Statement on compliance 2

European ECO Forum ADDITIONAL Statement on COMPLIANCE to the Fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention and to the Second Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers NOTICE: For the broader NGO statement released on Monday 30 June, click here.

In any convention, compliance is crucial. For the Aarhus Convention, having an ambitious and practical compliance mechanism is even more important.

We are aware that over the years the implementation issues have become more complex, with increasing threats on the environment and the emergence of new social and political situations, therefore posing new compliance challenges.

We are concerned by repeated failures to implement MOP decisions, without any meaningful progress, and by formalistic “tick box approaches� and abuse of the bona fide rule by some Parties. We call upon countries, coming in front of the MOP for non-compliance issues, especially those coming repeatedly since Almaty, to bring themselves into compliance very quickly, so that we do not have to address these issues again at the next MOP. When implementing the recommendations, we urge Parties to address more thoroughly the specific situations or projects which led to the findings of non-compliance. Recommendations by the Compliance Committee and the MOP should also be formulated accordingly.

For example when it is established that the licensing process for an environmentally significant project lacked the legally required opportunities for public participation, why should the Committee not recommend that the license be deemed invalid and that the licensing process be repeated ?

We welcome the exemplary work of the Compliance Committee in facilitating compliance of the Parties with the Convention.

We urge the Parties to make available additional resources to this crucial work, so that the Compliance Committee continues to play this important role effectively, in light of the increase of compliance issues to be reviewed. We call the Committee to use all of its competences to make sure that Parties under review are effectively back in compliance with the Convention, following the recommendations addressed to them.

We also call on Parties and signatories to promote and apply similar approaches to reviewing compliance under other multilateral environmental agreements.