As of 20 June 2012, Ireland has become the latest country to ratify the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and its amendment on genetically modified organisms. This action raises the total number of Parties to the Convention to 46 and the Parties to the amendment to 27. Ireland also became the twenty-ninth Party to the Convention’s Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers.Commenting from Rio, where he is attending the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio+20), Sven Alkalaj, the UNECE Executive Secretary, “warmly welcomed” Ireland’s ratification and drew attention to its relevance for the Rio Principles: “The Aarhus Convention and its Protocol are the world’s only international legally binding instruments enshrining Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration”, he said, observing that the ratification by Ireland “symbolically coincides with the twentieth anniversary of Principle 10”. Looking to the future, Mr. Alkalaj noted that “the Aarhus Convention’s powerful twin protections for the environment and human rights can help us respond to many challenges facing our world, from climate change and the loss of biodiversity to air and water pollution. Ultimately, these instruments provide the groundwork for building sustainable green economies and more stable, secure and inclusive societies.”
Phil Hogan, Irish Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government said that his objective was “to make Ireland an environmental leader. Ratification of the Aarhus Convention will be another stepping stone to this goal.”
This ratification acts as a reminder of the continuing relevance and universal importance of Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio Declaration adopted by 178 Governments which calls for access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.
Ireland demonstrated its good will through supporting activities under the Convention even before the ratification and it has provided chairmanship to the Task Force on Public Participation in Decision-making, one of the most challenging areas of the Convention’s work.
For further information, please visit www.unece.org/env/pp
or contact:
Ella Behlyarova
Secretary
Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters
Tel: + 41 22 917 2376
E-mail: [email protected]
Note to editors
Aarhus Convention and Amendment on genetically modified organisms.
The Convention was adopted in Aarhus, Denmark, in June 1998 and signed by the European Community and 39 countries from all subregions of ECE. It entered into force in October 2001. The amendment on public participation in decisions on the deliberate release into the environment and placing on the market of genetically modified organisms was adopted by the Meeting of the Parties at its second session held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on 25-27 May 2005. The Parties to the Convention are: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the European Community. The Parties to the amendment on genetically modified organisms are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the European Union. The Parties to the Convention now include vast majority of countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, all countries in Caucasus and South Eastern Europe, and all EU member States.
Protocol to the Aarhus Convention on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs)
The PRTR Protocol was adopted at an extraordinary meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention on 21 May 2003. Thirty-six member States and the European Community signed the Protocol in Kiev. The Protocol entered into force on 8 October 2009. The Parties to the PRTR Protocol are: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the European Union.
All agreements enter into force for a State on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the State’s instrument of ratification, at which point it becomes a Party.