Chile’s President signs adhesion to the “Escazú Agreement” in defense of the environment

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, signed the Escazú Agreement, an international treaty ratified by 24 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that aims to guarantee access to environmental rights and protect ecological activists and biodiversity in times of climate emergency.

Chile’s accession to this charter, promoted after the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in 2012, was raised by the first government of the conservative Sebastián Piñera (2010-2014) but was not discarded during his second term in the Palacio de la Moneda (2018-2012) due to pressure from industry and mining.

Sources close to the current government, which began its term last Friday, March 11, assured that it was inexplicable that Chile was not part of this significant pact signed by the great nations of the continent and that it is in line with the new economic reality, in which the defense of the environment is crucial.

And they affirmed that it coincides with the strategic vision of the new Executive led by Boric, a politician concerned and aware of the need to act urgently in the face of the climate emergency.

During the signing, which is one of the first important decisions of the new Administration, the president was accompanied by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Antonia Urrejola, and Environment, Maisa Rojas.

“This agreement recognizes the explicit and necessary relationship between the environment and human rights, generating a virtuous link in which access to information, participation, and environmental justice are understood as interdependent,” said Rojas.

Urrejola said that “the future of Chile is inevitably connected to the protection of the environment and ecosystems. Accession to the Escazú agreement represents a return to the best of our diplomatic tradition. We want to recover Chile’s international prestige and make Chilean men and women feel proud of the country’s contribution to the world”.

The agreement is the first initiative that the new Chilean government has sent to the legislature for ratification.

“From Latin America and the Caribbean, we are speaking to the world, fighters for the environment, fighters for life, have taught us to persevere,” said President Boric, who underlined that the signature is one of the commitments of his electoral campaign already fulfilled.

CRITICISM FROM THE RIGHT

The signing was applauded by progressive forces in Chile and criticized by some groups on the right.

The deputy of the Democratic Revolution, Catalina Perez, explained to the local press that the signing is in line with the right path and said it would be very beneficial and contribute to ecosystems’ protection.

In response, her colleague from Renovación Nacional, José Miguel Castro, assured that adhesion to this treaty, which is the first to protect defenders of environmental rights, could generate conflicts with other countries.

AVOID MORE CRIMES

The Escazú Agreement is considered one of the most important environmental instruments in the region, also aimed at preventing the repetition of threats and murders of ecological rights defenders such as the Honduran Lenca indigenous leader Berta Cáceres, or the Brazilian Chico Mendes.

Its main objectives are to fully and effectively implement the rights of access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making processes, and access to justice in environmental matters.

It also seeks to guarantee the protection of each person’s right, of present and future generations, to have sustainable development and live in a healthy environment.

Among its provisions, it includes a gender perspective, open government, and priority criteria in its application for people in vulnerable situations, in addition to being one of the first in the world to be binding in the framework of the defense and respect for human rights in matters related to nature.

With information from EFE