Introduction
Consultation process
International workshop on involving the public in international forums
Task Force on Public Participation in International Forums
Background
Other related documents
Public Participation in International Forums
While the Aarhus Convention primarily addresses issues at the national level, its Parties have committed themselves, through article 3, paragraph 7, of the Convention, to promote the application of the principles of the Convention in international environmental decision-making processes and within the framework of international organizations in matters relating to the environment.
At their second meeting (Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 2005), the Parties adopted a set of guidelines (E F R) on promoting the principles of access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in international forums dealing with matters relating to the environment. The primary purpose of the Almaty Guidelines is to provide general guidance to Aarhus Parties. They may also be of wider interest to those involved in forums that deal with environmental matters.
At their second meeting, the Parties established a Task Force to consult with international forums regarding the Almaty Guidelines. The consultation process was conducted over a thirteen-month period from June 2006 to July 2007.
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Consultation process
In undertaking the consultation process, Parties to the Aarhus Convention hoped to obtain the views of other international forums on the Almaty Guidelines and also to learn from their experiences in the area of access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.
The initial focus of the consultation process was a written questionnaire. The questionnaire was organised around five broad, open-ended questions designed to allow representatives of forums, including their stakeholders, to provide comments on the Guidelines and to share relevant experiences. The deadline for responses to the questionnaire was 17th September 2006.
The results from the consultation process will be used to provide Parties to the Aarhus Convention with further guidance in implementing their obligation to promote the application of the principles of the Aarhus Convention in international forums and to assist them in reviewing the Guidelines if appropriate.
Responses received from the international forums and other relevant correspondence are available here. A synthesis of the responses, including more detailed addenda, has been prepared by the Aarhus Convention secretariat and is available here.
Anyone wishing to make comments on the consultation process itself is welcome to send these to the Aarhus secretariat at public.participation@unece.org.
Documents from the consultation process
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Work Plan of the Task Force on Public Participation in International Forums (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2006/2/Add.1)
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List of international forums invited to take part in the consultation process (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2006/2/Add.2)
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International workshop on involving the public in international forums
Following the outcome of the initial consultation process, an international workshop with interested international forums and their stakeholders was held in Geneva on 20-21 June 2007. The main aim of the workshop was to provide a forum within which Aarhus Parties and representatives of various other international forums (from governments, secretariats and other stakeholders) might meet together to exchange experiences of their practices with respect to the themes of access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice.
As well as hearing presentations by prominent experts in the area of public participation in international forums, participants had the opportunity to take part in interactive issues-based discussion groups. The Almaty Guidelines (E F R) were a key background document and the Aarhus Parties received feedback on them, in the context of the consultation process. The workshop was conducted in English with French and Russian interpretation provided during most of the sessions.
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Provisional agenda
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List of participants
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Report of workshop, including Chairs' Summary
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Synthesis Paper on Public Participation in International Forums (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.2)
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Addendum to the Synthesis Paper (Rules, procedures and practices on Access to Justice) (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.2/Add.1)
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Addendum to the Synthesis Paper (Rules, procedures and practices on Public Participation) (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.2/Add.2)
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Addendum to the Synthesis Paper (Current and Future workplans) (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.2/Add.3)
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Addendum to the Synthesis Paper (Challenges) (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.2/Add.4)
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Addendum to the Synthesis Paper (Comments on Almaty guidelines) (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2007/L.2/Add.5)
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Summary of report commissioned by France on the state of the art on issues raised by public participation in international forums
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Full report commissioned by France on the state of the art on issues raised by public participation in international forums
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Bibliography for report commissioned by France on the state of the art on issues raised by public participation in international forums - English publications
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Bibliography for report commissioned by France on the state of the art on issues raised by public participation in international forums - French publications
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Bibliography for report commissioned by France on the state of the art on issues raised by public participation in international forums - Other language publications
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Task Force on Public Participation in International Forums
After its establishment at the second meeting of the Parties (Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 2005), the Task Force, led by France, held its first meeting on 24-25 November 2005 and its second meeting on 9-10 November 2006.
