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Climate change in Córdoba: a reality that worsens year by year

Climate change is the main challenge and threat in the 21st century. From Fundeps we carried out a survey and analysis of the climatic phenomena that occurred in Córdoba between 2000 and 2020, the results obtained are truly alarming. The authorities must urgently advance in the design of public policies tending to prevent and face the climate crisis.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Climate change affects the general population without differentiating, however people who are in a situation of vulnerability, for example, people living in poverty, children and adolescents, people with disabilities, women and gender diversity, are affected in a differentiated way, deepening the existing structural inequalities.

From Fundeps we carry out the comprehensive collection and analysis of the various climatic phenomena that occurred between 2000 and 2020 in the province of Córdoba. From this diagnosis we were able to identify that climatic phenomena are cyclical and that year after year they deepen. Climate change is usually perceived as something abstract and distant, contrary to this general perception, it shows how concrete, close and how serious the effects of the phenomenon are. It also makes it possible to decipher the line of (in)action drawn from the State. Fires, tornadoes, floods, droughts, hail storms, and heat waves are some of the phenomena we suffer and that worsen year after year and also have severe consequences for the communities. These must be addressed as part of a comprehensive phenomenon and not as isolated and belated problems.

There are certain policies in the province aimed at promoting sustainable practices. However, these are not actions aimed at significantly mitigating the causes, nor adaptation to the consequences of climate change. Given the occurrence of these phenomena, the responses by the State are always late, inefficient or from a contingency perspective.

We believe that if Córdoba wants to face the climate crisis in a responsible way, it must propose urgent participatory strategies in the medium-long term. To do this, it must take into account the cumulative effects of this achievement of erratic behavior phenomena, guaranteeing access to basic elements for survival, such as water and quality food.

In addition, it is necessary and urgent to concentrate efforts on the design and implementation of public policies that start from an adequate identification of the conditions of structural vulnerability from which some sectors of society start. State actions should focus on reducing/eliminating these structural conditions. On that equitable basis, mitigation and adaptation actions must be designed.

The Climate Response Plan required by Law 27520 on Minimum Budgets for Adaptation and Mitigation to Global Climate Change, emerges as a fundamental instrument to respond to the phenomenon. Remember that according to art. 20 , each province must design this “response plan” that contains information on greenhouse gases, vulnerability and adaptation capacity of communities, goals regarding gas mitigation and adaptation measures, roadmap for each measure to adopt, among other components. The compliance period, according to the regulations, would expire on December 18, 2023, although it may be submitted earlier.

The diagnosis made allows us to affirm that climate change in Córdoba is not a distant threat, but rather a daily experience that will worsen if adequate measures are not adopted.

 

  • Download diagnosis
  • Download summary

 

Contact

Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org

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We present an environmental injunction for the contamination of Lake San Roque

We presented an environmental protection before the Justice of Córdoba for the serious situation of contamination and degradation that Lake San Roque presents, one of the main reservoirs of Córdoba.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

After an in-depth study of the critical situation of environmental contamination suffered by the main water basins of the province, including Lake San Roque, Los Molinos Dam and Suquía River, we made a diagnosis where we capture its current state and the causes pollution, the consequences that this generates in the environment, in the community and in biodiversity, and we make a series of recommendations to the authorities.

As we were able to determine, the main cause of contamination is the lack or deficiency of appropriate public policies. Which translates into poor management of sewage effluents and urban solid waste, deforestation, contamination with agrochemicals, fires, lack of environmental impact studies in public and private works, among others, all of which ends up seriously affecting the water courses.

We particularly focus on Lake San Roque due to the great importance that this lake has for the entire province, since there are various cultural, economic and developmental life webs in and around it, in addition to supplying water to a large part of the people who live in Córdoba. It is estimated that the water that more than a million and a half people drink comes from the lake, and it is the economic engine of the entire Punilla region.

Given the alarming situation of the lake, and given the lack of initiatives by the authorities to stop the contamination immediately and clean up the basin, despite the constant demands of the community, we decided to go to court through an injunction environmental.

What does the protection consist of?

The purpose of this legal action is to request the Courts to intervene proactively in the protection of the right to health, quality of life and preservation of a healthy environment. Through the amparo presented, we sue the authorities responsible for the situation of Lake San Roque, that is: the Government of the Province of Córdoba, the Ministry of Public Services of the Province of Córdoba, the Provincial Administration of Water Resources of Córdoba ( APRHI), the Secretary of the Environment of the Province of Córdoba, and the municipalities and communes that the basin crosses.

