The Parties to the present Agreement.
Recalling the adoption, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2012, of the Declaration on the application of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration, reaffirming the commitment to the rights of access to information, participation and justice regarding environmental issues, recognizing the need to make commitments to ensure proper fulfilment of those rights and declaring a willingness to launch a process for exploring the feasibility of adopting a regional instrument.
Reaffirming Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, which establishes the following: “Environmental issues are best handled with participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided”
Emphasizing that access rights are interrelated and interdependent, and so each and
every one of them should be promoted and implemented in an integrated and balanced
manner.
Convinced that access rights contribute to the strengthening of, inter alia, democracy,
sustainable development and human rights.
Regional agreement on acces to information, public participation and justice in eviromental matters in Latin America and the Caribean
