25 July 2012: The Permanent Mission of Chile to the UN has submitted a “Declaration on the application of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development” to the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), on behalf of 10 Latin American and Caribbean governments, for circulation as a document of the Conference.

In the statement, the Governments of Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay urge increased commitments on Principle 10 on access to information, justice and public participation, and state their commitment to drafting and implementing a Plan of Action 2012-2014, with the support of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

The declaration reaffirms the importance of Principle 10 in promoting democracy, sustainable development and a healthy environment. While noting progress and investments by Latin American and Caribbean countries in the implementation of Principle 10, the signatory governments draw attention to the need for additional action by the international community on agreements to ensure the full exercise of rights of access. They therefore commit themselves to explore the viability of further mechanisms to strengthen its implementation. They propose that such mechanisms could range from best practices, guidelines and workshops to a regional instrument or convention open to all countries in the region.

The governments request ECLAC to act as the technical secretariat, and to conduct a study on the best practices and requirements on access to information, justice and participation on environmental issues in Latin America and the Caribbean. [Declaration on the application of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development]