The objective of this action is to ask the Cordovan justice to:

  • condemn the defendant authorities to carry out actions aimed at preventing polluting behavior in the San Roque Lake basin and its tributary rivers;
  • order to cease the dumping of substances that pollute the lake;
  • Demand to stop public and private works that could deepen the critical situation of the basin;
  • order the urgent restoration and remediation of the lake;
  • At the same time, we ask for the creation of an interdisciplinary and interjurisdictional River Basin Committee, which has powers of inspection, control, authorization of polluting activities and/or undertakings, among other powers. The formation and proper functioning of said Committee is fundamental in order to consolidate efficient and appropriate solutions to the needs of the entire community. In this sense, we request that citizen participation be guaranteed in advance in its formation and in its subsequent operation, and that its opinion be mandatory for the authorities.

The reality shows the serious and critical situation that all the water courses in the province are going through, something as basic as the water we drink cannot admit more inaction and delays on the part of the authorities. For this reason, we hope that the Justice of Córdoba responds quickly and responsibly to this cause, given the importance it has for those of us who inhabit the province, for future generations, for the environment and for the community of Punilla.

 

More Information

Situational Diagnosis of the Water Resources of Córdoba: Los Molinos Lake and San Roque Lake

Situational Diagnosis of the Water Resources of Córdoba: Suquía River

 

Author

Ananda Lavayén

Contacto

Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org

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Mining in Andalgalá: we present ourselves as Amicus Curiae before the Supreme Court

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Together with the ANDHES Foundation, we present ourselves as friends of the court in the framework of the case in which the constitutionality of an ordinance of Andalgalá (Catamarca), which prohibits open-pit mining, is being debated.

Since 2016, the Municipality of Andalgalá has prohibited, through Ordinance No. 029/16, open pit mining and the use of certain hazardous substances. With broad social consensus, this ordinance sought to protect the environment and the water courses in the area.

Since then, the Canadian company “Yamana Gold” through its “Agua Rica” mining project, today the Mara project, which plans to extract minerals in the Andalgalá River Basin, just 17 km from the city center, has judicially questioned the constitutionality of the ordinance. After several pronouncements of the courts, the Supreme Court of the Province of Catamarca finally declared it invalid.

Today the case is pending before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, awaiting a resolution. This resolution will determine the way of life of the Andalgalá community, as it will enable or not the open pit metal extraction of the highly questioned Mara project, which is currently in an advanced exploration stage. Meanwhile, the communities resist daily the actions of authorities and companies in defense of the territory and the environment, putting their lives and physical integrity at risk.

In this context, with the ANDHES Foundation we request participation in the case as “friends of the court”. This modality allows to contribute to the process arguments to solve the judicial case. We believe that the Court must declare the constitutionality of the law and the autonomy of the people of Andalgalá in the defense of their environment and territory must be respected.

Contact

Maráa Laura Carrizo, @lauracarrizo@fundeps.org

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We reject the modifications to the environmental policy law of Córdoba

More than 200 people and civil society organizations manifested to the Legislature of the Province of Córdoba our rejection of the recent modifications to Provincial Law 10,208.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

Together with numerous people and civil society organizations, we express to the Provincial Legislature, through a note, the deep concern generated from the modification of Annexes I and II of Law 10208 of provincial environmental policy.

We believe that the treatment and subsequent approval process violated and seriously violates human and fundamental rights, both procedurally and substantially. In addition, the modification implies an unfortunate setback in the protection of the environment, failing to comply with rules, principles and rights guaranteed by current environmental regulations and commits the State because it constitutes a violation of international commitments assumed, for example, through the Escazú Agreement. .

The modifications made to Law 10,208 do not constitute simple wording changes, but imply a serious reduction in the requirements established by the law and that have a worrying impact on the activities subject to Environmental Impact Assessment to the detriment of the environment and ecosystems. In this sense, they expressly violate the principle of progressivity and non-regression accepted in our legal system (General Environmental Law, Law 10,208, Escazú Agreement).

The process that led to the sanction of the project was not disclosed to the public. The design of the project, its treatment in committee and its parliamentary discussion, not only occurred in a very short time, but also disabled any type of device that guarantees citizen participation, in contrast to and to the detriment of the broad legitimacy and social participation that it had. Law 10,208.

