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Third session of Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention

11 - 13 June 2008
Riga Latvia

The third meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention was held in Riga, Latvia, on 11-13 June 2008.

The third meeting provided an opportunity to review the progress achieved in the Convention’s implementation during
the decade since its adoption in 1998 and efforts to build capacity among its Parties and Signatory States. It also adopted a
long-term strategic plan for the Convention.

The high-level segment of the meeting was held on Friday, 13 June 2007, and culminated in the adoption of the Riga Declaration (ENGFRE RUS).  

Documents

Documents adopted by the Meeting of the Parties, including the Riga Declaration, decisions taken by the Parties and the meeting report.

Documents prepared in advance for the Meeting:

  • Category I (official documents for possible action);
  • Category II (including official background documents, national implementation reports and reports on compliance);
  • Category III (other documents relevant to the agenda).

Intersessional documents of relevance to the agenda.

Press releases 10 June 2008 / 13 June 2008

 

Adopted Documents

Documents adopted by the Meeting of the Parties, including the Riga Declaration, decisions taken by the Parties and the meeting report
Document Title ENG FRE RUS
Annotated agenda for the third meeting of the Parties
ECE/MP.PP/2008/1
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Report of the third meeting of the Parties
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2
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"Riga Declaration"
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.1
PDF PDF PDF
Statement on the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.2
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Decision III/1 on interpretation of article 14 of the Convention [dealing with the entry into force of amendments] ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.3 PDF PDF PDF
Decision III/2 on electronic information tools and the clearinghouse mechanism
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.4
PDF PDF PDF
Decision III/3 on promoting effective access to justice
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.5
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Decision III/4 on promoting the application of the principles of the Convention in international forums
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.6
PDF PDF PDF
Decision III/5 on reporting requirements
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.7
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Decision III/6 on general issues of compliance
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.8
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Decision III/6a on compliance by Albania with its obligations under the Convention
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.9
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Decision III/6b on compliance by Armenia with its obligations under the Convention
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.10
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Decision III/6c on compliance by Kazakhstan with its obligations under the Convention with its obligations under the Convention
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.11
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Decision III/6d on compliance by Lithuania with its obligations under the Convention
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.12
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Decision III/6e on compliance by Turkmenistan with its obligations under the Convention (Ref. Decision II/5c)
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.13
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Decision III/6f on compliance by Ukraine with its obligations under the Convention (Ref. Decision II/5b)
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.14
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Decision III/7 on financial arrangements
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.15
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Decision III/8 on the Strategic Plan 2009-2014
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.16
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Decision III/9 on the Work Programme 2009-2011
ECE/MP.PP/2008/2/Add.17
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Action Documents (Category I)

These documents were presented for possible action by delegations (for signature, endorsement, approval or adoption). They were generally submitted through and endorsed by the Working Group of the Parties or the Bureau.

These documents were translated, reproduced and distributed by the Conference Services of United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) prior to the meeting.

Document Title ENG FRE RUS
                                            Agenda
Annotated provisional agenda for the third meeting of the Parties
ECE/MP.PP/2008/1
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft Declaration and Statement            
Draft "Riga Declaration"
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.1
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft statement on the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.2
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft Decisions
Draft decision III/1 on entry into force of amendments
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.3
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft decision III/2 on electronic information tools and the clearinghouse mechanism
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.4
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft decision III/3 on promoting effective access to justice
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.5
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC

Draft decision III/4 on promoting the application of the principles of the Convention in international forums
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.6

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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft decision III/5 on reporting requirements
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.7
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft decision III/6 on general issues of compliance
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.8
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft decision III/6(b) on compliance by Albania
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.8/Add.1
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft Decision III/6(b) on compliance by Armenia
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.8/Add.2
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft decision III/6(c) on compliance by Kazakhstan
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.8/Add.3
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft decision III/6(d) on compliance by Lithuania
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.8/Add.4
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DOC
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DOC
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Draft decision III/6(e) on compliance by Turkmenistan
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.8/Add.5
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DOC
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DOC
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Draft decision III/6(f) on compliance by Ukraine
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.8/Add.6
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DOC
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DOC
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Draft decision III/7 on financial arrangements
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.9
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC
Draft decision III/8 on the long-term strategic plan
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.10
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DOC
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DOC
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Draft decision III/9 on the work programme 2009-2011
ECE/MP.PP/2008/L.11
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DOC
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DOC
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DOC