The third meeting of the Task Force was held on 8-9 November 2007. The third meeting considered the outcomes of the consultation process, including the report of the workshop on public participation in international forums held on 20-21 June 2007 discussed above. It also considered the comments received from Parties, Signatories, other States, NGOs and other stakeholders on their experience regarding the application of the Almaty Guidelines. The meeting concluded by considering future options for work on public participation in international forums.
Documents of the third meeting of the Task Force
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Report of the third meeting
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Report of workshop, including Chairs' Summary
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Chairs' paper on future options
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Synthesis of comments received on experiences regarding the application of the Almaty Guidelines
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Comments received on experiences regarding the application of the Almaty Guidelines:
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France
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Status report on PPIF practices in France
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Status report on PPIF practices in France - annex
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Denmark
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Germany
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ANPED
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Eco-TIRAS
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European ECO-Forum
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International Center for Environmental Research
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Law and Environment Eurasia Partnership
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NGO-BIOS
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List of participants
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Documents of the second meeting of the Task Force
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Report: Corrigendum
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Chair's paper on further steps in implementation of the work plan
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Synthesis of responses received from international forums to the written questionnaire in the consultation process on the Almaty Guidelines
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Statistics on the consultation process as at 9 November 2006
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Table of Category 1 & 2 forums' responses received as at 9 November 2006
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Table of Category 3 forums' responses received as at 9 November 2006
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List of participants
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Documents of the first meeting of the Task Force
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Draft work plan prepared by the Task Force
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Draft list of international forums prepared by the Task Force
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Preliminary draft work plan prepared by the Chair
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Preliminary draft list of international forums prepared by the Chair
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Background
At
the first meeting of the Parties (Lucca, October
2002), a discussion on the application of the Convention's
principles in international forums took place on
the basis of background material prepared at the
request of the secretariat (E
F
R
and addendum
in E). Through the Lucca Declaration,
paragraph 31 (E
F
R),
the Parties recommended that the possibility of
developing guidelines on “promoting the application
of the principles of the Convention in international
environmental decision-making processes and within
the framework of international organizations in
matters relating to the environment” be given
consideration, for adoption, as appropriate, at
a future meeting of the Parties.
In
October 2003, the Working Group
of the Parties, the main intersessional body
responsible for overseeing the work programme of
the Convention, considered the issue on the basis
of a background paper on Public Participation
in International Forums (E
F
R)
prepared by the Bureau. It decided to establish,
within available resources, a small ad hoc expert
group to “consider the scope, format and content
of possible guidelines and the appropriate process
for their development” with a view to drawing
up options for further consideration by the Working
Group. The expert group was to be composed of “experts
designated by governments, NGOs, relevant international
organizations, other UNECE environmental conventions
and multilateral environmental agreements”.
The process was to take into account the need to
avoid duplication of efforts and to ensure the broadest
possible ownership of the guidelines, as well as
the experience already gained by Parties and Signatories
in the implementation of article 3, paragraph 7,
of the Convention.
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Expert
group on Public Participation in International
Forums
The
expert group met on 3-4
June 2004 to explore the possibilities for developing
guidelines on involving the public (including NGOs
and other stakeholders) in international environment-related
bodies and processes.
It was composed of academics and experts
designated by governments, international, intergovernmental
and regional organisations, including MEA secretariats,
and NGOs. Its interim results were reviewed by the
Bureau of the Meeting of the Parties to the Convention
at its meeting in July 2004. The Bureau decided to convene
a second meeting of the expert group with a view
to having a draft of guidelines ready for adoption
at the second meeting of the Parties to the Convention
(Almaty, May 2005).
Pursuant
to the decision of the Bureau, the second meeting
of the Expert Group took place on 8-10 November 2004 in Geneva.
The experts provided a number of comments on the
text of the draft guidelines and amended it accordingly.
The revised document (E
F
R)
was submitted to the fourth meeting of the Working
Group of the Parties (1-4 February 2005) for further
consideration.
Further amendments to the draft guidelines were made at the fourth meeting of the Working Group of the Parties, at an open-ended Bureau Meeting (28 February-1 March 2005) and at the fifth meeting of the Working Group of the Parties (22-23 May 2005). Following that meeting, the draft guidelines were presented to the Meeting of the Parties for adoption.
