The fourth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) took place in the Palace of the Republic in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, from 29 June 2011 to 1 July 2011, at the kind invitation of the Government of the Republic of Moldova.
The fourth session of the Meeting of the Parties provided a platform for Parties, Signatories, international organizations, civil society and other stakeholders, to discuss achievements and challenges in promoting environmental democracy. Participants addressed a wide range of topics, including access to justice, access to information and public participation in national decision-making as well as in international forums.
Welcoming global accession and promoting sustainable development
Marking a decade since the entry into force of the Convention, the Meeting of the Parties adopted a decision encouraging the accession by States outside the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region, including a simple procedure for doing so — thus encouraging the propagation of the important and unique protections offered by this international environmental rights treaty on a fully global scale.
The move is widely recognized as a timely one: in a message delivered to the session, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon noted that the Aarhus Convention “is more important than ever”. The “treaty’s powerful twin protections for the environment and human rights can help us respond to many challenges facing our world, from climate change and the loss of biodiversity to air and water pollution. And the Convention’s critical focus on involving the public is helping to keep Governments accountable,” the Secretary-General stressed. For the full statement, click here. The Meeting adopted the Chisinau Declaration (ENG FRE RUS) at the high-level segment, delivering a well thought-out message on the promoting environmental participatory democracy to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio +20.
Furthering Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice
The Meeting agreed on a number of decisions, including the future work programme to guide the activities in the next intersessional period. In adopting the Convention’s work programme for 2012–2014, the Meeting decided the Task Forces on Public Participation in Decision-making (led by Ireland) and Access to Justice (led by Sweden) will continue with renewed mandates. A third task force has been given a new mandate as the Task Force on Access to Information (to be led by the Republic of Moldova) to, inter alia, promote exchange of information and identify barriers and solutions concerning public access to environmental information, including with regard to products and the promotion of the accessibility of environmental information held by the private sector. The Meeting also agreed that the Task Force and relevant bodies under the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers should engage with the process for the Eye on Earth Summit (Abu Dhabi, 12–15 December 2011) so as to share the region’s experience globally. Furthermore, the Parties called for the Convention to continue the work (led by France) in promoting the Convention in international forums and building synergies with other conventions and international organizations involved in environmental matters.
Monitoring Parties’ compliance
The Meeting also adopted decisions on specific cases of non-compliance concerning Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Republic of Moldova, Spain, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, as well as a decision on issues of compliance generally. To date, all findings by the Committee have been endorsed by the Meeting of the Parties and all Parties concerned demonstrated their consent with the decisions.
All documents may be accessed through this webpage. They include documents and decisions adopted by the Meeting of the Parties, background documents prepared in advance for the meeting and relevant intersessional documents.
For the list of participants of the meeting, please click here.