Background Documents (Category II)

These documents are reports on implementation and compliance and other background documents, prepared by the secretariat or subsidiary bodies of the Convention (informational and analytical documents of direct relevance to the agenda that will provide a basis for discussion). These documents were translated where feasible, reproduced and distributed by the Conference Service of United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG) prior to the meeting.

Implementation reports appearing in the table below have been edited by the secretariat and submitted to the UNOG for publication.

The original versions of these national implementation reports (as submitted by the Parties to the secretariat) and any additional versions of the reports provided in the national language or languages, where these were provided in languages other than English, French or Russian, may be accessed from the draft national implementation reports.

Document Title ENG FRE RUS
List of Documents and Programme Third meeting of the Parties
ECE/MP.PP/2008/1/Add.1
List of documents for the third meeting of the Parties
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/1/Add.2
Programme of high-level panel discussions
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Status of Implementation and Trends
ECE/MP.PP/2008/3
Status of ratification
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/4
Synthesis report on the status of implementation
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/4/Corr.1
Synthesis report on the status of implementation: Corrigendum
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National Implementation Reports1
ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/ALB
Implementation report by Albania
PDF PDF PDF
ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/ARM
Implementation report by Armenia
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/AUS
Implementation report by Austria
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/AZE
Implementation report by Azerbaijan
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/BLR
Implementation report by Belarus
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/BEL
Implementation report by Belgium
PDF PDF PDF
ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/BGR
Implementation report by Bulgaria
PDF PDF PDF
ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/HRV
Implementation report by Croatia
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/CYP
Implementation report by Cyprus
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/CZE
Implementation report by the Czech Republic
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/DNK
Implementation report by Denmark
PDF PDF PDF
ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/EST
Implementation report by Estonia
PDF PDF PDF
ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/FIN
Implementation report by Finland
PDF PDF PDF
ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/FRA
Implementation report by France
PDF PDF PDF
ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/GEO
Implementation report by Georgia
PDF PDF PDF
Errata to implementation report by Georgia PDF    
ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/DEU
Implementation report by Germany
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/GRC
Implementation report by Greece
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/HUN
Implementation report by Hungary
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/ITA
Implementation report by Italy
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/KAZ
Implementation report by Kazakhstan
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/KGZ
Implementation report by Kyrgyzstan
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/LVA
Implementation report by Latvia
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/LTU
Implementation report by Lithuania
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/LUX
Implementation report by Luxembourg
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/MLT
Implementation report by Malta
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/MDA
Implementation report by Moldova
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/NLD
Implementation report by Netherlands
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/NOR
Implementation report by Norway
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/POL
Implementation report by Poland
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/PRT
Implementation report by Portugal
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/ROU
Implementation report by Romania
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/SVK
Implementation report by Slovakia
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/SVN
Implementation report by Slovenia
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/ESP
Implementation report by Spain
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/SWE
Implementation report by Sweden
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/TJK
Implementation report by Tajikistan
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/MKD
Implementation report by The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/TKM
Implementation report by Turkmenistan
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/UKR
Implementation report by Ukraine
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/GBR
Implementation report by United Kingdom
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ECE/MP.PP/IR/2008/EC
Implementation report by European Community
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Report of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/2008/5
Report by the Compliance Committee (CC)
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.1
Compliance with regard to Albania
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.2
Compliance with regard to Armenia
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.3
Compliance with regard to Belgium
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.4
Compliance with regard to Denmark
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.5
Compliance with regard to Kazakhstan
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.6
Compliance with regard to Lithuania
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.7
Compliance with regard to Romania
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.8
Compliance with regard to Turkmenistan
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.9
Compliance with regard to Ukraine
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.10
Compliance with regard to the European Commission
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Background Reports
ECE/MP.PP/2008/6
Report on Capacity-building
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/7
Report on Implementation of Work Programme 2006/2008
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ECE/MP.PP/2008/8
Global and regional developments promoting principle 10
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Category III

These documents were related to the agenda of the meeting, submitted directly to the meeting. Category III documents were not assigned any symbol, but were listed on the official website if they had been submitted to the ECE secretariat before 6 June 2008. Neither the secretariat nor the host country were responsible for translating or copying Category III documents.

