Belize signs Escazú Agreement but delays its ratification
Association
#Belize becomes the 23⁰ signatory country of the #EscazuAgreement! Ambassador Lois M. Young, Permanent Representative of Belize to the #UnitedNations, signed this historic treaty coinciding with the 75 Session of the General Assembly. More information at https://t.co/CGtl3fLpM8 pic.twitter.com/bI77rMCQEO
— ECLAC (@eclac_un) September 24, 2020
In September 2022, Belize became the 23rd country to sign the Escazú Agreement, a binding regional treaty on access to information, public participation and justice in environmental matters. The agreement provides a framework for cooperation on and strengthening of environmental policy and includes provisions to guarantee the rights of environmental defenders.
On 12th January 2023, the Cabinet expressed their support for the agreement’s ratification but in February 2023 the government decided to delay the ratification after Costa Rica’s Congress rejected a motion to ratify the treaty. A senator with Belize’s governing party stated:
“Тhе Gоvеrnmеnt оf Соѕtа Rіса whісh іѕ thе ѕеаt оf thе Escazú Аgrееmеnt, аnnоunсеd thаt іt wаѕ rесоnѕіdеrіng іtѕ роѕіtіоn wіth rеѕресt tо thіѕ Аgrееmеnt. Wе wіll thеrеfоrе dеlау thе rаtіfісаtіоn, іf аuthоrіsеd bу thе Ѕеnаtе, untіl thе Gоvеrnmеnt оf Соѕtа Rіса fіnаlіsеѕ іtѕ роѕіtіоn.”