Dear Sir / Madam,
The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung invites you to a discussion on "A landmark treaty on human rights, environmental protection and trade - the Esaczú Agreement". The roundtable will take place on 22.03.2022 at 16:00(CET).
In 2021 the Escazú Agreement entered into force and has been ratified by 12 countries in Latin America so far. It is about establishing minimum standards for human and environmental rights, i.e. access to justice, information and strengthening the rights of citizens and activists. High standards are an important cornerstone of EU-Latin America's relations, e.g. in the context of the Supply Chain Act recently presented by the Commission. This makes it all the more important to raise the visibility of the agreement and to advocate for its implementation from a EU perspective.
The FES office in Mexico has been actively following the negotiations and implementation process of the agreement for years and has recently commissioned two study on the role of the civil society and legal aspects. The authors Dr. Juan Carlos Carrillo Fuentes, Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA), and Tomás Severino Ortega, Cultura Ecológica, A.C., will present their findings after which we invite you to discuss the potential of this new agreement:
What standards does the convention set? How does it differ from the Aarhus Convention and in what areas does it go further? How will Escazú define future relations between Latin America and the EU in terms of business, trade, human rights and the environment? What can the EU potentially learn from the adopted milestones?
The roundtable will take place online via Zoom. Log-in details will be sent shortly bevor the event. English and Spanish interpretation will be provided. If you want to take part, please register by 21 March (COB): https://brussels.fes.de/events/event-registration
We are looking forward to welcoming you at our event!
With kind regards
Astrid Becker
FES-Mexico
Daniela Iller
FES-Brussels, Europe Office
Susanne Stollreiter and Thomas Hartmann
FES-Berlin, Latin America Department
