(Virtual) Meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Human Rights Defenders on Environmental Matters of the Escazú Agreement
Date: 18 August 2026
Time: 10.30–12.00 Santiago de Chile time
Background:
The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement) is the first regional environmental treaty in Latin America and the Caribbean and the first in the world to contain specific provisions, in Article 9, for the protection of persons, groups, and organizations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters.
The Action Plan on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean was approved by Decision III/2 of the Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement, held at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, from April 22 to 24, 2024.
The approved Action Plan aims to implement a set of priority areas and strategic actions to advance the full and effective implementation of Article 9 of the Escazú Agreement, with a completion deadline in April 2030. In addition, to facilitate its implementation, it was decided to maintain the working group until the close of the 2030 ordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties. The working group's new mandate is to monitor the actions included in the Action Plan, evaluate their effectiveness, and report to the Conference of the Parties.
The Action Plan established in axis A on “Knowledge generation” action number 1, which provides for the preparation of “an assessment of the situation of persons, groups, and organisations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters in the States Parties.”
This assessment should consider, “in accordance with the availability of data,” among other aspects, the “number of victims or violations and the different types of violations”; “international and national instruments and mechanisms related to prevention, protection, and punishment,” such as early warning systems and protocols for action by national and subnational institutions; and “existing practices and other community experiences and initiatives and self-protection strategies carried out by those who promote and defend human rights in environmental matters.” In addition, the Action Plan provides that the assessment should consider information from “States Parties and other key actors” and provide conclusions.
The Working Group coordinators, with support from the Secretariat, have developed a proposal for the methodological design of the regional assessment, including a participatory data-collection mechanism and process planning. This study will combine multiple sources and mechanisms to generate data and address the three research objectives.
To this end, the Secretariat will send questionnaires to the focal points of the States Parties and other relevant actors and will publish online surveys for the public via the regional public mechanism.
Objectives of the meeting:
