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Twentieth meeting of the Working Group of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention

15 - 17 June 2016
Salle VII, Palais des Nations Geneva Switzerland

The twentieth meeting of the Working Group of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention was held on 15-17 June 2016 in Geneva (Palais des Nations). The Working Group reviewed the implementation of the current work programme and discussed a number of items, including, progress achieved in promoting access to information, public participation and access to justice, and in ratification of the Convention's amendment on genetically modified organisms; financial matters; and promotion of the Convention and relevant developments and interlinkages. The Working Group also considered the draft elements of the future work programme for 2018–2021 and draft elements of the future financial arrangements. The Working Group deliberated on preparations for the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties.

Furthermore, the meeting featured a thematic session on promoting the application of the principles of the Convention in international forums. The session focused on recent developments related to international financial institutions, feedback from the promotion of public participation in the lead up to and at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Paris, 30 November–11 December 2015) and an update on stakeholder engagement in the United Nations Environment Assembly and High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development processes.

The Working Group of the Parties was held back-to-back with the meeting of the Task Force on Access to Justice which took place from 14 to 15 June 2016. More information regarding the meeting of the Task Force is available on the following webpage: http://www.unece.org/env/pp/aarhus/tfaj9#/

Documents

Document Title ENG FRE RUS
Provisional Agenda (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/1) PDF PDF PDF
Report (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/2) PDF PDF PDF
List of key decisions and outcomes (AC/WGP-20/Inf.9) PDF    
List of participants PDF    
Item 3 (a)      
Report of the Task Force on Access to Information on its fourth meeting (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/3) PDF PDF PDF
Note by the Chair of the Task Force on Access to Information on possible future directions for the work (AC/WGP-20/Inf.1) PDF    
Item 3 (b)      
Report of the Task Force on Public Participation in Decision-making on its sixth meeting (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/4) PDF PDF PDF
Note by the Chair of the Task Force on Public Participation in Decision-making on possible future directions for the work (AC/WGP-20/Inf.2) PDF    
Item 3 (c)      
Report of the Task Force on Access to Justice on its eighth meeting (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/11) PDF PDF PDF
Note by the Chair of the Task Force on Access to Justice on possible future directions for the work (AC/WGP-20/Inf.3) PDF    
Item 4 (a)      
Membership of the Compliance Committee (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/9) PDF PDF PDF
Note by the Chair of the Compliance Committee on promoting effective compliance with the Convention (AC/WGP-20/Inf.4) PDF    
Item 5      
Note by the Chair of the thematic session on promoting the application of the principles of the Convention in international forums on possible future directions for the work (AC/WGP-20/Inf.5) PDF    
Provisional Programme of the thematic session on the promotion of the Aarhus Convention's principles in international forums (AC/WGP-20/Inf.7) PDF    
Item 7      
Report on the implementation of the work programme for 2015–2017 (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/5) PDF PDF PDF
Report on contributions and expenditures in relation to the implementation of the work programme for 2015–2017 (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/6) PDF PDF PDF
Item 8 (a)      
Draft elements of the work programme for 2018–2021 (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/7) PDF
DOC
PDF
DOC
PDF
DOC
Proposal by EU and its Member States

PDF

DOC

   
Item 8 (b)      
Draft elements of possible financial arrangements (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/8) PDF
DOC
PDF
DOC
PDF
DOC
Proposal by EU and its Member States

PDF

DOC

   
Item 8 (c)      
Draft outline of the agenda of the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2016/10) PDF
DOC
PDF
DOC
PDF
DOC
Note on the preparatory timeline for the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties (AC/WGP-20/Inf.6) PDF    

 

Statements and Presentations

Title  ENG FRE RUS
Statements by the EU and its Member States for all agenda items PDF    
Item 3 (b) - Public participation in decision-making      
Statement by Women in Europe for a Common Future International on behalf of European ECO Forum PDF    
Item 6 - Promotion of the Convention and relevant developments and interlinkages      
Statement by the Government of Guinea-Bissau   PDF  
Statement by ECLAC PDF    
Statement by The Danish Institute for Human Rights PDF    
Presentation by The Danish Institute for Human Rights PDF    
Statement by Rivers without Boundaries International Coalition PDF    
Item 8 (a) - Future work programme      
Statement by Women in Europe for a Common Future International on behalf of European ECO Forum PDF    
Item 8 (c) - Agenda of the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties      
Statement by NGOs PDF    
Item 8 (d) - Dates and hosting of the sixth session of the Meeting of the Parties
Presentation by the Government of Montenegro PDF  

PPIF Thematic Session

Document Title ENG FRE RUS
Provisional Programme of the thematic session on the promotion of the Aarhus Convention's principles in international forums (AC/WGP-20/Inf.7) PDF    
Promoting the application of the principles of the Aarhus Convention in international forums (Almaty Guidelines) (ECE/MP.PP/2005/2/Add.5) PDF PDF PDF
Leaflet: Public Participation in International Forums. A Snapshot on the Almaty Guidelines PDF PDF PDF
Checklist of measures to be borne in mind when developing a national action plan to systematically promote the principles of the Convention in all international forums dealing with matters relating to the environment (prepared by the secretariat, in consultation with the Chair of the thematic session) PDF PDF  
Note by the Chair of the thematic session on promoting the application of the principles of the Convention in international forums on possible future directions for the work (AC/WGP-20/Inf.5) PDF    
Survey for Parties in preparation for the thematic session on the promotion of the principles of the Convention in international forums DOC    
Survey for Non-Governmental Organizations, Intergovernmental Organizations, Aarhus Centers, Regional Environmental Centers and other stakeholders
in preparation for the thematic session on the promotion of the principles of the Convention in international forums
DOC    
Results of the Survey for Parties and Stakeholders PDF    
Presentation of the Results of the Survey for Parties and Stakeholders PDF    
Statements and Presentations      
Item 1: Opening
Welcome remarks
Mr Marco Keiner, UNECE
PDF    
Item 2: Introduction and update by the Chair
Stakeholder engagement in global and regional follow-up and review of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, written statement by the UNECE secretariat PDF    
UNEP Access-to-Information and Stakeholder Engagement Policies, written statement by UNEP PDF    
Item 3: Promotion of the principles of the Aarhus Convention in the UNFCCC processes with focus on COP-21 and COP-22
Mr Pierre-Henri Guignard, France   PDF  
Ms Megumi Endo, UNFCCC secretariat PDF    
Mr Sébastien Duyck, Centre for International Environmental Law PDF    
Item 4: Recent developments in promoting the Convention principles in the policies of international financial institutions
Ms Elizabeth Smith and Ms Jessica Withers, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) PDF    
Mr Roberto Rando, European Investment Bank (EIB) PDF    
Mr Petr Hlobil, CEE Bankwatch Network PDF    
Mr Bin Wang, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) (via audio link) PDF    
Mr Charles di Leva, World Bank (video message) LINK