For all these reasons, the approved project constitutes a clear violation of the rights of access to public environmental information and public participation in environmental matters. At the same time, it violates the principle of progressiveness and environmental non-regression, sustainability, preventive and precautionary.

In this framework, we urge the repeal of the sanctioned project in order to restore the protection standards in force before its approval.

See letter sent and signatories of the request.

 

Contact

  • Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org
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We repudiate the criminalization of Environmental and Territorial Defenders of Punilla

Within the framework of the protests that have been taking place against the Punilla highway project, some of the environmental defenders who resist the progress of the project were summoned for indictment and in some cases there were arrests by the judicial authorities.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The defenders of the territory and the environment of Punilla have been resisting the advancement of the Punilla highway project for a long time. In the course of this resistance they are victims of different acts of institutional violence. We celebrate the ruling issued by the Court of Control and Misdemeanors No. 9 that resolves to make room for collective habeas corpus of a preventive nature presented in favor of the human rights defenders of Punilla, Paravachasca and Sierras Chicas.

In recent weeks, some land and environmental defenders have been suffering police persecution, submission to criminal proceedings, accusations by prosecutors, and there have even been arrests. Crimes such as threats and resistance to authority are attributed to them, within the framework of the various social protests that have been taking place around the advance of the Punilla Highway.

It should be noted that in a context of struggle and resistance for the defense of the environment, the demonstrations or actions given in the exercise of the right to protest cannot be distorted and manipulated for the illegitimate application of the penal system (which usually happens). Criminalization as a strategy to intimidate, disqualify the environmental claim and justify the use of public force and repressive mechanisms -deprivation of liberty-, constitute a grave and serious violation of fundamental rights and compromise the international responsibility of the State ( Escazú Agreement between them).

The persecutions, accusations, investigations and arrests ordered against Punilla’s defenders raise alarms and demand attention. Well, there are nuances that place the actions of the State under suspicion of criminalization as a method to silence social protest. The alleged threats or acts of resistance to authority, on which the accusations were based -according to what the defenders stated- were in the framework of a legitimate collective claim -social protest sustained over time- in an act in defense of the environment against of a project undertaken by the State. This should alert the authorities so that measures are taken to guarantee the protection of their human rights, and take extreme care in the event of any deprivation of liberty or violation of any other right.

The criminalization of environmental defenders stigmatizes while constituting an intimidation tending to frighten and as a consequence weaken the activities of defense of the territory and the environment until their disappearance. It is a duty of the State to protect the right to defend the environment and implement action measures that promote a safe environment free of violence, and that any human rights violation against it be investigated.

In this context, on August 24, the Judge of Control and Misdemeanors No. 9, in the case “Rocío Loza, habeas corpus” (File No. 11120830), in a novel and exemplary ruling, gave rise to a preventive collective habeas corpus directed to protect the fundamental rights of human rights defenders in environmental matters, residents of the valleys of Punilla, Paravachasca and Sierras Chicas. She points out that the institutional violence that the police of the province have been exercising against environmental defenders is serious and cannot be ignored by the State, which has the obligation and responsibility to give adequate custody to the environmental group in compliance with Escazú.

It also states that the members of the police forces are in charge of caring for society, “(…) those who must, with the power conferred by law, guarantee that all the inhabitants of this province live a life within the framework of the full enjoyment of individual rights, with the limit of respect for the rights of others, but without this being used as an “excuse” or argument to curtail other rights, in this case, those claimed by the environmental collective”.

It also states that the members of the police forces are in charge of caring for society, “(…) those who must, with the power conferred by law, guarantee that all the inhabitants of this province live a life within the framework of the full enjoyment of individual rights, with the limit of respect for the rights of others, but without this being used as an “excuse” or argument to curtail other rights, in this case, those claimed by the environmental collective” .

In that same sense, in an innovative sentence, the Judge resolves: to exhort the police of the Province of Córdoba to refrain from carrying out measures that imply limitations or threats to the freedom of movement of environmental defenders of the indicated localities; urge the Police Chief of Córdoba to inform police personnel that, according to protocols and current legislation, “deprivation of liberty only proceeds exceptionally and when it is absolutely necessary”; to recommend to the Government of Córdoba the elaboration of a protocol aimed at specifically regulating the practices and criteria of the security forces in social demonstrations that demand the protection of constitutional rights; entrust the Chief of Police to inform the provincial police of this sentence.

