17 de May de 2021 Blog By washington@cejil.org

Escazú Now: We celebrate the entry into force of the Escazú Agreement, which reaffirms the importance of rights and human rights defenders in fighting the climate emergency

 

by Viviana Krsticevic and Patricia Cruz

In the regional and international context of the climate emergency, the entry into force of the Regional Agreement on the Access to Information, Public Participation, and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin American and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement) is of special significance. This agreement arrives in a critical moment and has the potential to become a fundamental tool to stimulate the debate related to the environmental crisis and its links with the defense of human rights.

The Escazú Agreement was adopted in March 2018 by 27 of the 33 countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region to apply Principle 10 of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Río + 20). On April 22, in which the Day of Mother Earth is also commemorated, the agreement enters into force with the support and ratification of 12 nations of this region.

The climate emergency is one of the most challenging and urgent issues of this century. Humanity is reaching several concerning thresholds with regional and international consequences, such as the loss of the Amazon jungle and its transformation into a savanna, which constitutes one of many environmental tipping points we are approaching. Furthermore, this crisis is aggravated by the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects in Latin America.

Climate change has important consequences for guaranteeing human rights. Phenomena produced by climate change such as droughts, floods, heatwaves, and fires are placing the survival of indigenous groups and coastal communities at risk, affecting the right to health of thousands of people impacted by air pollution, forcing the displacement of communities, and generating a distinct impact in poor and marginalized communities.

In addition to the climate emergency, environmental human rights defenders are facing a severe crisis due to persecution and executions at alarming levels; in 2020, they represented 69% of the total murders of human rights defenders.

Recent reports on the situation of human rights defenders demonstrate the urgency of strengthening the obligation of states to ensure a safe environment for them. According to a recent report by Global Witness, in 2019, an average of four land and environmental human rights defenders were murdered each week. Cases such as the execution of Berta Cáceres in Honduras, Chico Mendes in Brazil, Isidro Baldenegro in Mexico, and Efigenia Vásquez in Colombia demonstrate the need to enable a safe environment for human rights defenders as a foundation for the exercise of the access rights established in the Escazú Agreement.

In its content, the Escazú agreement is inspired by the Aarhus Convention, agreed upon in 1998 by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. To the pillars of access to information, participation, and justice, Escazú adds the obligation of states to “ensure a safe and enabling environment for people, groups and organizations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters, so that they can operate without threats, restrictions, and insecurity.”

Although other regional human rights treaties, such as the American Convention on Human Rights, have previously been used to safeguard human rights defenders, the Escazú agreement stands out for the explicit recognition of the link between human rights and the protection of the environment. Regrettably, unlike other Inter-American conventions, this treaty does not have a direct clause of attribution to assign its supervision to the Inter-American Human Rights System.

The first right established in the agreement is access to environmental information, which is defined as the possibility to “request and receive information from the authorities without giving reasons for their interest.” The treaty also establishes that environmental information can only be refused by reasons “legally established in advance and […] clearly defined and regulated, taking into account the public interest, and shall thus be interpreted restrictively.” Furthermore, the agreement establishes the obligation of states to generate and publicize environmental information “in a systemic, proactive, timely, regular, accessible, and periodical manner.”

The second right established in the agreement is the right to participation in the environmental decision-making process. This participation should be guaranteed in decision-making processes whenever the decision could have “a significant impact on the environment.” Also, the participation procedures should be guaranteed “from the early stages, so that due consideration can be given to the observations of the public.” Additionally, the information provided with the public should be shared in a “clear, timely, and comprehensive manner.”

Lastly, the agreement establishes the right to access justice in environmental matters. For guaranteeing this right, states should ensure “access to justice in environmental matters in accordance with the guarantees of due process” and make sure to include in their domestic legislation access to “judicial and administrative mechanisms to challenge and appeal” any decision, action, or omission related to the right to access to environmental information, participation in the environmental decision-making process, or any other means that adversely affect the environment. The treaty also specifies certain characteristics for these procedures, including their “effective, timely, public, transparent, and impartial” character.

Overall, the Escazú Agreement can become a fundamental instrument to fight climate change and strengthen the protection of human rights defenders. The climate emergency can only be adequately addressed as long as the capacities and safety of those primarily exercising the rights to access to information, participation in the decision-making process, and justice are guaranteed: the environmental human rights defenders. The Escazú agreement shows the preoccupation and commitment of states to defend environmental rights and those who assume these standards.