LocationsRound table organized by the Eco-justice project.
Strengthening the rule of environmental law for sustainable development of BiH
May 3, 2023
Round table entitled "Criminal protection of the environment: Where is BiH on the way to harmonization with EU law and practice?" was held today in Sarajevo within the framework of the United Nations Development Program in BiH (UNDP BiH) project "Strengthening the environmental rule of law in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Eco-justice" financed by the Government of the Netherlands and the UNDP Global Program for Strengthening the Rule of Law, Human Rights , justice and security for sustainable peace and development.
The event brought together official from state institutions that are relevant for improving access to environmental justice and promoting human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including representatives of ministries of justice, training centers for judges and prosecutors, professors of environmental law, environmental lawyers from civil society organizations, judges and prosecutors.
"In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the law on the environment is slowly but surely gaining force. There is no doubt that environmental human rights will increasingly be the focus of human rights reviews in the future. But this will require institutional readiness and systematic monitoring, reporting and processing of human rights violations in the field of the environment. Humanity is facing a triple planetary crisis of climate change, loss biodiversity and ecosystems and pollution. Threats to the environment continue to intensify, which represents a major global challenge."Raduška Cupać, Energy and Environment Sector Leader in UNDP BiH
With the candidate status for European Union membership granted to BiH in December 2022, the first imperative in this area is the harmonization of its legislation with the EU acquis.
"Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a country that has candidate status for membership in the European Union, is obliged to harmonize its regulations with the acquis of the EU, which represents a very significant obligation for all its institutions. The analysis of the compliance of the criminal legislation of BiH with the innovative EU Directive on criminal-legal environmental protection is an important contribution to the understanding of the necessary steps regarding the harmonization of the regulatory framework."Mirza Hujić, Assistant Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations
