The non-adherence to the Escazú Agreement by the government of the President Sebastian Pinera it generated a transversal rejection in environmental organizations and in sectors of the opposition. A different position will have the President (e) Gabriel Boric. And it is that its Minister of the Environment, Maisa Rojasappointed this Monday the lawyer Constance Nalegach as head of the Office of International Affairs of that portfolio.
Nalegach, under the first Piñera government, was Chile’s main negotiator -representing the Ministry of the Environment- in the negotiation process for the formulation of the Escazú Agreement. According to the former holder of the portfolio in the second government of Michelle Bachelet, Marcelo Menathe lawyer was the “main ideologue” of the treaty, collects Third.
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The treaty -valid for Latin American and Caribbean countries that have ratified it- entered into force on April 22, 2021, without the signature of Chile.
Specifically, the treaty seeks the implementation of the rights of access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making processes and access to justice in environmental matters.
The then Foreign Minister, Andrew Allamandsettled in September 2020 the discussion over Chile’s non-adherence to the agreement, arguing “the ambiguity and breadth of its terms, its eventual self-executability and the mandatory nature of its regulations that would prevail over internal environmental legislation.”
“It will generate a growing judicialization of environmental procedures and will present a global picture of serious legal uncertainty,” he added.
The activist community and a number of academics refuted the government’s arguments and urged the signing of the treaty.
“The reasons or pretexts for not signing Escazú have been changing over time, because at first there was talk of the risk of lawsuits before the International Court of Justice, but that has already been cleared up,” said a lawyer from the University of Chile and a Master’s degree in Environmental Law from the University of Paris, Valentina Duranto Newspaper UChile in the past year.
“Later, the Minister of the Environment assured that in reality we comply with everything that the treaty requires, therefore it would not be necessary to take risks from international jurisdictions. But all that has been clearing up,” he added.
“Active member in the Escazú Agreement”
The future minister Maisa Rojas indicated that “being an active member of the Escazú Agreement is one of the priorities of my future work as minister and Constance can be a great contribution to that goal. It is important to keep in mind that Santiago will host the Conference of States Parties (COP) of Escazú next April”.
For his part, Nalegach indicated that “we need to move forward decisively in a socio-ecological transition and that the various voices in the international arena are heard and the particularities of our territories valued”.
Likewise, he pointed out that “we must contribute so that the global community jointly faces the climate and environmental crisis with special attention to the impacts on people and groups in situations of vulnerability and protecting those who legitimately advocate for a harmonious and respectful relationship with nature”.
