This 27 September 2018 your country will have a historic opportunity: to join the most important human rights and environmental protection agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean of the last twenty years.
The Escazú Agreement represents a major step forward for the right of people like you to access information and participate in policies, projects and decisions that affect our environment. If the agreement is ratified, your country will have to ensure that your voice is heard. You will have a say on how to use and manage the land and its resources. New mechanisms will be in place to guarantee access to justice when your rights are violated. Crucially, it will also provide protection for environmental rights defenders in a region where defending the land, rivers and forests is more dangerous than anywhere else in the world.
But the race to bring the Escazú Agreement to life is short and full of challenges.
On 27 September 2018, the Escazú Agreement will officially open for signatures for the next 24 months. At least 11 countries must ratify it so it can enter into force. If we do not reach this number, we will lose this unique opportunity to stand up for human rights and the environment.
To date, only three countries have publicly committed to signing it. But it’s not too late to call on all the countries in the region to do so.
Thousands of people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean can send a powerful message right to the heart of the United Nations and all across the Americas, showing governments that as citizens we fully stand behind the protection of the environment and human rights, and demanding that they join this vital agreement within the shortest time possible.
