The Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute submitted objections to the Public Call for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) for membership in the Working Group (WG) for development of the Law on Air Protection, which was published on February 23, 2024 on the web presentation of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue. Bearing in mind the criteria specified within the public call, RERI indicated potentially discriminatory conditions that limit the participation of CSOs in the WG.
Air protection and pollution reduction represent key priorities for the Republic of Serbia, both for government authorities, citizens and other societal stakeholders. Therefore, instead of limiting public participation based on disputed criteria, the Ministry should promote inclusiveness and mobilization of all available social resources and enable the stakeholders’ participation in the process of developing a legal framework that should contribute to solving the air pollution.
RERI calls on the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue and the Ministry of Environmental Protection to carefully revise the criterias and consider republishing the public call with amendments that would take objections into consideration. The goal is to enable the equal participation of all interested CSOs that have relevant experience and expertise to contribute to the process of the development of the Law on Air Protection.
We remind both Ministries that participation in the Working Group is an important mechanism through which CSOs can provide a qualitative contribution to the drafting of the new law. It is essential to open a space for social dialogue and the promotion of a clean, healthy, safe and sustainable environment for all citizens.
You can download the objections below:
Objections Ministry of Human and Minority Rights and Social Dialogue