Loading...

La visión de PGA es contribuir a la creación de un orden internacional basado en el imperio de la ley para un mundo más equitativo, seguro, sostenible y democrático.

Parliamentarians Develop Recommendations on their Role in the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters

PGA staff with Sen. Emilio Icaza, Dip. Ramón Barrios, Sen. Janelle Chanona
PGA staff with Sen. Emilio Icaza, Dip. Ramón Barrios, Sen. Janelle Chanona

On 26 September, PGA convened the hybrid Parliamentary Caucus: Protecting Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters, jointly with the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in its capacity as Secretariat of the Escazú Agreement. Held within the sidelines of the Second Annual Forum on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean in Panama City, Panama from 26 to 28 September, parliamentarians from the region exchanged experiences, identified pathways forward, and developed a set of Key Recommendations on the Role of Parliamentarians for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters, in line with the implementation of the Escazú Agreement.

The Key Recommendations, drafted during the Parliamentary Caucus with insights from the Elected Representatives of the Public for the Escazú Agreement, Ms. Nicole Leotaud (Executive Director of Caribbean Natural Resources Institute, or CANARI) and Mr. Bishnu Tulsie (Chair of the Coalition ofCivil Society Organizations of Saint Lucia), as well as Dr. Marcelo Cousillas (Director of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Environment of Uruguay; Chair of the Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement, Co-chair of the UNEP Montevideo Program of Environmental Law) and Mr. David Barrio Lamarche (Environmental Affairs Officer,Escazú Agreement Secretariat, ECLAC), were presented by Sen. Janelle Chanona (Belize) during the plenary of the ECLAC Forum on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters.

Opening the Parliamentary Caucus, Mr. Carlos de Miguel, Head of Policies for Sustainable Development at ECLAC, Sen. Emilio Álvarez Icaza (Mexico), PGA Board Member, and Ms. Mónica Adame, PGA Secretary-General, emphasized the importance of the human rights-based approach in the recognition, protection, and promotion of the rights of access to information, participation, and justice for all human rights defenders in environmental matters through the effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement. Participants further benefitted from a presentation by Ms. Leotaud on the challenges and opportunities for parliamentarians in the protection of human rights defenders in environmental matters. Dip. Graciela Camaño (Argentina), Member of Committee on Natural Resources and Conservation of the Human Environment, and Sen. Sophia Frazer-Binns (Jamaica), Shadow Minister of Land, Environment and Climate Change, served as moderators during the hybrid interactive small-group discussions, enabling substantive engagement from both in-person and virtual participants.  

Throughout the Forum, the PGA delegation of parliamentarians on the ground – Dip. Camaño (Argentina), Sen. Chanona (Belize), Sen. Álvarez Icaza (Mexico), Sen. Janice Allen (Jamaica), Dip. Ramón Barrios (Honduras), and Hon. Patrick C. Kensenhuis (Suriname) – engaged with civil society and in breakout group discussions to protect human rights through the effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement. Sen. Chanona represented PGA on the Panel, “Lessons and challenges in the implementation of initiatives and mechanisms for the promotion, prevention and protection of the rights of individuals, groups and organizations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters” where she spoke to “Initiatives of the legislative and judicial powers and institutions for the protection of human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

PGA invites parliamentarians to learn more about the Escazú Agreement and actions you can take to promote it by reviewing our Factsheet for Parliamentarians: The Escazú Agreement, an Environmental and Human Rights Treaty and the Key Recommendations on the Role of Parliamentarians for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters.

La Secretaría de PGA se pone a su disposición para asistirles en esta o cualquier otra acción que consideren necesaria. Para mayor asistencia técnica, por favor póngase en contacto con:

Sra. Faatimah Saarah Monawvil
Oficial Superior de Programas
Campañas de Acción por el Clima y los Océanos
E: 

Sra. Ana Filipa Vilalva Repas
Asociada de Programas
Campañas de Acción por el Clima y los Océanos
E: 

Últimas Actividades:

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/body-of-water-355328/

This session, jointly hosted by Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) and ParlAmericas, will bring together parliamentarians and civil society representatives from the Caribbean SIDS for a dialogue on the Escazú Agreement

OP-ED: Jamaican Senator Sophia Frazer-Binns on Environmental governance – A case for acceding to the Escazú Agreement

In an era of pending climate departure, with the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, which poses an existential threat to Small Island Developing States like Jamaica, environmental governance and management have taken on a new meaning.

Parlamentarios para la Acción Global (PGA) y ParlAmericas organizan conjuntamente una sesión multiactoral sobre gobernanza medioambiental eficaz

Parlamentarios para la Acción Global (PGA) y ParlAmericas organizan conjuntamente una sesión multiactoral sobre gobernanza medioambiental eficaz