The Access Initiative: Fifth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention

The Netherlands has been a strong advocate of the Aarhus Convention since its early days. Access by the public in environmental matters goes back to discussions on Principle 10 at the Rio Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 and even beyond. For our country this meeting has a special significance given the fact that the current chairperson of the Convention finalized as Dutch negotiator the adoption of the Aarhus Convention. The organization of such an important international event as the combined meeting of the Parties of the Convention and its Protocol is a great honour for us. It is our firm belief that the Fifth Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention and the Second Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers will mark a step forward in coordinating efforts of the Parties to promote democracy values, transparency and human rights in the field of environment and will lead to the achievement of the sustainable development goals in our countries and in the region.