GREEN SHIELD – 21-23 JUNE 2023 – Safeguarding the Environment in the Western Balkans by the power of law

Within introductory remarks, RERI’s Founder Jovan Rajić highlighted the transformative power of law in the Western Balkans, emphasizing civil society’s role in shaping regulatory framework through challenging wrongful environmental practices before administrative and court authorities.  

Jingjing Zhang, a Chinese lawyer and founder of the Center for Transnational Environmental Accountability, shared her experience in representing communities in the largest class action case in China against a mining company, due to environmental pollution and human rights violations. She presented available legal mechanisms and tools for ensuring that Chinese businesses acting abroad, including their sub-suppliers, as well as institutions that provide financing, are held accountable for their violations of economic, social and cultural rights. 

Highlights:

• In the Western Balkans where there is a „chronic deficiency” of the institutions to enforce the laws, particularly of the judiciary, the role of CSOs acting as protectors of basic human rights and freedoms is increasingly significant.
• The best way to achieve the changes in the environmental and energy policies for all governments of the Western Balkans is a regional approach, the same approach being used by the EU in the context of the integration meaning that all initiatives are toward a region as a whole rather than toward states as individual entities.  

• While China’s lack of binding environmental and human rights laws for outbound investments hampers accountability, international pressure, leveraging UN human rights mechanisms, and strategic legal action in host countries are key to promoting corporate responsibility and fostering legislative change.