“Assessment of the situation of persons, groups, and organisations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters in the States Parties to the Escazú Agreement”

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.

Furthermore, the implementation program developed by the Working Group indicates that the regional assessment will be carried out between 2025 and 2026. It also notes that the specific products and/or activities to be developed to meet this objective are: 1) a methodological design; 2) a participatory data collection mechanism; and, finally, 3) a report, including a summary and conclusions.

The program also indicates that the main parties responsible for implementing this action are the Working Group, the Secretariat, and the States Parties, and that the UN System, relevant regional organizations, universities, research centers, elected representatives of the public, the public, and in particular individuals, groups, and organizations that promote and defend human rights in environmental matters, among other actors, will be invited to collaborate.

Consequently, 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, using standardised forms and data sheets, and will publish online perception surveys for the public through the platform of the regional public mechanism.