For further information on arrangements, please contact:

Valdimarts Slaukstins
Host country secretariat
Ministry of Environment, Latvia
Tel.:+371 670 26 523
E-mail:

Document Title ENG RUS
Alternative report on implementation of the Convention by Kazakhstan submitted by Ecological Forum Non-governmental organizations of Kazakhstan NGOs PDF  
Alternative report on implementation of the Convention by Kyrgyzstan submitted by a Kyrgyz NGO "Independent Ecological Expertise   PDF
Alternative report on implementation of the Convention by Slovakia submitted by 17 Slovak NGOs PDF  
ANGO Report and Opinion on the Implementation of the Aarhus C 2005 - 2007 Hungary published by Hungarian Network of Eco-counselling Offices PDF  
Capacity building activities in support of the Aarhus Convention - Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) PDF  
Correspondence from Ukraine in connection with paragraphs 16, 25 and 26 of the report of the Compliance Committee on compliance by Ukraine (ECE/MP.PP/2008/5/Add.9). Both English and Russian versions of the documents are presented here as provided by the Party. PDF
PDF
PDF
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Response of the Coalition for Access to Justice for the Environment (CAJE) to the National Implementation Report submitted by the United Kingdom PDF  
Who is paying for the European public good of environmental demcracy? An analysis of financial contributions of Parties and Signatories to the Aarhus Convention to the funding of its Work Program (2003-2007), Institute for European Environmental Policy PDF  
Voice and Choice: Opening the Door to Environmental Democracy - Based on the findings of the Access Initiative. Executive Summary, World Resources Institute PDF  

Intersessional Documents

Intersessional Documents of Relevance to the Agenda (Category II)

These documents are reports and related documents produced during the intersessional period (2005-2008), prepared by the secretariat or subsidiary bodies of the Convention. These documents have been translated and published by UNOG Conference Services in conjunction with the meetings for which they were produced.

Document Title ENG FRE RUS
Third meeting of the Parties Working Group of the Parties
Report of the ninth meeting of the Working Group of the Parties
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2008/2
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Report of the eighth meeting of the Working Group of the Parties
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/5
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Report of the seventh meeting of the Working Group of the Parties
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/2
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Report of the sixth meeting of the Working Group of the Parties
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2006/2
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Working Group on PRTRs
Report of the fifth meeting of the Working Group on PRTRs
ECE/MP.PP/AC.1/2007/4
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Report of the fifth meeting corrigendum - English only ECE/MP.PP/AC.1/2007/4/corr.1 PDF    
Report of the fourth meeting of the Working Group on PRTRs
ECE/MP.PP/AC.1/2007/2
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Report of the third meeting of the Working Group on PRTRs
ECE/MP.PP/AC.1/2006/2
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Reports of the Compliance Committee
Report of the twentieth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2008/4
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Report of the nineteenth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2008/2
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Report of the eighteenth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2007/8
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ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2007/8/Corr.1 PDF    
Report of the seventeenth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2007/6
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Report of the sixteenth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2007/4
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Report of the fifthteenth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2007/2
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Report of the fourteenth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2006/8
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Report of the thirteeth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2006/6
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Report of the twelfth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2006/4
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Report of the eleventh meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2006/2
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Report of the tenth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2005/8
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Report of the ninth meeting of the Compliance Committee
ECE/MP.PP/C.1/2005/6
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Task Force reports
Report of the second meeting of the Task Force on Access to Justice
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.10
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Report of the first meeting of the Task Force on Access to Justice
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2006/4
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Report of the sixth meeting of the Task Force on Electronic Information Tools
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2008/4
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Report of the fifth meeting of the Task Force on Electronic Information Tools
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.3
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Addendum to the Report of Task Force on Electronic Information Tools (Questionnaire on implementation of decision II/3)
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.3/Add.1
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Addendum to the Report of Task Force on Electronic Information Tools (Summary of Responses to the Questionnaire on implementation of decision II/3)
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.3/Add.2
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Report of the fourth meeting of the Task Force on Electronic Information Tools
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2006/5
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Report of the third meeting of the Task Force on Public Participation in International Forums
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2008/3
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Report of the second meeting of the Task Force on Public Participation in International Forums
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.1
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ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.1/Corr.1 PDF    
Report of the first meeting of the Task Force on Public Participation in International Forums
ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2006/3
PDF PDF PDF

See also Documents prepared for the Meeting of the Parties.

Election to the Compliance Committee

Newly elected members of the Compliance Committee

The Meeting elected four new Compliance Committee members to replace four members wholse term had expired and one new member, Taking into account decision II/5, through which it was decided to expand the membership of the Committee to nine. Thirteen nominees had been originally proposed.

Delegations had been encouraged to conduct consultations with a view to reaching a consensus on five candidates in the course of the tenth meeting of the Working Group of the Parties.

The consultation process was completed successfully and the Meeting re-elected Mr. Jonas Ebbesson (Sweden), Ms. Svitlana Kravchenko (Ukraine) and Mr. Gerhard Loibl (Austria) and elected Ms. Ellen Hey (Netherlands) and Mr. Alexander Kodjabashev (Bulgaria) by consensus to serve until the end of the fifth ordinary meeting.

Background

At its first meeting, the Parties to the Convention adopted a decision on review of compliance, decision I/7, which established a compliance mechanism for the Convention ( Lucca, October 2002). The basis for the decision was provided by Article 15 of the Convention, which requires the Parties to set up arrangements of a non-confrontational, non-judicial and consultative nature to review compliance with the Convention.

Decision I/7 establishes a Compliance Committee as the main body for the review of compliance. The primary role of the Committee is to report and make recommendations to the Meeting of the Parties for it to decide upon and take appropriate action.

Decision I/7 established a Compliance Committee consisting of eight members serving in a personal capacity. These individuals are to be nationals of Parties or Signatories to the Convention who are persons of high moral character and recognized competence in the fields to which the Convention relates, including persons having legal experience.

Through decision II/5, adopted at the second meeting of the Parties (Almaty, May 2005), the number of Committee members was increased to nine with effect from the third meeting of the Parties.

Nomination for election

Parties, Signatories and non-governmental organizations falling within the scope of article 10, paragraph 5, of the Convention and promoting environmental protection may nominate candidates for election as follows:

- Nominations shall be sent to the secretariat in at least one of the official languages of the Convention not later than 12 weeks before the opening of the meeting of the Parties during which the election is to take place;

- Each nomination shall be accompanied by a curriculum vitae (CV) of the candidate not exceeding 600 words and may include supporting material;

- The secretariat shall distribute the nominations and the CVs, together with any supporting material, in accordance with rule 10 of the Rules of Procedure.

Election

The Meeting of the Parties elects the members of the Committee by consensus or, failing consensus, by secret ballot.

At each ordinary meeting thereafter, the Meeting of the Parties shall elect four or five members, as appropriate, for a full term of office. Outgoing members may be re-elected once for a further full term of office, unless in a given case the Meeting of the Parties decides otherwise. A full term of office commences at the end of an ordinary meeting of the Parties and runs until the second ordinary meeting of the Parties thereafter. The Committee elects its own Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson.

Geographical representation

The Committee may not include more than one national of the same State. In the election of the Committee, consideration should be given to the geographical distribution of membership and diversity of experience. Rotation

Impartiality and conscientiousness

Every member serving on the Committee shall, before taking up his or her duties, make a solemn declaration in a meeting of the Committee that he or she will perform his or her functions impartially and conscientiously.

