"Regional Action on Environmental Democracy to Fulfill the Vision of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda” is an event to enable dialogue and inspire countries to sign and ratify the Escazú Agreement, a historic binding treaty on environmental democracy for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, emphasizing the rights of vulnerable people and environmental defenders. The Agreement opens for signature on the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly. The event is hosted by the Governments of Costa Rica and Chile and United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and co-sponsored by The Access Initiative, Amnesty International, Civicus, Derecho, Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (DAR), Namati, Open Society Foundation, and World Resources Institute.

This multi-stakeholder, international event will draw stakeholders from governments, civil society, and environmental defenders. It will focus on the only legally binding agreement from Rio+20, which puts Principle 10 into practice, the Escazú Agreement and ways it can be implemented regionally.

WRI is the secretariat for The Access Initiative, a civil society network focused on achieving environmental democracy worldwide. WRI and The Access Initiative have played an instrumental role in coordinating and supporting this historic agreement.

Speakers

• Alicia Bárcena, United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

• Carlos Alvarado Quesada, President of the Republic of Costa Rica

• Lorena Aguilar Revelo, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of the Republic of Costa Rica

• Erika Guevara Rosas, Americas Regional Director, Amnesty International

• Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, CIVICUS Secretary General

• Lizardo Cauper, Asociación Interétnica de Desarrollo de la Selva Peruana (AIDESEP), part of Coordinador de Organizaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca del Río Amazonas (COICA)

• Stacey Cram, Policy Director, Namati

• Aída Gamboa, Representative from DAR

• Andrea Sanhueza, Representative of the public

• Danielle Andrade, Representative of the public

• Winston Anderson, Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice

• Patrick Gaspard, President of Open Society Foundations

• Panel Chair: Andrew Steer, President, World Resources Institute

• Carole Excell, Director, The Access Initiative - World Resources Institute