By 31 votes in favor, 3 against and 11 abstentions, the Senate endorsed the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, and its Annex 1, adopted in Escazú, Republic of Costa Rica, on March 4, 2018. The approval includes the “interpretative declaration” proposed by the Chamber that points to the application of the agreement in relation to domestic law; recognizes the country’s progress in terms of access to information, participation and access to environmental justice, among others.
After the vote, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonia Urrejola, and her Environment Minister, Maisa Rojas, thanked the Senate for their support and valued the implications for our country of having approved this international instrument, noting that it is a “vote history” and a “time to celebrate”.
It should be noted that the first binding provision in the world on the protection of human rights defenders in environmental matters is included.
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSFORMATION
The approval of this international instrument promotes a process of transformation of environmental institutions, so that it adapts to the current situation of water scarcity and climate crisis and to the dynamics and social, cultural, economic and environmental conditions of each territory.
During the debate, the central aspects of the discussion were: the consequences and effects of the approval of the Agreement; the self-executability of its provisions; the relationship between the approval of the Agreement and possible disputes with neighboring countries, and the implementation plan and the roadmap.
In this sense, the doubts warned by some legislators are related to the possible effects for our country and an unrestricted respect for internal legislation.
Senator Jaime Quintana, president of the United Commissions on Foreign Affairs and on the Environment and National Assets, bodies that studied the text, made an extensive and detailed report, in which he stressed that the objective of the Agreement is “to guarantee the full and effective in Latin America and the Caribbean of the rights of access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making processes and justice in environmental matters; and create and strengthen the capacities and cooperation necessary for its implementation. The foregoing, in order to contribute to the protection of the right of each person, of present and future generations, to live in a healthy environment and to sustainable development.”
PRECISIONS
The Agreement was opened for signature by 33 countries of the region on September 27, 2018, giving rise to a 2-year subscription period that ended on September 26, 2020. After that date, it is open for accession. of all the States of the region consigned in its Annex 1, that have not signed it. In this sense, our country did not sign it within the aforementioned term, for which it only corresponds to adhere to it.
The treaty entered into force on April 22, 2021, upon completion of the 11 ratifications necessary for it and, currently, the States Parties reach 12 in the region: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Uruguay.
Source: www.senado.cl
