Building on priorities established at the Council of Europe's Reykjavik Summit in May 2023, this year's Lisbon Forum - organised annually since 1994 by the Council of Europe's North-South Centre - focused on the pivotal role that young people play in catalysing change when facing the intricate connections between economic crimes, corruption, and environmental issues.
In his welcoming remarks, Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge praised the North-South Centre for putting "these issues centre stage," noting: "We face a triple planetary crisis of pollution, the loss of biodiversity, and the terrible advance of climate change, caused by human activity."
The Deputy Secretary General also emphasised related Council of Europe work on a feasibility study for a new instrument on human rights and the environment and a new Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law. "Both will include the input of governments, civil society, the EU and the UN, and - as the Forum states - youth should be at the forefront".
