The objective of the “Escazú Agreement legal and policy assessment” is to assess gaps in national legislation and policy for countries in order to support ratification and implementation of the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation, and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (hereafter the Escazú Agreement). The Escazú Agreement has been recognized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the secretariat for the agreement, as a ground-breaking legal instrument for environmental protection and a human rights treaty the main beneficiaries of which are the people of our region, particularly the most vulnerable groups and communities. The assessment tool has been created by The Access Initiative Network and the World Resources Institute in collaboration with regional experts from civil society and governments. The assessment tool is intended to be useful to governments and civil society in the process of assessing readiness for ratification and implementation of the agreement. The assessment can be carried out repeatedly, tracking changes over time as it creates a standardized and replicable approach to assessing a government’s ability to implement the agreement through law and policy. The Escazú Legal and Policy Assessment was inspired by the Aarhus Index methodology prepared by the Access Initiative, TAI European Partners,1 and the World Resources Institute. A version in spanish will be uploaded shortly.
