A short history of the Convention
The UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public
Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was adopted on 25th June 1998 in the
Danish city of Aarhus at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in the.'Environment for Europe' process.
Signatories prepare for entry into force
After the adoption of the Convention, two meetings of
Signatories were held in 1999 and in 2000 and a Working Group.to prepare for the first meeting of the Parties met three times in.2001 and 2002.
The first meeting of the Parties took place in Lucca, Italy
on.21-23 October 2002. The Meeting adopted the Lucca
Declaration as well as a number of decisions inter alia on PRTRs,.GMOs, access to justice, electronic information tools,
rules of.procedure for the Meeting of the Parties,
compliance, capacity-building and the work programme.
Adoption of the Protocol on Pollutant Release and
Transfer.Registers
An extra-ordinary meeting of the Parties was held on
21 May 2003 in Kiev, Ukraine in the framework of the fifth
'Environment for Europe' Ministerial Conference. The Meeting
of.the Parties adopted the Protocol on Pollutant Release
and.Transfer Registers, which was subsequently opened for
signature.
Thirty-six States and the European Community signed the
Protocol in Kiev.
Second meeting of the Parties
The second meeting of the Parties took place in Almaty,
Kazakhstan, on 25-27 May 2005. The Meeting adopted an
amendment to the Convention setting out more precise
provisions on public participation in decision-making on
deliberate release of genetically modified organisms, thereby
bringing to a close a long-standing debate on the topic. The amendment will enter into force once ratified by at least
three-quarters of the Parties.
The Meeting reviewed the status of implementation of and
compliance with the Convention on the basis of the national
implementation reports and the report of the Compliance
Committee and made recommendations to certain Parties
found.not be in compliance.
The Meeting also adopted the Almaty Guidelines on Promoting
the Application of the Principles of the Aarhus Convention in
International Forums and a number of decisions addressing
both.substantive and procedural issues.
Finally, it adopted the Almaty Declaration setting out the
aspirations and priorities of the Parties and other stakeholders.
If you need any further
information or have any questions about the material,
please contact public.participation@unece.org.