The Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced President Gabriel Boric had been SignedFriday’s UN Escaz Agreement Reversing the stance of former President Sebastin Piera’s government.
The Escaz TreatyIt is the first environmental treaty to emerge from the region and was signed by 24 Latin American and Caribbean countries. It aims to achieve “access to environmental information, public participation in the environmental decision-making process and access to justice in environmental matters.”
The treaty was negotiated at the 2012 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil (“Rio 2012 Conference”) and is the first in the world to include provisions on the rights of defenders of the environment. The treaty was adopted March 4, 2018, came into forceApril 22, 2021. Chile becomes the 25th signatory to the treaty and 12th ratifying state from the treaty. UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Chile had been present at the Rio 2012 conference and afterwards. Led negotiationsCosta Rica is also co-chair. The Piera government even reiterated its intention to join the agreement during its second term, in 2018. However, the Piera government decided to withdraw its commitment in September 2020. Claim that the treaty threatened Chile’s sovereignty.
This move was widely criticized because it included environmental defenders in a treaty that was highly welcome. Latin America is one of the most dangerous regions for environmental activists. September 2021 Global WitnessHuman Rights Organization – a report by, stated that nearly three out of four deaths among 227 land and environment defenders who were killed in 2020 occurred in the Americas.
Boric signed the agreement as one of his first actions since he took office last month. Boric Thank youThe work of environmental activists and more his intention to achieve “regional integration” in Latin America.
Boric signs the contract. It is strongly recommended the Chilean Parliament on Saturday to ratify the bill quickly “because life cannot wait.”
