On 22-23 November, PGA participated in the First Annual Forum on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, in Quito, Ecuador. The Forum, organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in its capacity as Secretariat of the Escazú Agreement, was held in partnership with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Government of Ecuador, and with the support of the World Bank's Human Rights, Inclusion and Empowerment (HRIE) Umbrella Trust Fund.
The Forum aimed to discuss the situation of human rights defenders in environmental matters in the region, with participants representing the Parties to the Escazú Agreement, recognized specialists in the field, human rights defenders, indigenous peoples and local communities, and people or groups in vulnerable situations who defend the environment.
Dip. Luisa Magdalena González
Ecuador
Dip. Luisa Magdalena González (Ecuador) represented PGA in the Panel on “Experiences and good practices in the promotion, prevention and protection of environmental human rights defenders,” outlining the access rights to participation, information, and justice in environmental matters secured by the Escazú Agreement in the context of Ecuador. In her remarks, Dip. González emphasized the importance of open and transparent public participation and consultation in any State’s decision on environmental matters.