From Fundeps we repudiate the criminalization of environmental defenders, we urge the authorities to safeguard and protect the fundamental rights of those who resist and fight to defend the Cordovan environment, and we celebrate the recent ruling which constitutes an important advance in the recognition and defense of rights of the environmental group.

 

Author

  • Laura Carrizo

Contact

  • Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org
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Córdoba will implement Comprehensive Environmental Education

The Legislature of the Province approved the bill through which it adhered to the National Law of Comprehensive Environmental Education.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

During the session of the legislature on June 29 of this year, Law No. 10,823 was approved. This incorporates comprehensive Environmental Education with a perspective of sustainable development as a public policy.

In turn, it establishes the Ministry of Education and the Secretary of the Environment as enforcement authorities. Its role will be to design and implement actions aimed at incorporating this perspective in the field of formal, non-formal and informal education.

During the sessions in the Committee on Environmental Affairs, several civil society organizations made contributions and highlighted the value of membership. From Fundeps we recommend the incorporation in the institutional architecture of the Committee for the Executive Coordination of the Jurisdictional Strategy. Let us remember that this authority is in charge of designing the content of the strategy to implement Comprehensive Environmental Education.

Likewise, we consider it opportune to incorporate the local Consultative Council into the project as a device for citizen participation of groups and organizations of civil society (among others), in the development and management of educational public policies. This body is incorporated in the National Law.

This process turned out to be valuable, since the text that was finally approved emerged from it. The first of the recommendations was incorporated into articles 4 and 5 of the law. As for the Council, it was not incorporated as such. However, the Committee was empowered to request collaboration from trade union organizations, teachers, representatives of the student, scientific, academic and civil society sectors (among others) that express an interest in comprehensive environmental education. Although its incorporation as a stable body with effective participation would have been opportune, given that as stated this possibility is subject to the decision of the Committee, the truth is that this consultative power can become a duty in the terms required by the Agreement from Escazu.

 

More Information

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

*Photograph taken from the press of the Government of Córdoba

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Representatives of the public will be elected under the Escazú Agreement

The Secretariat of the Escazú Agreement called interested persons to present their candidacies until August 31, 2022.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the Parties (COP) approved in the first COP of Escazú during April of this year, establish the need to integrate the institutional devices of Escazú with people representing the public.

Within this framework, the Secretariat of the Agreement summoned interested persons to present their candidacies until August 31 of this year. For such purpose, it elaborated a regulation that establishes the procedure of the election in its totality. Six will be the people representing the public who will divide their roles in the Board of Directors of the Agreement (1 representative), in the Conference of the Parties (two seats) and in the Committee for Support of the Application and Compliance composed of (CAAC).

According to this regulation, those who are interested in presenting a candidacy must:

  • Be nationals or residents of any of the countries that make up Annex I of the Escazú Agreement (signatory countries).
  • Be registered in the so-called Regional Public Mechanism.
  • Not having had a labor relationship with the State (national, provincial or municipal) 12 months prior to the election.
  • Submit the forms attached to the regulation.

On the other hand, the elections will be held on November 2 and 3, 2022. To take part in the vote, interested persons must register with the Regional Public Mechanism. The closing of the register will take place 15 business days after August 1, 2022 (date of the call). It is not clear whether these working days will be according to the calendar of the country in which ECLAC has its headquarters, although assuming that there are no holidays in the referred period, the closing of the register would be on August 19, 2022.

The election of the representatives constitutes a valuable and innovative process for the region. We encourage active participation in the voting process and election of candidates, trusting that it constitutes a fundamental opportunity for visibility and demand in the enjoyment of access rights, and in a framework plagued by conflicts and environmental problems.

Documents of interest

Contact

Juan Bautista Lopez, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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We adhere to the statement against the aggression against environmental defenders at the UNC

Within the framework of the “Educational Forum: skills for global citizenship”, the current and outgoing rector of the University, offended environmental defenders who were demonstrating before representatives of the Andean Development Corporation on the Punilla highway.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

On June 15 at the UNC, an event was held in which representatives of the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), a multilateral financial institution that finances the Punilla highway project, were present. In this context, the environmental defenders demanded that the CAF authorities violate the environmental safeguard systems, and the impact on the environment that the project implies.

