooperation with experts and agencies, and legislative alignment to strengthen the fight against environmental crime.

The roundtable was organised in the framework of the regional Project on Human Rights and Sustainable Environment in South-East Europe, funded by the Human Rights Trust Fund, with the support of the Action "Strengthening human rights protection in Serbia"  which is  part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye.

* This designation is without prejudice to position on status, and is in line with the UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.