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Escazú Agreement

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Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean
  Ratified
  Signatories
  Non-signatories
Drafted5 May 2015 – 4 March 2018
Signed27 September 2018 (2018-09-27)[1]
LocationEscazú, Costa Rica
Effective22 April 2021[1]
Signatories25[1]
Parties14[1]
DepositarySecretary-General of the United Nations
LanguagesEnglish, French, Portuguese, Quechua, Spanish

The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, better known as the Escazú Agreement (Spanish: Acuerdo de Escazú), is an international treaty signed by 25 Latin American and Caribbean nations concerning the rights of access to information about the environment, public participation in environmental decision-making, environmental justice, and a healthy and sustainable environment for current and future generations.[2] The agreement is open to 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Of the 25 signatories, it has been ratified by fourteen: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Uruguay.[1]

Chico Mendes at his home in Xapuri, Acre, Brazil, in 1988, before his murder because of his environmental activism
In the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, the Escazú Agreement was opened for signature on 27 September 2018.

The agreement originated at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development and is the only binding treaty to be adopted as a result of the conference. With the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) acting as the technical secretariat for the process, it was drafted between 2015 and 2018 and adopted in Escazú, Costa Rica, on 4 March 2018.[3] The agreement was signed on 27 September 2018 and remained open for signature until 26 September 2020.[1] Eleven ratifications were required for the agreement to enter into force, which was achieved on 22 January 2021 with the accession of Mexico and Argentina.[4] The agreement entered into force on 22 April 2021.[5][1]

The Escazú Agreement is the first international treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean concerning the environment, and the first in the world to include provisions on the rights of environmental defenders.[2] The agreement strengthens the links between human rights and environmental protection by imposing requirements upon member states concerning the rights of environmental defenders. It aims to provide full public access to environmental information, environmental decision-making, and legal protection and recourse concerning environmental matters. It also recognizes the right of current and future generations to a healthy environment and sustainable development.[6][7]

Parties and signatories

Member[1] Date of signature Date of ratification
 Antigua and Barbuda 27 September 2018 4 March 2020
 Argentina 27 September 2018 22 January 2021
 Belize 24 September 2020
 Bolivia 2 November 2018 26 September 2019
 Brazil 27 September 2018
 Chile 18 March 2022 13 June 2022
 Colombia 11 December 2019 26 July 2022
 Costa Rica 27 September 2018
 Dominica 26 September 2020
 Ecuador 27 September 2018 21 May 2020
 Grenada 26 September 2019
 Guatemala 27 September 2018
 Guyana 27 September 2018 18 April 2019
 Haiti 27 September 2018
 Jamaica 26 September 2019
 Mexico 27 September 2018 22 January 2021
 Nicaragua 27 September 2019 9 March 2020
 Panama 27 September 2018 10 March 2020
 Paraguay 28 September 2018
 Peru 27 September 2018
 Dominican Republic 27 September 2018
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12 July 2019 26 September 2019
 Saint Kitts and Nevis 26 September 2019 26 September 2019
 Saint Lucia 27 September 2018 1 December 2020
 Uruguay 27 September 2018 26 September 2019

Ratification delays

Several commentators have expressed doubt that Brazil will ratify the treaty under Jair Bolsonaro, whose government has not been supportive of environmental or human rights mechanisms.[8][9] Colombia has finally ratified the agreement in July 2022. Colombia ranks among the top countries in the region for death of environmental defenders.[9]

Despite being one of the leading countries in the negotiation process for this agreement, Chile decided not to sign the Escazú Agreement in a last minute decision. Few months later, President Sebastián Piñera rejected the entire agreement, apparently due to objections made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding a potential request from Bolivia to get sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean and the pressure of business leaders.[10] After Piñera left office in March 2022, his successor Gabriel Boric decided to sign the Escazú Agreement, being the first bill presented by his government to the National Congress.[11] Chile ratified the agreement in June 2022.[12]

Costa Rica refused to ratify the agreement after Rodrigo Chaves Robles came to power.[13]

Youth Champion

On 2020, for the agreement's second anniversary, The Access Initiative (TAI), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC) and the Government of Costa Rica selected 5 new youth champions, succeeding David R. Boyd, from amongst young activists around Latin America and the Caribbean:[14]

Country Names
 Argentina Nicole Becker
 Chile Sebastián Benfeld Garcés
 Colombia Laura Serna
 Costa Rica Kyara Cascante
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Nafesha Richardson

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean". CEPAL. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean" (PDF). CEPAL. 4 March 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  3. ^ "History of the Regional Agreement". Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. 23 March 2018. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  4. ^ "STATEMENT: Escazú Agreement Moves A Big Step Closer to Making the World Safer for Environmental Defenders". World Resources Institute. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Secretary-General's message marking the Entry into Force of the Escazú Agreement". United Nations Secretary-General. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  6. ^ "The Escazu Agreement". Environmental-rights.org. 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  7. ^ "World's First Treaty Protecting Environmental Defenders Could Soon Be Enacted". Global Citizen. 24 August 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Brazil set to ignore Escazú agreement that protects environmental activists". Dialogo Chino. 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  9. ^ a b Miguel, Teresa de (2021-04-26). "International agreement enters into force to end killings of environmental leaders in Latin America". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  10. ^ "Why Chile promoted the Escazú Agreement then rejected it". Dialogo Chino. 2020-11-26. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  11. ^ "Chile seeks accession to Escazú's regional environmental treaty". infobae (in European Spanish). 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  12. ^ Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe. "Acuerdo Regional sobre el Acceso a la Información, la Participación Pública y el Acceso a la Justicia en Asuntos Ambientales en América Latina y el Caribe". www.cepal.org (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  13. ^ Welle, Deutsche (2022-05-04). "¿Retrocede Costa Rica en su política ambiental?: Presidente electo no ratificará el Acuerdo de Escazú". AméricaEconomía | AméricaEconomía (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-08-11.
  14. ^ "STATEMENT: 5 Youth Champions of Escazú Announced". World Resources Institute. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
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