Faced with this intervention, the current rector of the National University of Córdoba, Hugo Juri, who represented the institution at the conference, publicly offended environmental defenders by associating their actions with the financing of institutions linked to the Nazi genocide, among other sayings.

This undoubtedly constitutes an act of violence and intimidation that seriously affects the guarantees incorporated in the Escazú Agreement. It is that the art. 9th of the treaty protects environmental defenders, guaranteeing them a safe and conducive environment for the exercise of their rights to protest, opinion and freedom of expression. In addition, it obliges the authorities to adopt measures to prevent and punish attacks, threats or intimidation.

In repudiation of the actions of the rector Juri, we adhere to the statement made by the teachers and researchers of the UNC, requesting the retraction and request for an apology towards environmental defenders, and we demand the adoption of measures that protect their fundamental rights.

 

More Information

Contact

Juan Bautista Lopez, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

 

*Photo taken from the Museum of Anthropology website

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We participate in the Environment and Education Commission of the Provincial Legislature

On June 9 of this year, we were summoned, together with other representatives of civil society, to participate in the meeting of the Environment and Education Commission of the Provincial Legislature.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

The purpose of the meeting was to present the Circular Economy Summit and discuss the bill for provincial adherence to the National Law on Comprehensive Environmental Education. The project aims to incorporate the tools and guidelines to implement Comprehensive Environmental Education into the framework of local environmental policies.

The opening of the meeting to people and organizations that work on environmental issues at the local level is part of a good practice that the Commission has been implementing for certain initiatives, such as adherence to the Yolanda Law. A valuable space in which those who were part of it were able to offer their opinions on the relevance of Comprehensive Environmental Education and make suggestions for the project. This strengthening of instances of participatory democracy is undoubtedly in accordance with the commitments assumed in the Escazú Agreement.

In relation to the project, although it is an adhesion, it constitutes an important starting point to design strategies that allow modifying the cultural and ethical bases of the current production, commercialization and consumption systems in society. The comprehensive education proposed by the law has the virtue of addressing both formal and informal educational contexts, media and public policies in a transversal way.

Although the project plans to incorporate into the provincial regulations the same text as that provided for in the national law, through adherence, we believe that some institutions should expressly provide for it in the local version. From Fundeps we explained the reasons why we believe that the law should provide for the following items:

Basic guidelines for the construction of the Comprehensive Environmental Education Jurisdictional Strategy (EJEAI)

The EJEAI is the instrument of permanent and concerted strategic planning, with scope in formal and non-formal areas of education, information technology and communication media, with a participatory, territorialized basis.

It is outlined as a fundamental and main instrument to develop Comprehensive Environmental Education at the provincial level. At this point we believe that the law should expressly mention the basic guidelines for its configuration, such as: anchoring in the socio-environmental problems and conflicts of the Province, empowerment in the exercise of access and environmental rights, public participation devices, among others.

Executive Coordination of the Jurisdictional Strategy

We maintain that the law should expressly incorporate the creation of the Executive Coordination of the strategy, determining -just like the national law- the method of conformation of the body, to carry out the management and administration of the strategy.

Local Advisory Council

We recommend that the local law expressly incorporate the creation of a local Consultative Council made up of diverse actors, in charge of providing support and feedback to the Coordination for the implementation and monitoring of the Jurisdictional Strategy.

Beyond the fact that we consider that the recommendations provided would generate a superior project, we recognize the importance of adhesion and we celebrate the parliamentary work on this path, especially when it is implemented based on the participation of civil society.

 

More Information

Contact

Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

 

* Photo taken from the Diario Comercio y Justicia

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What is the progress of the Yolanda Law in Córdoba one year after its sanction?

The provincial adherence to the Yolanda Law of mandatory training in environmental matters for people who exercise the public function completed one year. After the stage of construction of basic training guidelines, the Executive Power began to dictate the training.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

In May 2021, the Provincial Legislature passed Law No. 10758 of the Province’s adherence to National Law No. 27592. This provides for mandatory training on the subject of the environment, with a perspective of sustainable development and with special emphasis on climate change. for all people who perform public functions at all levels.

Although the regulations cover the three powers of the State, to date only the beginning of the training in the field of the Executive Power has transpired. Due to this situation, and given the importance of generating this type of training for those who design and implement public policies or resolve environmental conflicts, monitoring its implementation is essential.

