The second meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 2) to the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), known as the Escazú Agreement, will bring together authorities from the region, representatives of international and regional organizations, and other stakeholders. The Escazú Agreement is the first environmental treaty in the region.

The extraordinary meeting of the COP will elect the inaugural members of the Committee to Support Implementation and Compliance. The COP will elect seven people from a proposed roster of ten candidates for the Committee. The roster includes five men and five women of ten different nationalities, including three representatives from Central America and Mexico, three from the English-speaking Caribbean, and four from South America.

The meeting will convene a special session on comparative experiences of bodies to support implementation and compliance and hold a regional dialogue on strengthening capacities for national implementation. Additional sessions will focus on human rights defenders in environmental matters and financial arrangements and a report of the voluntary fund. Virtual side events will also take place.

The Escazú Agreement entered into force on 22 April 2021. This treaty, which was negotiated by governments in Latin America and the Caribbean, enshrines the right of every person of present and future generations to live in a healthy environment and the right to sustainable development. It is the world’s first agreement with provisions on human rights defenders in environmental matters.

Twenty-four LAC countries have signed the Escazú Agreement. The Agreement has 15 parties – Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Grenada, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Uruguay.

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dates: 19-21 April 2023
location: Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina
www: https://acuerdodeescazu.cepal.org/cop2/en
https://www.cepal.org/en/news/argentina-will-host-second-meeting-conference-parties-escazu-agreement