At its second meeting, the Meeting of the Parties recalled the work done by the Expert Group and the Working Group of the Parties and adopted the Guidelines and accompanying decision II/4 (E F R). The Meeting also established the Task Force, to be led by France, to enter into consultations regarding the Guidelines with the relevant international forums within the scope of the Guidelines.
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Documents
of the second meeting of the Expert Group
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Provisional
agenda
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Report
of the 2nd meeting of the Expert Group on Public
Participation in International Forums (ECE/MP.PP/WG.1/2005/8)
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Draft guidelines
on Public Participation in International Forums
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List of participants
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Documents
of the first meeting of the Expert Group
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Provisional
agenda
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Report of the
1st meeting of the Expert Group on the Public
Participation in International Forums
(MP.PP/WG.1/2004/13)
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List of participants
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Other
related documents
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UN
Economic Commission for Europe
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Public
Participation in International Forums
MP.PP/WG.1/2003/6
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Access to information,
Public Participation and Access to Justice in
International Forums (MP.PP/2002/18)
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Survey of Selected
Access to Information, Public Participation,
and Access to Justice Rules and Practices in
International Forums (MP.PP/2002/18/Add.1)
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UN
Department of Economic and Social Affairs
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Major groups
participation in CSD-12 official sessions
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UN
Secretary-General's Panel of Eminent Persons
on United Nations Relations with Civil Society
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High Level
Panel on UN-Civil Society; Contextual paper
prepared by Fernando Henrique Cardoso
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UN System and
Civil Society – An Inventory and Analysis
of Practices, Background Paper for the Secretary-General's
Panel of Eminent Persons on United Nations Relations
with Civil Society
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Keynote Speech
by Fernando Henrique Cardoso
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Strategic Partnership:
Challenges and Best Practices in the Management
and Governance of Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships
Involving UN and Civil Society Actors; Background
paper prepared by Carmen Malena for the Multi-Stakeholder
Workshop on Partnerships and UN-Civil Society
Relations
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The Diversity
of Actors within the UN System; Informal paper
of the Secretary-General’s Panel of Eminent
Persons on Civil Society and UN Relationships
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Interaction
between Civil Society and the United Nations;
Speech by Ms. Birgitta Dahl
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United
Nations Environment Programme
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Report of the
Fifth Global Civil Society Forum (UNEP/GCS/5/1)
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Note on Global
Ministerial Environment Forum; UNEP
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UNEP available
information for civil society
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The Global
Civil Society Forum , Note by UNEP
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Enhancing the
application of principle 10 of the Rio Declaration
on Environment and Development (UNEP/GC/22/17
Ch.II section B)
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Enhancing
civil society engagement in the work of the
UNEP; Revised Strategy Paper
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Non-Governmental
Organisations and other major groups
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English |
Français |
Русский |
Strengthening
Public Participation and Access to Information
in the Americas; Environmental Law Institute/
Center for Human Rights and Environment
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A citizen’s
guide to the World Bank Inspection Panel, by
Dana L. Clark
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Public Participation,
Access to Information and Development Banks
in the UNECE Region, CEE Bankwatch Network
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Participation
of Non-Governmental Organisations in International
Environmental Co-operation. Legal Basis and
Practical Experience;Summary of a report by
Ecologic Institute for International and European
Environmental Policy
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Received
comments
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TWN Inputs
for Meeting on Aarhus Convention, Geneva 3-4
June 2004, Third World Network
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Links
to the related internet resources
Explanatory
note
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Link |
Secretary-General’s
Panel of Eminent Persons on Civil Society and
UN Relationships
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Multi-Stakeholder
Processes for Governance and Sustainability
- Beyond Deadlock and Conflict, by Minu Hemmati,
with contributions from Felix Dodds, Jasmin
Enayati & Jan McHarry
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International
Environmental Governance & Stakeholder Disenfranchisement,
United Nations University, Report by Ms. J.
Green
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http://www.ias.unu.edu/research/iegdisenfranchise.cfm
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