Escazú Agreement

The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, better known as the Escazú Agreement (Spanish: Acuerdo de Escazú), is an international treaty signed by 25 Latin American and Caribbean nations concerning the rights of access to information about the environment, public participation in environmental decision-making, environmental justice, and a healthy and sustainable environment for current and future generations.[2] The agreement is open to 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Of the 25 signatories, it has been ratified by fifteen: Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile,Ecuador, Grenada, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Uruguay.[1]

Chico Mendes at his home in Xapuri, Acre, Brazil, in 1988, before his murder because of his environmental activism

In the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, the Escazú Agreement was opened for signature on 27 September 2018.

Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean

Ratified   Signatories   Non-signatories
Drafted	5 May 2015 – 4 March 2018
Signed	27 September 2018 (2018-09-27)[1]
Location	Escazú, Costa Rica
Effective	22 April 2021[1]
Signatories	25[1]
Parties	15[1]
Depositary	Secretary-General of the United Nations
Languages	English, French, Portuguese, Quechua, Spanish

The agreement originated at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development and is the only binding treaty to be adopted as a result of the conference. With the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) acting as the technical secretariat for the process, it was drafted between 2015 and 2018 and adopted in Escazú, Costa Rica, on 4 March 2018.[3] The agreement was signed on 27 September 2018 and remained open for signature until 26 September 2020.[1] Eleven ratifications were required for the agreement to enter into force, which was achieved on 22 January 2021 with the accession of Mexico and Argentina.[4] The agreement entered into force on 22 April 2021.[5][1]

The Escazú Agreement is the first international treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean concerning the environment, and the first in the world to include provisions on the rights of environmental defenders.[2] The agreement strengthens the links between human rights and environmental protection by imposing requirements upon member states concerning the rights of environmental defenders. It aims to provide full public access to environmental information, environmental decision-making, and legal protection and recourse concerning environmental matters. It also recognizes the right of current and future generations to a healthy environment and sustainable development.[6][7]