14th Local Rights of Nature Tribunal
Case of Dundee Precious Metal Gold Mining in Serbia
Located in the mountainous region of eastern Serbia, Homolje is one of Europe’s few remaining wilderness areas and one of the top biodiversity hotspots on the continent. There are more than 140 protected and highly protected species, of which 57 under the Bern Convention alone, including the highly endangered Eurasian lynx and golden eagle. As a part of the Carpathian Mountains, it is renowned for its pristine beauty, abundant wildlife, and crystal-clear waters.
In December 2021, the Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals announced their plans to open a gold mine in Homolje using surface extraction techniques involving potentially cyanide (this option is still being explored) (SaveHomolje).
Violations of the Rights of Nature are on the rise, as well as threats to the local communities, and defenders raising their voices against them. Serbia has been the stage for a grow of the non-mining movements, giving space to large-scale protests and contestation actions.
Mining this region would entail considerable environmental and social impacts. Mining comes with deforestation, pollution of waters and soils, noise turbulence, destruction of natural habitats, and more. Currently this case is being brought in front of the protection mechanisms of the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.
Tribunal Judges
Ute Koczy
Germany
Damien Short
United Kingdom
Francesco Martone
Italy/Ecuador
Case presenter and Earth prosecutor
Zoe Lujic
Presenter of the Case (Earth Thrive and BCPP)
David Fajardo Torres
Earth prosecutor
Experts and Witnesses
Marko Šćiban
Scientific witness
Bachelor of Science, specialising in Ornithology, Biodiversity, Conservation. Endangered Species, Biodiversity Monitoring, Wetlands, Habitat Selection, Field Studies, Distribution
Works as a Field Officer at the Bird protection and study society of Serbia – Serbian chapter of the international BirdLife organisation
His current research interests are ornithology, entomology (Hemiptera and Lepidoptera), Nature protection and functioning of ecosystems.
more info: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marko-Sciban-2
Rade Mosic
Injured party / local witness
I am Rade Mosic, from Laznica, Homolje, eastern Serbia. I am 65yrs old and a pensioner.
I worked and went into pension as a train driver/engineer.
çI was born in Lazica where I still live. The largest part of my property lies on ČOKA RAKITA (the site of the proposed gold mine), where I’ve spent the most part of my life.
I am married and the father of two sons.
Ksenija Kolerovic
Injured party – Nature/Homolje witness
Dr Ksenija Kolerovic is a History teacher and ecological activist. She was born and grew up in a village at the foothills of the Homolje Mountains where her family still lives. Homolje Mountains were the backdrop of her childhood and are an integral part of her identity and sense of home.
Although she lives abroad, she is closely involved with the local ecological NGOs from the area, Cuvari Homolja and Mlavska Vojska. These NGOs promote activities aimed at protecting the Homolje region from destructive mining and other ecocidal projects.
With Earth-Thive and other partners, she is one of the contributors to the Complaint for the possible breach of Bern Convention in the case of mining activities in the Homolje Mountains.
Sue Willman
RoN legal expert
Sue Willman got involved in the UK wild law movement in 2011 after hearing Nimmo Bassey activist and poet of the Nigerian Ogoni people talk about the pollution of the Niger delta saying ‘keep the coal in the hole, keep the oil in the soil. Do you really need a car?.
She is an Assistant Director and Lecturer at the King’s College, Legal Clinic, London where she has launched the UK’s only human rights and environment legal clinic. She has been working with students to protect the environment from a Rights of Nature perspective.
In 2022 they filed a joint Complaint with Earth Thrive UK/Serbia, Eko Krajiste – Serbia and Balkanka – Bulgaria, against Serbia in relation to endangered species affected by mining in the Bosilegrad in eastern Serbia, under the Bern Convention
Sue is a trustee of the London Mining Network, which conducts research and advocacy on the impact of mining on human rights and the environment and sustainable development, working closely with mining-affected communities, especially indigenous people.
Luka Djordjevic
Legal expert
Lawyer Luka S. Đorđević holds a master’s degree in environmental protection law, a law specialist in the field of business compliance and a doctoral student at the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade.
During his undergraduate and master’s studies in law, he was the secretary of the Legal Clinic for Environmental Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Belgrade.
In his doctoral studies, he deals with the connection of human rights and administrative law institutes of law with the element of environmental protection.
After graduating, he did an internship at the office of lawyer Sreten Đorđević, specializing in environmental protection law. Due to the growing need to provide legal support to vulnerable citizens and NGOs, in 2021 he became one of the founders of the Environmental Protection Law Clinic (NGO) dedicated to support in the struggle for the realization of basic human rights, building community capacity and awareness of the imperative to preserve natural values and the environment, as well as the importance of defending the rule of law and establishing the rule of law.
As a lawyer, he represents in strategic litigation, administrative and administrative-judicial proceedings and criminal proceedings with an element of environmental protection and Nature protection. Luka is part of a team of 10 lawyers, legal trainees and consultants, led by lawyer Sreten Đorđević, and continues to build his career in the field of environmental and Nature protection and improvement.
Paola Ortiz Jaramillo
Witness
Defends Kimsacocha, a unique biodiverse ecosystem threatened by mininge was part of the team that elaborated the proposal of consultation for the water of Cuenca and, later, of the oversight for the delimitation of the water recharge zones of the Tarqui, Yanuncay, Tomebamba, Machángara and Norcay rivers. Defends Kimsacocha, a unique biodiverse ecosystem threatened by mining.
Background
Resources and websites
- Mining and environment in the Western Balkans file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Mining%20and%20environment%20in%20the%20Western%20%20Balkans-2009967.pdf
- Bern Convention complaint, second case: https://rm.coe.int/files70-2022-mines-in-bosilegrad-and-homolje-region-serbia-complaint-f/1680aa90b3
- Responses to a joint letter by the Special Rapporteur on human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), the Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders, and the Special Rapporteur on the Implications for Human Rights of the Environmentally Sound Management and Disposal of Hazardous Substances and Waste, regarding the information they received on the alleged arbitrary detention of four environmental activists in the Municipality of Majdanpek https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=37594
- Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27831
- Short article about Homolje as a preview: https://www.morethanbelgrade.com/homolje-mountains/ https://breathtakingserbia.wordpress.com/2016/07/01/the-vinatovaca-rain-forest/
Organized by:
International Rights of Nature Tribunal
The Tribunal is an ethical platform of civil society that acts in a subsidiary manner to States to review cases and judge them through the lens of the rights of Nature. The Tribunal has judges recognized for their impeccable ethical and moral trajectory, which makes their verdicts heard and respected by civil society.
Convening Organizations
Earth Thrive
International organization working on protection, advocacy, and establishment of the Rights of Nature, Law of Ecocide, and Nature restorative justice in the Balkan & Mediterranean bioregions
BCPP
Balkan Centre for the Rights of Nature – BCPP
GARN European Hub
European Hub of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN)
Local Partners
Guardians of Homolje
Mlava’s Army