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Amanda Romero, senior researcher and representative for Latin America,\u00a0<\/i>Business & Human Rights Resource Centre<\/a><\/i><\/h3>\nThe Escaz\u00fa Agreement is key for the business & human rights agenda. In line with the\u00a0UN\u2019s Guiding Principles on Human Rights<\/a>\u00a0(UNGPS), company operations should comply with national and international human rights standards, including respecting human rights defenders. Therefore, once the Agreement enters into force, corporations must comply with this instrument. \u00a0But private and State-owned companies operating in Latin America, both national and transnational, should make changes in their social and environmental approaches by addressing past and current harm their commercial activities have inflicted. For instance, article 6 of the agreement (part 12) encourages States to \u201ctake the necessary measures through legal or administrative frameworks\u201d to not only enable civil society access to environmental information that private institutions have, but to allow them to learn about the \u201crisks and effects on human health and the environment\u201d that these operations entail.<\/p>\n The Agreement also stipulates that \u201cIn accordance with its capacities\u201d, each State shall \u201cencourage public and private companies, particularly large companies to prepare sustainability reports that reflect their social and environmental performance. This means that companies should do more and better human rights due diligence and compliance on cases in which victims allege corporate responsibility. \u00a0Impact assessments must go beyond environmental issues as understood by States and companies as \u201ccollateral damage\u201d at the altar of development. In Latin America, this includes providing sanctions to companies that operate unpunished for contaminating water sources, privatise its access for vast groups of the population, destroy traditional seeds and crops and displace entire groups that lose their livelihoods due to energy, agriculture, mining or oil industrial projects.<\/p>\n The Escaz\u00fa Agreement, also known as the Agreement on Principle 10, is one of the most important environmental instruments of the last 20 years and is the first one adopted by Latin American and Caribbean countries. This road, which began at the\u00a0Rio+20 summit<\/a>\u00a0in 2012, was one of the responses given by the countries of the region to the alarming increase in environmental conflicts and the reactions provoked in people and the environment by global phenomena like climate change.<\/p>\n It\u2019s no coincidence that the agreement was created as\u00a0the international community embarks on an ambitious path towards sustainable development. There\u2019s no doubt that the full application of Principle 10 is at the heart of the\u00a02030 Agenda<\/a>\u00a0[for sustainable development] and that it will be a fundamental tool to consolidate the climate change governance. It guarantees that every person, especially those excluded or in vulnerale situations, has reliable access to information, can participate effectively in decision-making processes, especially those whose livelihoods are impacted, and can have access to justice to allow a more fair distribution of the costs and benefits of development.<\/p>\n In recent years, Civicus has reported a systematic global crackdown on conditions for civil society. Growing restrictions have especially affected human rights defenders, with environmental defenders facing one of the most critical situations. Standing up for the environment has become more dangerous every year, especially in Latin America, which is the region with the\u00a0largest numbers of assassinations of environmental defenders<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Escaz\u00fa Agreement brings hope to the region to change those patterns of lack of participation and conflict. Moreover, the Agreement is born as a response to the pressing needs of citizens to strengthen our democracy. We need tools to be informed, to know what is happening with our rivers and forests, what impacts industries are having on our communities and children. We citizens need to have effective participation in decision-making processes that affect us and the environment in which we live. We need mechanisms for access to justice when our rights are being affected. We need tools to protect our environmental defenders.<\/p>\n Escaz\u00fa is the first international treaty contemplating specific protections for environmental defenders, creating a protection regime at three levels. In it, the parties to the Agreement undertake to: i) ensure a safe environment for the defenders to act ii) take appropriate and effective measures to recognise and protect their rights, and iii) take measures to prevent, investigate and prosecute attacks against environmental defenders. It is a key opportunity for the region to prevent more assassinations and ensure a safe space for them to continue their work.<\/p>\n It is essential that the countries of the region, especially those with the highest rates of violence against environmental defenders, sign, ratify and promptly implement the Agreement. For the thousands of people working tirelessly, and even exposing their lives, for the protection of the environment in the region, Escaz\u00fa is a much-needed promise for a better future.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Andres-Napoli-133x116.jpg\")
Andr\u00e9s N\u00e1poli, executive director of Argentina\u2019s Environment and Natural Resources Foundation of (FARN<\/a>)<\/em><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/Natalia-G\u00f3mez-Pe\u00f1a.png\")
Natalia G\u00f3mez Pe\u00f1a, advocacy & network engagement officer at\u00a0Civicus<\/a><\/em><\/h3>\n