Patricia Madrigal of Costa Rica, president of the Escazú Treaty’s Committee to Support Implementation and Compliance, flanked by one of the panel’s four other members at its inaugural meeting this month in Santiago, Chile—Andrés Nápoli of Argentina. (Photo courtesy of ECLA)
Colombia’s participation in the first regional environmental treaty for Latin America and the Caribbean appeared certain until early August, when the country’s Constitutional Court issued a surprise order that puts the nation’s ratification of the accord in doubt. Shortly after taking office a year ago, left-leaning President Gustavo Petro signed the treaty, known as the Escazú Agreement, which aims to boost public access to environmental information and government decision-making associated with development projects and to safeguard green advocates. In October 2022, the lower house of the Colombian Congress voted 119 to 1 to ratify it, with 68 lawmakers absent—many of them allies of former right-wing President Álvaro Uribe, a vocal critic of the treaty. The Senate had previously voted for ratification 74 to 22. The following month, when a ceremony was held to celebrate the ratification votes, Petro said the treaty would “guarantee to any Colombian... [Log in to read more]
