Business and human rights at the margins: a case of bottom-up campaign against Rio Tinto’s Jadar lithium project in Serbia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Rio Tinto, a significant global extractive industry corporation, has been for almost two decades exploring large lithium reserves, purchasing land in Jadar Valley southwest of Belgrade in Serbia, and attempting to start extraction. In 2017, the Serbian government granted Rio Tinto a license to start extraction despite fierce opposition from civil society. This article critically analyses the successful social movement campaign against Rio Tinto’s lithium project in Jadar Valley as an example of a bottom-up approach to business and human rights. It discusses and critically analyses the social movement against the current state of affairs in the areas of business and human rights in Serbia. It finds that a successful campaign against the Jadar project was possible due to the broad coalition of civil society and political actors. It remains to be determined if such a social movement against Rio Tinto was a one-time event or if it propelled a more systemic approach to business and human rights in Serbia and beyond.