5 June 2018: The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) called on countries to sign the ‘Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in LAC,’ or the Escazú Agreement. The call was made on the occasion of World Environment Day, the theme of which, ‘Beat Plastic Pollution,’ reinforces that participation by society and its access to information and knowledge are critical to developing and applying policies for a pollution-free planet.

The Escazú Agreement was adopted on 4 March 2018, in Escazú, Costa Rica. It will open for signature on 27 September 2018, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, to coincide with the opening of the 73rd UN General Assembly (UNGA). It then will be subject to ratification by 11 signatory countries before entering into force.

ECLAC stresses that achieving sustainable development requires action by all stakeholders, namely governments, businesses, communities and individuals. The Escazú Agreement seeks to ensure that they: have access to timely, reliable information; are able to participate in decisions that affect their lives; and have access to justice in environmental matters, helping to advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs.

Speaking about the Agreement, ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena said that it reflects regional ambitions, priorities and uniqueness, while addressing environmental protection and management in sustainable leveraging of natural resources, preserving biodiversity, combatting desertification and climate change, and building disaster resilience.

The Escazú Agreement is the only treaty to emerge from the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Río+20). It is also the first regional environmental treaty of LAC countries, and the first with binding provisions on defenders of human rights in environmental matters.

Also on 5 June, the Agreement joined InforMEA, an online platform for regional and global multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). [ECLAC Press Release] [Escazú Agreement][SDG Knowledge Hub coverage of negotiation process for Agreement]