The Working Group of the Parties, at its fourth meeting (1-4 February 2005), reached agreement on four draft decisions, in preparation for the second ordinary meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention (MOP-2), to be held on 25-27 May 2005 in Almaty (Kazakhstan). The Working Group agreed upon draft decisions covering access to justice, electronic information tools and the clearing-house mechanism, and accession by non-UNECE countries to the Convention for consideration and possible adoption by the MOP. The Working Group also agreed to forward the draft decision on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), annexing four options for an amendment to the Convention.
The Meeting decided to set up an informal “friends of the chair” group to further elaborate a draft decision on public participation in international forums before forwarding it to the Working Group of the Parties for consideration at its fifth meeting. That meeting will be held in Almaty on the eve of the MOP.
For more information on preparations for the second Meeting of the Parties, please see:
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/mop2.htm
