Signatories approved a regional vision on access rights in environmental matters

At the end of the third Meeting of the Focal Points designated by the Governments of the signatory countries of the Declaration on the implementation of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Lima, Peru, on October 30- 31, 2013, the Lima Vision for a Regional Instrument on Access Rights Relating to the Environment was agreed upon. In the vision it states that an instrument in Latin America and the Caribbean will help every person have effective and timely access to environmental information, participation in decision-making that affects the environment and access to justice on environmental issues. It also stresses that to exercise access rights deepens and strengthens democracy and contributes to better protection of the environment and therefore human rights.

Highlighting the importance and benefits of access rights in the Lima Vision signatory countries agreed on the following values and principles that inspire and guide the regional instrument: equality, inclusion, transparency, proactivity, collaboration, progressive realization and non-regression.

The vision agreed in Lima was proposed in the context of the actions taken by the working group on access rights and regional instrument, established in the Action Plan to 2014 and adopted by consensus at the Third Meeting of the Focal Points designated by the Governments of the signatory countries of the Declaration on the implementation of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

At the third meeting, the signatories also agreed on priorities for 2014 working group on capacity building and cooperation.