Women for the Escazu Agreement | WECAN International

Source: Women for the Escazu Agreement | WECAN International

Adopted on March 4, 2018 in Costa Rica, and expanding to all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the Regional Agreement for the Access to Information, to Public Participation an Access to Justice on Environmental issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, also known as Escazú Agreement, has as its main objectives the guarantee of the full and effective implementation of the access rights understood as:

• Access to information
• Access to participation especially 
• Access to remedy or justice on environmental matters

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Grounded in Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration of the Earth Summit of 1992, the Escazú Agreement is the most important progressive initiative on environmental issues and the protection of rights for land defenders in the region. The Escazú Agreement is a legally binding agreement that does not allow reserves by any of its Parties and takes into account vulnerable populations and environmental defenders as a central focus.

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Under the support and guidance of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), it took over 3 years and 9 negotiation periods to achieve the Agreement, including a comprehensive Public Mechanism, engaging more than 2,000 individuals and organizations in the civil society consultation process. While the process lacked robust Indigenous representation, strong participation of the public in over 24 countries led to influential proposals from civil society, including the precedent-breaking Article 9: Human rights defenders in environmental matters.

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The Escazú Agreement entered into force on April 22, 2021, and 12 countries have ratified the agreement thus far. From April 20-22, 2022, countries held the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to address articles  14, 15 and 18 of the Agreement and other relevant matters.

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A central aim of the WECAN Women for Escazú Agreement Campaign is to ensure that there is proper implementation of the Escazú Agreement, resulting in  no more women land defenders  being censored or experiencing threats and acts of violence. The Escazú Agreement is providing countries with the opportunity to guarantee the rights of every women land defender, while protecting local ecosystems and our global climate.