The Parties to the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters opened their second meeting in Almaty on 25 May 2005. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Among the key topics on the agenda are:
- The controversial issue of genetically modified organisms (GMOs): on the opening day, the Parties agreed to amend the Convention so as to extend the rights of the public to participate in decision-making on GMOs.
- A proposal to adopt guidelines on how Parties should apply the principles of the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Aarhus Convention in other international environment-related forums: the proposal will be taken up on the second day of the Meeting. If adopted, the guidelines could indirectly lead to greater transparency and accountability in a wide range of international bodies and processes dealing with environmental issues in which the Parties to the Convention have a strong influence.
- Implementation and compliance: the Meeting will review the first set of national reports on implementation, providing an opportunity for all concerned to see whether and how the goals of the Convention are applied in practice. The Meeting will also consider the findings of the Convention's Compliance Committee that three countries -- Turkmenistan, Ukraine and the host country Kazakhstan -- have failed to comply with certain provisions of the Convention. It will be the first test of the Convention's compliance mechanism, which is unique in that any member of the public having concerns about a Party’s compliance with the Convention may trigger a process of formal review by the Committee. The Meeting of the Parties will have the final say as to whether there is non-compliance and, if so, what measures should be taken.
- Acceptance of draft recommendations on electronic information tools: the text of a draft decision on e-tools and the clearing-house mechanism of the Convention, and renewal of the mandate of the task force on electronic information tools, were agreed at the opening session.
- Continuation of work on the Convention’s access to justice pillar: the Meeting renewed the mandate of the task force on access to justice.
A high-level segment, to be held on 27 May, will consist of two panel discussions addressing “Successes, failures and lessons learned: key challenges in implementing the Convention” and “Global and regional developments on issues related to principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development.” Ms Brigita Schmögnerová, UNECE Executive Secretary, is expected to read out a message to the Meeting from the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Kofi Annan, at the opening of the high-level segment.
For further information, please visit http://www.unece.org/env/pp/mop2.htm
or contact:
Mr. Michael STANLEY-JONES
Environmental Information Management Officer
Aarhus Convention Secretariat
UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
Palais des Nations
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Mobile +41 79 477 08 42
