Skopje, 13 October 2021 (MIA) – Debate on legal and judicial protection of the environment is not only timely – it’s critical. While we often hear about money laundering or procurement fraud, environmental crimes in many ways remain in the shadows – especially in North Macedonia, U.S. Ambassador Kate M. Byrnes told the opening of the 2021 Ohrid School of Natural Law, titled “Fundamentals of the Legal Reform in the Republic of North Macedonia and Environmental Justice”, which was held online on Tuesday. “Crimes like illegal logging and air pollution pose serious threats to your wellbeing and to the environment of your beautiful country.  Whether it is wildfires in Strumica or Hurricane Ida in New York, we are now witnesses to the devastating impacts of our actions on the climate and the environment,” Byrnes added. “Fortunately, there are actions that we can take. I commend you for responding – for using your creative minds to delve into the laws and reforms necessary to prosecute environmental crimes. But as you well know, drafting laws and reforms is not enough.  Laws must be implemented.  Investigations must be initiated.  And trials must conclude – before a lay judge retires or a statute of limitation expires.  Violators must be held accountable, regardless of political affiliation or the size of the business.  These legal solutions must apply to everyone, with all citizens and businesses equal under the law,” said the U.S. Ambassador. Everyone, whether we live in Skopje or in Ohrid, she added, should have the right to breath clean and healthy air, and the law should uphold that right. “Working together, I’m convinced that North Macedonia will continue its reform story to increase transparency, fight corruption, and end impunity, protecting its people and the environment,” Ambassador Byrnes said, calling on all students, future judges, prosecutors, lawyers to start this work now by holding government officials and institutions accountable, calling for transparency, calling for accountability, and calling out corruption. Ambassador Byrnes told the event that the U.S. government will continue to support the country in its work to protect the environment, with teams stepping up assistance to help investigate and prosecute illegal logging and water pollution, and she also announced the arrival Jim Lofton, a Fulbright scholar who will be teaching trial advocacy and environmental law at Tetovo State University and South East European University. The event was organized by the Center for Strategic Research at the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts (MANU), and funded by the U.S. Embassy in Skopje.