The Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was adopted in 1998 as part of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations.Entered into force October 30, 2001 and has 47 States Parties. The Kiev Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer of contaminants, while, in force since October 8, 2009 and has 33 States Parties.
At the invitation of the Government of the Netherlands and the Aarhus Convention Secretariat, ECLAC and the governments of the participating region presented the recent progress in the implementation of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, promotes access to information, participation and justice in environmental matters.
In Maastricht, ECLAC stressed the importance of learning the European process of fair or effective application access rights, especially now that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are deciding on the nature and content of the future regional instrument on Principle 10. The Commission called for further access rights to information, participation and justice to strengthen democracy and overcome asymmetries in the region, emphasizing the link between the implementation of Principle 10 and the agenda for post-2015 development.
The Fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention welcomed the progress made in Latin America and the Caribbean in the development of regional instrument and offered support in this matter. In parallel, ECLAC participated in the event Building bridges between regions, where experiences on negotiation, ratification and implementation of the Aarhus Convention that can serve the Latin American process were exchanged.
