Duties of the Representatives of the Public

· The role of elected representatives is to encourage and facilitate public participation, channel their contributions and represent the public before the Conference of the Parties (COP), the Presiding Officers, the Committee to Support Implementation and Compliance (CSIC), and other subsidiary bodies and meetings of the Agreement. 

· For these purposes, the representatives shall consult with the general public through the Regional Public Mechanism. 

· In accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the Parties (Decision I/1), the Presiding Officers shall also be composed of one of the elected representatives of the public, to participate in meetings with a voice but not a vote. In addition, the elected representatives will have two seats at the main table in the room and submit proposals on behalf of the public at meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement. 

· The functions of the representatives do not exclude or preclude the participation of members of the general public, who may make use of the participation modalities provided for in the COP Rules of Procedure. 

· In accordance with Rule II(h) of Decision I/1, the public represented is defined as “one or more natural or legal persons and the associations, organizations, or groups established by those persons, that are nationals or that are subject to the national jurisdiction of the countries listed in Annex I to the Agreement.”

· A total of six representatives will be elected (Rules for the election of representatives of the public).

· To determine the total number of REPS, two representatives will be elected from each of the following electoral subregions: (Article 3)

§ Subregion 1: comprising Argentina, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).

§ Subregion 2: comprising Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago.

§ Subregion 3: comprising Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and the Dominican Republic.

· Candidates must indicate the electoral subregion in which they are running, as established in Article 3 of the Regulations. (Article 7)

· In each subregion, no more than one person elected as a representative may be from the same country (citizen or resident) or of the same sex. (Article 11)

· The six representatives shall have equal representation (Article 16).

· Individuals serving as Representatives shall perform their duties on an “ad honorem” basis and in accordance with the COP Rules of Procedure. (Article 16).

· The term of office shall be four years, ending following a new election process. (Article 17).

Elected representatives of the public (2022-2026)

César Artiga, El Salvador

Mijael Kaufman, Argentina

Nicole Leotaud, Trinidad and Tobago

Joara Marchezini, Brazil

Irene Murillo, Costa Rica

Bishnu Tulsie, Saint Lucia

• Contact details reps_escazu@riseup.net