UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights Presents Final Report on Serbia

The United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights presented its final report on the country visit to Serbia, conducted in October 2025, before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The report represents the first comprehensive assessment of the state of business and human rights in Serbia from the perspective of the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. In addition to assessing the current situation, the report provides recommendations to the Government of Serbia aimed at strengthening the legislative and institutional framework, improving the protection of human rights in the context of business activities, and enhancing corporate accountability.

The Working Group acknowledges that Serbia has a legislative and institutional framework relevant to the protection of human rights in the context of business activities, including the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. However, it notes that serious shortcomings in the implementation of existing laws have significantly limited their effectiveness in practice. The report expresses particular concern over serious human rights abuses affecting workers and local communities in the context of large-scale development projects, especially in the mining, manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. The Working Group observes that development projects and investments are often pursued without adequately taking into account their impact on human rights and the environment, emphasizing that economic development and human rights protection should not be viewed as competing objectives.

The report devotes particular attention to projects of strategic importance, including the Jadar Project. The Working Group stresses that the implementation of such projects must be grounded in the rule of law, comprehensive human rights and environmental impact assessments, and robust safeguards ensuring transparency, meaningful public participation, public scrutiny and independent oversight.

The report also points to insufficient transparency in decision-making concerning major investment projects, leaving local communities without access to independent information about their potential impacts. It further highlights the practice of certain companies continuing operations without all the required permits, which reflects significant shortcomings in inspection, monitoring and enforcement by the State.

The Working Group also found that meaningful participation of local communities in decisions directly affecting them is inadequate or, in some cases, entirely absent. It expresses particular concern about restrictions that prevent workers and local communities from holding businesses accountable, as well as pressure and attacks targeting the legitimate work of civil society organizations, human rights defenders and journalists. The report further notes that barriers to effective access to justice are often compounded by attacks, harassment and intimidation against individuals exposing abuses and the harmful impacts of business activities.

The Working Group made a number of recommendations to Serbia, including the adoption of a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, legislation introducing mandatory human rights due diligence for companies, improvements to the regulatory framework governing environmental and human rights impact assessments, measures to ensure meaningful participation of local communities in decisions on development projects, stronger inspection and enforcement mechanisms, and improved access to justice for victims of business-related human rights abuses. The recommendations also call for strengthening judicial independence, creating a safe and enabling environment for civil society organizations, human rights defenders and journalists—including protection against SLAPP lawsuits, intimidation and other forms of pressure—and withdrawing the Draft Law on Foreign Agents from parliamentary procedure. The report further recommends amending or repealing the special legal framework governing EXPO 2027 in order to restore transparency, public oversight and the application of ordinary planning, construction and public procurement rules.

The final report confirms most of the concerns raised by the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights immediately following its visit to Serbia. The Working Group carried out its first official visit to Serbia from 6 to 15 October 2025. During the visit, the UN experts met with representatives of the Government of Serbia, businesses, trade unions, local communities, civil society organizations and activists in Belgrade, Bor, Loznica, Novi Sad and Zrenjanin. They also held meetings with representatives of Linglong in Zrenjanin, Zijin in Bor and Rio Tinto in Loznica.

Documents:

• Final Report of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights on its Visit to Serbia (A/HRC/62/36/Add.1)
• Preliminary Observations of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights Following its Visit to Serbia (October 2025)