For further information on the Compliance Committee, click here.

Nominations to the Compliance Committee at Third Meeting of the Parties

The following individuals had been nominated to serve on the Compliance Committee following the third session of the meeting of the Parties:

Name Nationality
Mr. Agron Alibali              Albania
Mr. Jonas Ebbesson              Sweden
Ms. Ellen Hey                               Netherlands
Ms. Aida Iskoyan               Armenia
Mr. Alexander Kodjabashev               Bulgaria
Ms. Svitlana Kravchenko                Ukraine
Mr. Gerhard Loibl                 Austria
Mr. Marc Pallemaerts                Belgium
Mr. Michel Prieur                 France
Ms. Valentina Rossi                  Italy
Mr. Christian Schrader                Germany
Ms. Deborah Tripley            United Kingdom
Ms. Pavol Zilincik                 Slovakia

Key outcomes of the third Meeting of the Parties

The Riga Declaration: The Meeting adopted the Riga Declaration, which recognizes the accomplishments of the Convention’s first 10 years and the main challenges remaining to its successful implementation. The Declaration recommits the Parties to achieving environmental democracy in the UNECE region and beyond.

Charting the Convention’s future: The Meeting approved a strategic plan that will set in place the future course of the Convention (decision III/8 ENG). Through the Plan, the Parties reaffirm their commitment to implementation of the Convention among the existing Parties as their first priority while expressing their ambition to expand the geographical scope of the Convention by encouraging other countries, including countries from outside the UNECE region, to accede to it.

They also commit to the goal of further developing the provisions and principles of the Convention where necessary to ensure that it continues to achieve its objectives.

Finally, the Plan encourages Parties to share their experiences with the Convention with other forums interested in using them as a basis or a source of inspiration for further strengthening participatory democracy in their respective fields.

Implementation: The Meeting debated implementation of the Convention, drawing upon a set of thirty-five national reports on implementation, which provided an opportunity to see whether and how the goals of the Convention are applied in practice. The reports, prepared in most instances with input from the public, reveal that the Parties have made significant progress in applying the Convention but also continue to face obstacles to implementation.

Compliance: The Meeting approved decisions calling on six of the treaty’s forty-one parties – Albania, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Turkmenistan and Ukraine – to take measures to bring their countries into compliance with the Convention (decisions III/6 and III/6/a through f).

The Meeting’s review of compliance drew upon the findings and recommendations of the Convention’s independent Compliance Committee made in the period 2005–2008. It is the second test of the Convention's compliance mechanism, which is distinctive in that any member of the public having concerns about a Party’s compliance with the Convention may trigger a process of formal review by the Compliance Committee.

The Meeting issued conditional cautions to both Turkmenistan and Ukraine, both of which had already been found to be in non-compliance at the previous Meeting of the Parties. Unless certain steps are taken by the end of the year, and then verified by the Compliance Committee to have been taken, these cautions will take effect from 1 May 2009.

Public participation: The Meeting committed to take steps to strengthen the implementation of the public participation provisions of the Convention. This was in response to the findings under the compliance and reporting mechanisms that a number of member States face significant challenges in establishing detailed procedures ensuring meaningful public involvement.

Ireland offered to lead a future Task Force on Public Participation. For procedural reasons, the Meeting agreed to start with an ad hoc expert group on public participation and upgrade this to the status of a task force as soon as possible and at the latest by the next ordinary meeting of the Parties.

Continuation of work on the Convention’s access to justice pillar: the Meeting agreed to renew the mandate of the task force on access to justice, having identified this ‘pillar’ of the Convention as the one continuing to pose the greatest challenges (decision III/3 ENG).

Extension of the work on electronic information tools: The Meeting agreed to renew the mandate of the task force on electronic information tools to promote the use of Information and Communications Technology in support of increasing public participation in environmental decision-making (decision III/2 ENG).

The Meeting encourages countries “to develop and implement e-government and e-participation applications at all levels, thereby furthering access to government information and services and enabling the public to participate electronically in environmental decision-making.”

