Polekol, together with a large number of environmental activists and representatives of local communities from Serbia and the Balkan region, are participating this week in the First European Forum of Human Rights Defenders in the Environmental Field in Strasbourg. We are especially proud of our Sara Tuševljak, a member of the regional alliance Let’s defend the nature of the Balkans, who together with Michael Forst, special rapporteur for environmental defenders within the Aarhus Convention, led the entire forum.
This forum represents the first event of its kind in Europe and is intended as a permanent process of connecting and empowering activists. Its goal is not only the exchange of experiences, but also the creation of specific recommendations for the improvement of legal and institutional protection mechanisms, strengthening cooperation between the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the European Union and national institutions, as well as providing a space in which the voice of environmentalists can be directly included in decision-making processes.
On behalf of Polekol, the executive director Žaklina Živković addressed the participants, who emphasized that the protection of nature is not possible without the protection of the people who fight for it. She particularly highlighted the inspiring examples of solidarity and support that have been built in recent years among environmental organizations and activists across the Balkans, stating that precisely such connections represent one of the greatest forces of environmental protection.
