Belize became the 14th State Party to ratify the long-awaited Escazu Agreement earlier this month.
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| Escazú Agreement |
The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) first adopted this agreement on March 4, 2018, in Escaz, Costa Rica, with the goal of ensuring the full and effective implementation of three rights: access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters.
Thus, on March 7, 2023, the Government of Belize formally signed and ratified this crucial agreement, joining the 13 other nations in the LAC who have acknowledged its significance.
Download Escazú Agreement PDF
If history has taught us anything, it is the devastating toll that climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation have taken on our environment, not only in our country, but throughout the region.
Regrettably, attacks on individuals who strive to conserve the land have intensified.
According to an Amandala post from April of last year, "our area has one of the greatest frequencies of crimes against environmental activists and defenders, with Latin America and the Caribbean accounting for 148 of the total 202 crimes committed against them in 2019."
Many of the victims of such attacks have been women, indigenous peoples, and African descent, who are often in the forefront of environmental human rights activists.
According to a Pan-African Reparations Coalition in Europe (PARCOE) article, "it puts citizen action and environmental defenders at the center, recognizes the rights of those who have traditionally been underrepresented, excluded, or marginalized, and thus contributes to the fulfillment of the 2023 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals."
According to statistics, more than one-third of all attacks against environmental activists and defenders specifically target indigenous people, who account for around 6% of the worldwide population and protect 80% of the world's remaining biodiversity in South America. Similarly, despite being created in locations rich in natural resources, African descendent groups have had a severe impact of recent climatic events on their population.
The Escaz Accord acknowledges all of these challenges, reminding the world that in order to conserve the environment, we must first protect those who defend it, whether in government or non-governmental organizations.