Promotion of the Aarhus principles in other international forums: the Parties reaffirmed their willingness to support the promotion of the Convention's principles in other international environmental decision-making processes and within the framework of international organizations in matters related to the environment (decision III/4 ENG). They agreed to extend the mandate of the task force, with the principal focus being on assisting the Parties to implement article 3, paragraph 7, of the Convention.

Early entry into force of the PRTR Protocol: the Parties approved a statement (Protocol ENG) calling on Signatories to ratify the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers in order to bring about its entry into force by 2009. In the Riga Declaration, the Parties identified pollutant release and transfer registers as “effective tools contributing to the prevention and reduction of pollution of the environment, promoting corporate accountability and enabling the public to know about immediate sources of pollution in their neighbourhood.”

Clarification of amendments procedure: The Meeting clarified the conditions for the entry into force of amendments under the Convention in such a way as to accelerate the entry into force of the amendment relating to genetically modified organisms adopted at the previous meeting, and any future amendments (decision III/1 ENG).

Adoption of the Work Programme 2009 - 2011: The Parties adopted a programme of work to guide activities during the intersessional period up to the fourth meeting of the Parties. Decision III/9 ENG reiterates the priority given to five substantive issues:

  1. the Protocol on PRTRs
  2. Access to justice
  3. Public participation
  4. Application of the principles of the Convention in international forums
    and
  5. Electronic tools and the clearinghouse mechanism.

Among the new mandates contained in the 2009-2011 Work Programme, it was agreed to launch an expert group on a communication strategy.

Election of the new Bureau: The Meeting elected the Czech Deputy Minister for the Environment, Mr. Jan Dusik, as the new Chair of the Meeting of the Parties. Ms. Maud Istasse (Belgium) and Ms. Zaneta Mikosa (Latvia) were elected to serve as Vice-chairs of the Meeting of the Parties.

Fourth Meeting planned: The Parties welcomed the offer of the Government of Moldova to host the fourth Meeting of the Parties in 2011.

Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the adoption of the Convention: At the invitation of the Government of Latvia, an anniversary concert and reception celebrating the Convention’s accomplishments was held in the historic center of Riga. The honoured guest speaker at this special event was Mr. Willem Kakebeeke of the Netherlands, who chaired the negotiation of the Convention and later served as Chairman of the First Meeting of the Signatories.

High-level Segment

 

Welcome by Latvian Minister of Enviornment Mr. Raimonds Vejonis

High-level Segment Statements

Welcome address by Mr. Gundars Daudze, Speaker of the Latvian Parliament (Saeima)

Opening remarks by Mr. Marek Belka, UNECE Executive Secretary

Opening statement by Slovenia on behalf of the European Union

I. Celebrating the first 10 years: achievements, lessons learned and future challenges

Statement by Mr. Arturas Paulauskas, Minister of Environment of the Republic of Lithuania

Statement by Ms. Françoise Nesi, Secretary-General, European Union Forum of Judges for the Environment

Statement by Mr. Bernard Snoy, Coordinator of Economic and Environmental Activities, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Statement by Mr. Veit Koester, Chairman of the Compliance Committee

Statement by Mr. John Hontelez, Secretary-General, European Environmental Bureau and European ECO-Forum representative on the Bureau of the Meeting of the Parties

II. Global and regional initiatives to promote principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

Message delivered on behalf of Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, United Nations Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on the adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights

Presentation by Mr. Werner Kiene, The World Bank Inspection Panel

Presentation by Mr. Lalanath de Silva, World Resources Institute on behalf of the Access Initiative

III. Special session on the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers

Opening statement by Mr. Jan Dusik, Deputy Minister for the Environment, the Czech Republic, facilitator of the special session

Statement by Mr. Simon Papyan, Deputy Minister for the Environment, Armenia

Statement by Mr. Michel Amand, Chair of the Working Group on PRTRs, Belgium

IV. Interventions from the floor

Closing statement by Slovenia

Statement by Greece