- The agreement will ensure the right to a healthy environment for the region's current and future generations.
- The agreement opened for signature in 2018. Today, Mexico and Argentina both deposited their instruments of ratification, thereby reaching the number needed for the agreement to enter into force in 90 days.
The Government of Mexico organized a symbolic ceremony to mark the conclusion of the process that will enable the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean to enter into force in 90 days on April 22, 2021, which is International Earth Day.
The event was attended by the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena, who has supported the Parties since negotiations got underway for the Agreement, which in her words "came into being in our region."
Known as the Escazú Agreement, this is the first legally binding regional instrument that guarantees the rights of environmental defenders.
The Foreign Ministry's Deputy Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Martha Delgado, described the agreement as "a historic and unprecedented achievement that promotes human rights and sustainable development in Latin America."
From the start of negotiations, the Foreign Ministry played a central role within the federal government in coordinating and reconciling the opinions of the 17 areas that will be involved in implementing the Escazú Agreement. The Foreign Ministry also worked closely with the legislative branch to ensure coherence between the regulatory framework and the relevant public policies. Deputy Minister Martha Delgado said the Foreign Ministry is proud because "our country shared with the region its good legal practices to support the legal aspects of the agreement.''
Arturo Argueta, Deputy Minister of Planning and Environmental Policy of the Environment Ministry, applauded the culmination of the process that will lead to the Agreement's entry into force, which will be vitally important in protecting Mexico's environment. He said that Mexico's commitment will continue through its cross-cutting and inter-institutional collaboration for its implementation.
He explained that, with its 2020-2024 environment program, the Government of Mexico has committed to promoting various processes to strengthen environmental governance with full, free, effective, meaningful and co-responsible civic participation.
The presidents of the three Senate commissions that achieved unanimous approval for the Escazú Agreement with 66 votes on November 5 participated in the ceremony in their roles as representatives of Mexico's legislative branch. Senators Beatriz Paredes, Foreign Relations Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean; Héctor Vasconcelos, Foreign Relations Commission, and Raúl Bolaños Cacho-Cué, Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change Commission, all reaffirmed their commitment to guaranteeing a healthy environment for the Mexican people, in accordance with Article 4 of the Constitution.
Also attending the ceremony were Tomás Severino, on behalf of civil societ, who was elected Public Representative as part of the Agreement's Regional Mechanism; the environmental educator Olimpia Castillo, and Leydy Araceli Pech Martín, beekeeper, activist and defender of the Mayan community, who recently received the renowned Goldman Prize 2020. They all commended the inclusive process followed in putting together the Agreement, and voiced their concerns about the steps needed for its implementation, which is so necessary for the country.
The agreement adopted in Escazú (Costa Rica) on March 4, 2018 has 24 signatory countries, but only today, January 22, 2021, with the joint deposit in the United Nations of the ratification instruments of Mexico and Argentina, was the minimum number of countries reached that allows for its entry into force.
To learn more about the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, see the following link: https://www.cepal.org/ en / accorddeescazu .
