Chile debuts as a State Party at Escazú COP2

The Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Gloria de la Fuente, and the Undersecretary of Environment, Maximiliano Proaño, participated today in the opening of the second meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement, the first in which Chile attends as a full member.

The main objective of this COP, which is being held in Buenos Aires, will be to elect the members of the Committee for the Support of Implementation and Compliance with the Treaty. In addition, Chile will co-chair tomorrow the working group on Human Rights Defenders in environmental matters, which is one of the most distinctive elements of the Agreement.

Last night, Undersecretary Gloria de la Fuente and Undersecretary Maximiliano Proaño participated in the opening ceremony of COP2, held at the Kirchner Cultural Centre and led by the President of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez.

On the occasion, they received an acknowledgement welcoming Chile for becoming one of the new States Parties to the Agreement. "We have received recognition for our participation, which reaffirms the Chilean Government's commitment to multilateralism, environmental protection and the defence of human rights and democracy," said the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs.

For his part, the Undersecretary of the Environment pointed out that "today we are a State Party, therefore, we have the great commitment and challenge to be ambitious in the implementation of the Escazú Agreement, to improve and raise the standards in terms of participation, information and environmental justice in our country".

Escazu is the first treaty on environmental issues in the region, and the first in the world, to include legally binding provisions on human rights defenders in environmental matters. It aims to guarantee the full and effective implementation of access rights in environmental matters: the right to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making processes and access to justice in environmental matters, with the purpose of guaranteeing the human right to live in a healthy environment and the sustainable development of present and future generations.