During 13-16 of November 2023, the Director General of SELEC, Mr. Oğuz Serkant Akın, participated as a speaker at the regional conference “Strengthening The Fight Against Crimes That Affect The Environment In South-East Europe” held in Plitvice/ Republic of Croatia.
This event, opened by representatives of the French and Croatian governments, as well as representatives of SELEC and the European Commission, brought together relevant international and regional organizations and European networks, such as UNODC, OSCE, Europol, Frontex, SELEC, IMPEL, ENPE, EUFJE, EnviCrim.
Mr. Akin mentioned the activities and contribution of SELEC in the fight against environmental crimes, the Environment and Nature Related Crimes Task Force, the Regional Operation TOX related to environment, and stated that: “Although we live in a world with borders, we share the same nature, and nature has no borders. It is the responsibility of all of us to protect the environment. The South East European region is threatened by environmental crimes, such as illegal discharge of hazardous waste and illegal trade of wildlife products or protected species. Such crimes usually have transborder character and are linked with organized criminality. If the crime is organized, the respond should also be organized.”
To address these issues, SELEC has established in 2009 the Environment and Nature Related Crimes Task Force that is coordinated by Hungary.
