The Agreement brings a certain amount of optimism because it allows us to believe that it is possible to live in a region where basic rights are no longer violated.
Argentina has long been immersed in a context of multiple crises: economic, social, political and environmental. In this context and after the presidential elections, it remains to be seen what the course will be in socio-environmental matters. What will happen with the commitments assumed in the framework of international treaties such as the Escazu Agreement and the Paris Agreement? What will happen in the field of human rights being 2024 the 30th anniversary of the constitutional reform of 1994? One thing is clear: Argentina surprises us every day and questions abound as to where we will go as a country.
In this scenario, our country faces important socio-environmental challenges: deforestation, polluted watersheds and rivers, use and abuse of agrochemicals along with a constant expansion of soybean monoculture, burning of forests, pastures and wetlands, a clear lack of ambitious policies on adaptation to climate change and, of course, the list of problems is long and diverse. Against this backdrop, there is also a lack of compliance in the areas that the Escazú Agreement assumes: access to public environmental information, access to justice in environmental matters, participation in environmental decision-making and the protection of environmental defenders.
A recent example of this is what happened in the province of Jujuy in June 2023 when the provincial government reformed the Provincial Constitution1 to limit social protest, harming native peoples and benefiting certain productive sectors, mainly lithium mining. The Escazú Agreement can provide a solid legal framework to address these problems and promote a model of country, governance and democracy that is fair, sustainable over time and realistic with our critical context.
One of the points that seems transcendental to us is the need to achieve a citizenry that can actively participate in decision-making processes related to projects or policies that may have a significant impact on the environment. This is especially relevant in Argentina since citizen participation must be rethought and discussed so that it is not considered that the only thing necessary to guarantee this right is to have a Public Hearing (non-binding), which is what usually happens nowadays. Generating instances of citizen participation is also, in our opinion, part of the road we have to travel for a new model of democracy, more representative, closer and realistic of the different realities of the whole country.
In our country, even though we are not in an extremely serious situation in terms of the murder of environmental defenders2 as is the case in other countries in the region, violations of the human rights of those who defend the environment and human rights continue to occur constantly. There are several cases of persecution, harassment, and threats that have occurred in recent years in the national territory. It is urgent and necessary to discuss and think about policies for their protection, security and integrity in order to enforce what the Escazú Agreement stipulates and obliges countries to do.
We believe that another transcendental challenge for Argentina is for the Agreement to achieve constitutional hierarchy, as certain regional and international treaties have, for which it should be analyzed and approved by both chambers of Congress. This could be seen as an opportunity for those who must discuss it (mainly deputies and senators) to inform themselves about it. With an optimistic view, we could hope that this will generate that from the socio-environmental organizations we can influence the Executive Branch to carry out certain policies and measures, as well as it could also be a crucial instance to make visible the violations to certain rights that occur daily in different corners of the country.
Regarding the implementation of the Agreement, it is vital to build and count on spaces that facilitate joint work between the organizations, other relevant actors and the State (at its 3 levels: national, provincial and municipal) in pursuit of an adequate and prompt implementation. If organizations are consulted sporadically, it will be difficult to achieve effective implementation. Therefore, it is essential to build systems that guarantee the full and real participation of civil society in order to work together with the State and other relevant sectors for these processes.
For those of us who understand ourselves as part of the Argentine socio-environmental movement, the Agreement can and must involve collective work to enforce it, to stop the violations of the rights enshrined in the text and to ensure that it takes on the relevance that we all aspire it to have.
“We live in times of multiple crises, but the socio-environmental crisis is still not at the center of the scene for the political leadership. In view of this, the Escazú Agreement brings a certain amount of optimism because it allows us to believe that it is possible to live in a country and a region where basic rights are no longer violated on a daily basis. But we wonder, will the political power be up to the task of ensuring that Argentina is at the forefront in the protection of the rights protected by the Agreement? Will Argentina be an example at regional and international level so that the Agreement guarantees rights and avoids violations, as it was when condemning crimes against humanity during the last civil-military dictatorship? Will the organizations of the socio-environmental movement be up to the task of joining demands, denunciations and proposals? Will we be able to deepen in the construction of (human) networks to address diverse situations that the State continues to fail to reach? Will we be able to show ourselves as a solid, diverse and federal movement that understands the urgency of collective construction to stop the persecution, imprisonment and harassment of defenders?”3.
*Por Micol Cortes, Roí Corrado y Mijael Kaufman Falchuk