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Escazú Agreement

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Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean
  Ratified
  Signatories
  Non-signatories
Drafted5 May 2015 – 4 March 2018
Signed27 September 2018 (2018-09-27)[1]
LocationEscazú, Costa Rica
Effective22 April 2021[1]
Signatories24[1]
Parties18[1]
DepositarySecretary-General of the United Nations
LanguagesEnglish, French, Portuguese, Quechua, Spanish

The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, better known as the Escazú Agreement (Spanish: Acuerdo de Escazú), is an international treaty signed by 24 Latin American and Caribbean nations concerning the rights of access to information about the environment, public participation in environmental decision-making, environmental justice, and a healthy and sustainable environment for current and future generations.[2] The agreement is open to 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It has been ratified or acceded by 18 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Dominica, Ecuador, Grenada, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, The Bahamas and Uruguay.[1]

Chico Mendes at his home in Xapuri, Acre, Brazil, in 1988, before his murder because of his environmental activism
In the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, the Escazú Agreement was opened for signature on 27 September 2018.

The agreement originated at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development and is the only binding treaty to be adopted as a result of the conference. With the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) acting as the technical secretariat for the process, it was drafted between 2015 and 2018 and adopted in Escazú, Costa Rica, on 4 March 2018.[3] The agreement was signed on 27 September 2018 and remained open for signature until 26 September 2020.[1] Eleven ratifications were required for the agreement to enter into force, which was achieved on 22 January 2021 with the accession of Mexico and Argentina.[4] The agreement entered into force on 22 April 2021.[5][1]

The Escazú Agreement is the first international treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean concerning the environment, and the first in the world to include provisions on the rights of environmental defenders.[2] The agreement strengthens the links between human rights and environmental protection by imposing requirements upon member states concerning the rights of environmental defenders. It aims to provide full public access to environmental information, environmental decision-making, and legal protection and recourse concerning environmental matters. It also recognizes the right of current and future generations to a healthy environment and sustainable development.[6][7]

Parties and signatories

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Member[1] Date of signature Date of ratification
Antigua and Barbuda 27 September 2018 4 March 2020
Argentina 27 September 2018 22 January 2021
Belize 24 September 2020 7 March 2023
Bolivia 2 November 2018 26 September 2019
Brazil 27 September 2018
Chile 13 June 2022
Colombia 11 December 2019 25 September 2024
Costa Rica 27 September 2018
Dominica 26 September 2020 22 April 2024
Ecuador 27 September 2018 21 May 2020
Grenada 26 September 2019 20 March 2023
Guatemala 27 September 2018
Guyana 27 September 2018 18 April 2019
Haiti 27 September 2018
Jamaica 26 September 2019
Mexico 27 September 2018 22 January 2021
Nicaragua 27 September 2019 9 March 2020
Panama 27 September 2018 10 March 2020
Paraguay 28 September 2018
Peru 27 September 2018
Dominican Republic 27 September 2018
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12 July 2019 26 September 2019
Saint Kitts and Nevis 26 September 2019 26 September 2019
Saint Lucia 27 September 2018 1 December 2020
The Bahamas 5 June 2025
Uruguay 27 September 2018 26 September 2019

Ratification delays

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Several commentators have expressed doubt that Brazil will ratify the treaty under Jair Bolsonaro, whose government has not been supportive of environmental or human rights mechanisms.[8][9]

Despite being one of the leading countries in the negotiation process for this agreement, Chile decided not to sign the Escazú Agreement in a last minute decision. Few months later, President Sebastián Piñera rejected the entire agreement, apparently due to objections made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding a potential request from Bolivia to get sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean and the pressure of business leaders.[10] After Piñera left office in March 2022, his successor Gabriel Boric decided to sign the Escazú Agreement, being the first bill presented by his government to the National Congress.[11] Chile ratified the agreement in June 2022.[12]

Costa Rica refused to ratify the agreement after Rodrigo Chaves Robles came to power.[13]

Colombia

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The Colombian congress domestically ratified the Agreement in 2022 via Law 2273 of 2022.[14] This law was gazetted via the Diario Oficial in No. 52.209.[15] The law was deemed constitutional by the Constitutional Court of Colombia on 28 August 2024[16] and Colombia submitted their instrument of ratification to the United Nations on 25 September 2024.[17]

Colombia ranks among the top countries in the region for death of environmental defenders.[9][18]

Youth Champion

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On 2020, for the agreement's second anniversary, The Access Initiative (TAI), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN ECLAC) and the Government of Costa Rica selected 5 new youth champions, succeeding David R. Boyd, from amongst young activists around Latin America and the Caribbean:[19]

Country Names
Argentina Nicole Becker
Chile Sebastián Benfeld Garcés
Colombia Laura Serna
Costa Rica Kyara Cascante
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Nafesha Richardson

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean". CEPAL. 9 April 2018. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean" (PDF). CEPAL. 4 March 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 February 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  3. ^ "History of the Regional Agreement". Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean. 23 March 2018. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  4. ^ "STATEMENT: Escazú Agreement Moves A Big Step Closer to Making the World Safer for Environmental Defenders". World Resources Institute. 22 January 2021. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Secretary-General's message marking the Entry into Force of the Escazú Agreement". United Nations Secretary-General. 22 April 2021. Archived from the original on 3 June 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  6. ^ "The Escazu Agreement". Environmental-rights.org. 2018. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  7. ^ "World's First Treaty Protecting Environmental Defenders Could Soon Be Enacted". Global Citizen. 24 August 2020. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  8. ^ "Brazil set to ignore Escazú agreement that protects environmental activists". Dialogo Chino. 19 April 2021. Archived from the original on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b Miguel, Teresa de (26 April 2021). "International agreement enters into force to end killings of environmental leaders in Latin America". EL PAÍS. Archived from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Why Chile promoted the Escazú Agreement then rejected it". Dialogo Chino. 26 November 2020. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  11. ^ "Chile seeks accession to Escazú's regional environmental treaty". infobae (in European Spanish). 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  12. ^ Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe. "Acuerdo Regional sobre el Acceso a la Información, la Participación Pública y el Acceso a la Justicia en Asuntos Ambientales en América Latina y el Caribe". www.cepal.org (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  13. ^ Welle, Deutsche (4 May 2022). "¿Retrocede Costa Rica en su política ambiental?: Presidente electo no ratificará el Acuerdo de Escazú". AméricaEconomía | AméricaEconomía (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  14. ^ Urrejola, Antonia (12 August 2024). Technical assistance and capacity-building in Colombia (PDF) (Report). United Nations. p. 5. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  15. ^ "LEY 2273 DE 2022 (noviembre 05)". SUIN-Juriscol MinJusticia (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  16. ^ "Sentencia de la Corte Constitucional de Colombia (C-359/24)". CEPAL (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  17. ^ "Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean". United Nations. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  18. ^ de Miguel, Teresa (26 April 2021). "International agreement enters into force to end killings of environmental leaders in Latin America". El Pais. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  19. ^ "STATEMENT: 5 Youth Champions of Escazú Announced". World Resources Institute. 4 March 2020. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
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