7 September 2012: The 15th Meeting of the Working Group of Parties to the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) reached a decision to promote the Convention in international fora, and identified areas for action, including promoting Aarhus Convention principles in the process, policies and activities of international financial institutions (IFIs).

The meeting, which took place from 3-5 September 2012, in Geneva, Switzerland, focused on three issues: public participation in the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20); Member State activities to promote public participation in international environmental fora; and public participation in IFI projects. The meeting’s outcomes included agreement to promote principles of the Aarhus Convention in initiatives resulting from the outcomes of Rio+20, and to put into place national action plans to systematically promote Convention principles in all international environmental fora. [UNECE Press Release]