NEW ENERGY ROUTES IN SOUTH-EAST EUROPE
AND HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION

In the next decade South East Europe is planned to become a transit region for energy transport routes, which will carry energy-generated products to EU member countries, or to other destinations. There are pending preparations (though in different phases) for a number of these infrastructural energy projects involving two, three or more countries of the region. Many of these are competitive projects and involve similar energy resources and/or markets. This kind of development raises severe concerns, intensified both by the ongoing instability in the region, and the competitive dynamics of global actors (USA, Russia, EU), and international financial institutions.

There has been no evidence, either publicly presented or known, or any analyses or studies which would assess, and transparently demonstrate environmental, economic or social impacts of implementation of these projects. Cumulative or synergetic effects of these projects on the region have been either underestimated or ignored. These developments hold a potential for significant consequences not only for environmental issues, but also for infringment of human rights, concerning the right to a clean environment and even the right to life.

At least three relevant arguments should be highlighted which advocate the need for a conference to be held on these issues:

• during the last several years there were efforts to open new energy routes aimed to export the Russian (Siberian) oil to Western markets through the Adriatic sea (also known as the 'Družba Adria' project). These plans caused serious discontent of civil societies particularly in Croatia, but also in Italy and Slovenia. The five-year campaign highlighted the emerging evidence on substantial problems in communication (or even sharp conflicts) between the different societal strata involved in the project;
• in the whole SEE region there is a methodological question in what regard is civic participation in decision-making on energy projects essential. It generates new conflicts between the private enterprise sector and the local communities, often accompanied by arbitration, or even advocacy functions of the State governmental institutions
• the implementation of these projects is envisaged in countries, which have barely developed and/or consolidated the human rights protection mechanisms or the implementation of standards in environmental protection. These two activities ensure a necessary level of participation and of project legitimacy, by decreasing chances for human rights violations

The organizers of the Conference share the opinion that civil society organizations should initiate a dialogue between stakeholder sectors, and jointly examine the justification and the viability of these projects, their ecological acceptability, their impact on human rights and security in the region. Therefore, all stakeholders and decision makers of new projects related to energy routes from the countries in the region are invited: the investors/private sector, the State institutions, civil society organizations, international organizations, independent experts and media representatives.

The aim is to achieve some important objectives:

• to initiate and develop an inter-sectoral discourse between all involved stakeholders on such projects (in their preparation phase). The goal is avoidance of inter-sectoral conflicts and of the communication vacuum between the sectors;
• to inform the public about the potential environmental and social effects of the projects on the region through transparent demonstration of their feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments and potential detrimental effects. Liability of investors and other actors supporting the project should be discussed;
• sectoral and inter-sectoral discourse platforms should be developed, emphasizing the expertise and a proactive approach on the public policy level (promoting the mobilization of various stakeholders in the case of acceptance of policies of unsustainable character);
• to ensure public participation in initial stages of project design;
• to promote recommendations on procedures and mechanisms that ensure high environmental standards and human rights protection;
• to foster multilateral regional agreements by forming inter-sectoral working groups and publication of conference documents as tools for further pro-active steps.

The implementation of these projects in the region would largely confirm the dominant high carbon energy orientation of national governments and private sectors, that could generate adverse social and environmental impacts. Hence, the abovementioned activities are needed to examine ecological acceptability and sustainability of these projects. In the case of their implementation, these activities would aim to ensure procedures that can guarantee the environmental standards, security and human rights protection.

There are still open questions as to how to ensure energy sustainability in the region involving climate change adaptation measures. Policies to ensure affordable, reliable and environmentally friendly energy supplies should be adopted, to minimize new risks and potential conflicts in competition over natural resources. This conference would put emphasis on formulation of possible regional agreements on human rights protection, energy security, and fair access to global natural resources.