In 2022, Latin America and the Caribbean accounted for 88% of murders of environmental defenders worldwide. At COP3 in Escazú, to be held from April 22 to 24 in Chile, member countries must make progress in protecting their lives and work, as well as in ensuring the effective participation of local communities and their access to justice and information on environmental matters.

On the occasion of the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement (COP 3 of Escazú), which will take place from April 22 to 24 in Santiago, Chile, the Alliance for Andean Wetlands urges that the meeting contribute to advancing the objectives of the Agreement, particularly the protection and safeguarding of environmental defenders, the effective participation of local communities in decisions related to their territories, as well as their access to justice and to complete, accurate, and transparent information on environmental issues.

The COP3 of Escazú, to be held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), will bring together representatives of the member countries of the agreement in a dialogue to improve environmental democracy on the continent.

According to the most recent report by the NGO Global Witness, 88% of murders of environmental defenders in 2022 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean, a percentage that increases every year. In this context, the implementation of the Escazú Agreement is of the utmost urgency.

It is the first regional environmental treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean and the first in the world with specific provisions for the protection of individuals, groups, and organizations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters. It is clear that states, through their governments, must adopt concrete measures for their protection. It is imperative to design and implement state policies that guarantee the exercise of rights, the establishment of mechanisms, and conditions for consultation and dialogue that bring civil society and the state closer together for the protection of territories, water, and biodiversity, on which we depend as living beings and which are defended by environmental defenders.

During COP3 of Escazú, member countries are expected to approve the Regional Action Plan on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters in the region. It is crucial that the plan that is approved provides full and comprehensive protection to defenders, including an assessment of the different violations, with a gender focus, considering the criminalization of environmental defense and good practices for prevention, protection, and response.
In addition, the incorporation of a gender perspective into the Escazú Agreement will be discussed, because although this Agreement builds a bridge between environmental issues and human rights, the provisions on gender need to be more robust and an intersectional approach is needed to ensure that the diversity of women is included in the processes.

Quotes from members of the Alliance for Andean Wetlands

Ramón Balcazar, director of Fundació Tantí, Chile:

“Although Chile has already ratified the Agreement, a closer look at the territories reveals a worrying gap in terms of access to information and effective citizen participation in mining and energy projects, especially those promoted under the national lithium and green hydrogen strategies. In this regard, it is the duty of the Chilean State to ensure the effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement in rural and indigenous territories threatened by the socio-environmental impacts of the so-called energy transition.”

Vivian Lagrava Flores, Coordinator of the Empodérate Human Rights Collective, Bolivia:

“The Escazú Agreement must be implemented in Bolivia because the entities involved in the administration, management, and control of mining projects deliberately or circumstantially deny or skew information to communities. Mining companies manipulate information about the amounts of water they use and the environmental impacts. It is clear that the exercise of rights to water and territory depends on greater involvement by the State in enforcing environmental protection standards. Those who promote environmental protection are exposed, and it is the State that must guarantee the physical integrity of defenders.”

Marcella Ribeiro, Senior Attorney, Human Rights and Environment Program, Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA):

“The Escazú Agreement is an international milestone in terms of participation, information, and protection of environmental defenders, serving as an example for initiatives on other continents that seek to replicate what has been achieved in Latin America and the Caribbean. Now we need the States Parties, through diplomacy, to promote the widest possible adherence to the Agreement and to assume responsibility for its implementation without weakening its provisions. At COP3 of Escazú, it is urgent to approve an Action Plan based on concrete actions such as a commitment to data generation and the publication of research results, as well as measures to prevent the misuse of criminal law against defenders.”

María Laura Castillo, Coordinator of the High Andean Program at Fundación Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (FARN), Argentina:

“In Argentina, environmental decision-making processes are being carried out that violate the rights of indigenous communities to access and free, prior, and informed consultation, and there is a growing trend toward regulatory reforms and/or the enactment of laws that are regressive in terms of the environment and human rights. In addition, the rise of the right wing seeks to reduce the role of the state, promote extractivism, and criminalize those who resist it. In this context, the Escazú Agreement, with its mandatory standards on information, participation, and justice in environmental matters, stands as a bastion for ensuring the protection of the environment and the defense of rights, especially in a global context of multiple crises that demands a comprehensive approach to the challenges of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. The Agreement also establishes specific obligations for the protection of environmental defenders. We must strengthen the implementation of existing environmental standards and move toward development that is in harmony with nature and respectful of the ways of life that extractivism threatens.”