second try
Anthony R. S. Chiaviello, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Professional Writing
Department of English
University of Houston-Downtown
One Main Street
Houston, TX 77002-0001
713.221.8520 / 713.868.3979
"Question Reality"

> ----------
> From:         Chiaviello, Anthony
> Sent:         Wednesday, October 31, 2001 2:21 PM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      FW: ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS NOT A LUXURY
>
> Enviroethic folks,
>       Thought I'd pass on this piece of rhetoric (and I mean that in a
> good way) for comment from folks on this list. The topic of "enviro.
> rights" seems to get into our ethics area.
> -Tc
>
> Anthony R. S. Chiaviello, Ph.D.
> Assistant Professor, Professional Writing
> Department of English
> University of Houston-Downtown
> One Main Street
> Houston, TX 77002-0001
> 713.221.8520 / 713.868.3979
> "Question Reality"
>
> ----------
> From:         Alina Congreve[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent:         Wednesday, October 31, 2001 4:19 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS NOT A LUXURY
>
> The Arhus Convention on access to information, public participation and
> access to justice in environmental decision-making enters into force
> today!
> Sadly (for UK citizens) the UK has yet to ratify the convention (although
> we
> are assured that this will happen soon.....). The convention also stands
> as
> a model for how NGO involvement can help shape and strengthen government
> processes.
>
> Now it's time to look at our core environmental rights - the right to
> clean
> air, the right to water and so on.....
> UNECE press release is below.
>
> Press Release ECE/ENV/01/15 Geneva, 29 October 2001
>
>
> ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS NOT A LUXURY
>
> Aarhus Convention enters into force
>
> A new international law, described by United Nations Secretary-General
> Kofi
> Annan as 'the most ambitious venture in environmental democracy undertaken
> under the auspices of the United Nations', will enter into force tomorrow,
> 30 October 2001.
>
> The UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in
> Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters - known as
> the Aarhus Convention after the Danish city where it was adopted in June
> 1998 - seeks to strengthen the role of members of the public and
> environmental organizations in protecting and improving the environment
> for
> the benefit of future generations. Through its recognition of citizens'
> environmental rights to information, participation and justice, it aims to
> promote greater accountability and transparency in environmental matters.
>
> While the Convention is an instrument to protect the environment, it may
> also be seen as an instrument promoting democracy. Specifically, it aims
> to:
>
> * Allow members of the public greater access to environmental information
> held by public authorities, thereby increasing the transparency and
> accountability of government;
> * Provide an opportunity for people to express their opinions and concerns
> on environmental matters and ensure that decision makers take due account
> of
> these;
> * Provide the public with access to review procedures when their rights to
> information and participation have been breached, and in some cases to
> challenge more general violations of environmental law.
>
> In practical terms, this means, for instance, that local residents must be
> given a say in new road schemes or in the siting of household-waste
> incinerators. Members of the public also have a right to know what state
> their environment is in and, in some circumstances, to sue governments or
> polluters that attempt to cover up environmental disasters.
>
> To date, the Convention has been ratified by seventeen countries: Albania,
> Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Italy,
> Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Tajikistan, the
> former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan and Ukraine. Welcoming
> the high level of support shown for the Convention by the eastern European
> and Central Asian countries, the Director of the UNECE Environment
> Division,
> Kaj Bdrlund, expressed the conviction that several western countries would
> ratify the Convention before the first meeting of the Parties,
> provisionally
> scheduled for autumn 2002: "Despite the fact that western countries have
> generally been slower to ratify the Convention than their eastern
> counterparts, it is clear from their warm messages of support that they
> are
> working hard on their national legislation to be able to ratify the
> Convention. The delay is, however, an indication that the Convention is
> sufficiently progressive to prompt important improvements even in some of
> the most well-established western democracies. The eastern countries may
> have a different legal tradition, but the early ratification by many of
> these countries is a sign of change. It shows that they have opened the
> door
> to a new culture of democracy and transparency."
>
> Just as pollution ignores national boundaries, so, to a large extent, does
> the Aarhus Convention. The rights conferred on the public are to be
> applied
> without discrimination as to citizenship, nationality or domicile. And
> although the Convention is regional in scope, it is in fact open to
> accession by countries from throughout the world.
>
> The entry into force will be marked by a launching ceremony at UNECE
> headquarters in the Palais des Nations, Geneva, hosted by ECE Executive
> Secretary Danuta H|bner. The Environment Ministers from Croatia and
> Ukraine
> will be present and many other Ministers have sent supportive messages, as
> have some NGOs. A selection of extracts from these is included in the
> annex
> 'What People are Saying about the Aarhus Convention'.
>
>
> For more information, please contact:
>
> Jeremy WATES
> Secretary to the Aarhus Convention
> UNECE Environment and Human Settlements Division
> Palais des Nations, office 332
> CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
>
>