For this reason, we ask the three powers of the State for public information on the degree and progress in the implementation of the law. The request for access to public information becomes an important tool when the data is not available to citizens, as long as there is a response from the authorities.

More information

 

Contact
Juan Bautista López, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

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We request to participate in the project of access to justice of the Judicial Power

The Office of Human Rights and Justice of the Judiciary of the province of Córdoba, carries out the research-action project on access to justice for vulnerable sectors. From Fundeps we request to participate by providing contributions.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

This project aims to develop strategies to improve access to Justice for groups in vulnerable conditions. A second edition of the project is currently underway.

In this stage, access to justice for migrant populations, native peoples, and cases that affect the environment will be worked on. According to the project’s website, it seeks to promote tools to facilitate access to justice, particularly for people or groups of people in situations of vulnerability. It is promoted as a participatory and collective public policy.

The preparation of protocols for access to justice in environmental matters constitutes an initiative in accordance with the commitments assumed by Argentina in the Escazú Agreement. In previous editions, protocols, rights booklets, among other tools aimed at the general public and justice operators were prepared.

In this framework, we ask the Judiciary to open mechanisms for the significant participation of civil society to provide input and enrich the process of building tools. We believe that in the framework of the Escazú Agreement, participation is emerging as an imperative for any policy that may have an impact on the enjoyment of access rights, including access to justice.

These types of initiatives are extremely valuable in a context where environmental problems and conflicts linked to access to public participation, environmental information and justice are commonplace.

Author

Ana Sol Olivera

Contact

Juan Bautista Lopez, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

*Image source: Justice Córdoba

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A judicial resolution with a focus on environmental defenders

Within the framework of the neighborhood camp in the town of Molinari for the construction of the Punilla Highway, the Cosquín Control Court resolved a habeas corpus action. In the resolution, the Court highlighted the obligation to guarantee a safe environment for environmental defenders in accordance with the standards set by the Escazú Agreement.

“Below, we offer a google translate version of the original article in Spanish. This translation may not be accurate but serves as a general presentation of the article. For more accurate information, please switch to the Spanish version of the website. In addition, feel free to directly contact in English the person mentioned at the bottom of this article with regards to this topic”.

As reported in the media, during the first weeks of May a self-convened group of neighbors was camping in the town of Molinari as a way of protesting against the construction of the Punilla highway. In favor of this group of people, a habeas corpus action was filed before the Control Court of the city of Cosquín.

Let us remember that this action is foreseen in article 43 of the National Constitution. In short, its purpose is to protect the physical freedom of people against any real threat or actual deprivation of liberty that is illegal (arrests/detentions).

After analyzing the situation, the Court gave the reasons why it considered that the requirements for the origin of habeas corpus were not met. He considered, based on the evidence collected, that no illegal arrest or detention had been carried out, nor was there a certain and imminent threat of deprivation of physical liberty.

However, the Court considered other rights at stake, such as the right to protest, petition the authorities, and opinion, among others. Thus, regarding the way in which the eviction of the neighbors by the security forces took place -according to his statements-, he considered that this should be the subject of investigation by the corresponding bodies (Prosecutor’s Office) forwarding a copy of the performances.

What is interesting and novel about the resolution is that, going beyond the strict object of the habeas corpus action, the Court assessed the statements of the neighbors in relation to what happened and the environmental nature of the protest. In this approach, he recommended to the police authorities and the Prosecutor’s Office that a safe environment be guaranteed for the exercise of these rights -as long as other rights are not affected-, citing and applying article 9 of the Escazú Agreement on environmental defenders. 

This treaty, let us remember, is the only international instrument that guarantees environmental defenders specific standards of protection of their rights. This protection framework is due to the fact that Latin America and the Caribbean is the most dangerous region for environmental defenders (227 deaths in 2020 according to the Global Witness Foundation).

Although the Escazú Agreement has been in force for a year, the resolution of the Cosquín Control Court would be the first judicial precedent in the Latin American and Caribbean region to apply the provision on environmental defenders of Escazú to guarantee a safe environment in accordance with recorded to date Even in the absence of specific regulations at the local level, these clauses are fully operational and must be applied by all state authorities. Undoubtedly, the jurisprudential advance constitutes a strong impulse on the road towards the effective implementation of Escazú.

 

See judicial resolution of the Control Court

More Information

Contact

Juan Bautista Lopez, juanbautistalopez@fundeps.org

 

*Photo taken from La Izquierda Diario