Tag Archive for: Access to Justice

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(Re)ordering the territory: Escazú and citizen participation

In an effort to promote the effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement at the local level, Fundeps held three meetings during the month of August, aimed at the Urban Planning Department of the Municipality of Córdoba. These training sessions focused on strengthening competencies in environmental law and the rights of access to information, participation and environmental justice, essential for sustainable urban planning.

“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 target audience of these meetings were members of the Secretariats of Urban Development, Regional Integration and Institutional Linkage, and Smart City of the Municipality of Córdoba. The main objective was to provide the necessary tools to understand and apply the Escazú Agreement in the urban planning policies and practices of the city.

The first two workshops focused on theoretical and specific aspects of minimum budget laws and the Escazú Agreement. For the last meeting, we placed special emphasis on citizen participation. During this session, we explored various models of successful citizen participation, both at the national and regional level, highlighting practical examples that have been implemented in different cities in our country, as well as in Latin American countries and localities in Europe.

We proposed discussions on cases where active citizen participation has resulted in significant improvements in urban planning and management, highlighting how these inclusive processes can be adapted to our city. In addition, we analyzed the tools and mechanisms available to facilitate citizen participation in decision-making, emphasizing the importance of transparency, effective communication, clear language and building trust between municipal authorities and citizens.

We continue to work for the full and effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement at the local level. The Agreement is a fundamental tool for the protection of the environment and of human rights defenders in environmental matters.

If you want to learn more about the Escazú Agreement, visit our website: https://acuerdodeescazu.org/

 

Authors

Lourdes Zanotti

Federico Marengo Ligoria

Contact

María Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org

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Stories and experiences of socio-environmental struggles in Córdoba

By compiling some of the experiences of struggles of the Cordoba communities, we aim to provide a collective response to the challenges that arise around the processes of environmental conflict.

The truth is that there is no single way to organize, no single way to ask the authorities for answers, and much less a single way to confront a socio-environmental conflict. However, we observe that there are common practices that have been strengthened and that serve as a guide for other struggles.

Descargar Documento / Download File
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Civil society organizations and academics reject before the Senate the candidacy of Lijo and García-Mansilla to the CSJN

Gides (Social Rights Research Group), Fundeps (Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies), El Telar and Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir Argentina we appear before the Chamber of Senators of the Nation to explain the reasons why we consider that The candidates to fill the vacancies in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla, do not meet the conditions required to integrate the highest body of justice in our country.

“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 academic and civil society organizations with a long history in the field of human rights, we understand that the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, as the main guarantor of the National Constitution and the Rule of Law, can only be made up of people whose experience reflects strong suitability and independence, as well as a firm commitment to constitutional principles and human rights.

Ariel Lijo faces serious accusations in the Judicial Council, including negligence in the investigation of corruption cases, unjustified delays in legal processes and accusations of illicit enrichment, in addition to criminal charges for illicit association, money laundering, bribery and influence peddling. . Furthermore, he lacks professional or academic merits to support his candidacy.

For his part, Manuel García-Mansilla holds an ideological position that could affect the defense of human rights and the international commitments assumed by our country. During his career, he has questioned the hierarchy of international human rights treaties signed and ratified by Argentina. She has also expressed her opposition to the right to abortion, even in cases where the pregnancy is the result of rape. Its incorporation into the highest body of justice of the Nation implies a serious risk for the guarantee of the rights of women and pregnant people.

Likewise, we express our deepest concern about the flagrant lack of representation of various sectors of society in the potential composition of the Supreme Court. The inclusion of new members should reflect gender diversity and thematic and regional specialization, to ensure adequate representation of a federal country like ours. It is necessary to emphasize that gender diversity in public positions and decision-making bodies is a legally binding requirement derived from our constitution and international treaties.

Furthermore, on this occasion some organizations sent questions and concerns for the candidates to answer publicly, as enabled by the procedure of the Upper House.

The questions presented to García Mansilla include: How do you justify your candidacy to the Supreme Court in a context where equal gender representation is required and your appointment would perpetuate the underrepresentation of women on the court? What concrete actions have you taken to advance women’s rights and diversities in your career? While the questions asked to Lijo were: How can her candidacy contribute to equitable gender representation in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation? How do you guarantee transparency and ethics in your judicial decisions?

In these contexts, we believe it is essential that the Senate consult the candidates along the lines expressed here, as well as investigate in detail the crucial points that we have noted in our challenges.

We demand that the Senators rise to the occasion, and NOT agree to the approval of these candidacies in defense of Human Rights and the highest values ​​of justice.

Ícono de validado por la comunidad
Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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Marcos Juárez’s health remains at risk: statement on fumigation protection

The provincial justice decided to consider that the protection initiated by residents of Marcos Juárez and Fundeps had not been presented due to errors related to the formalities of the process that were corrected at the time of being requested. The underlying issue, which is the distance for the application of agrochemicals within the municipal ejido, remains undiscussed, since the current ordinance is not complied with. This resolution affects access to justice and the rights to health and a healthy environment in the community.

“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 November 2023, from Vecinos Autoconvocados de Marcos Juárez and Fundeps we presented an environmental protection with the aim of increasing the distances between populated areas and the application of agrochemicals, due to the effects that these cause on community health. This judicial step was taken after having made various claims and requests for dialogue with local authorities, and not finding appropriate responses.

After the presentation of the amparo, the Civil, Commercial, Labor and Family Chamber of Marcos Juárez began the process, ordering its publication and requesting the Municipality of Marcos Juárez to answer the lawsuit. On that occasion, the Municipality pointed out errors related to the format of the presentation of the amparo document, which later resulted in a judicial resolution that decided to have it as not presented. This formatting error was due purely and exclusively to the way in which the neighbors’ signatures were placed in the electronic file, and was immediately corrected through ratification. Furthermore, the people who signed made themselves available to the Court to ratify the protection in person and leave no room for doubt about their intention to continue with the process. However, these efforts were not considered by justice.

It was just a question of forms. The court did not provide a ruling on the underlying content of the protection, which is the distances in the application of agrochemicals, nor did it give an opinion on the technical information provided that shows the existence of damage to the health of the population, particularly children, girls and adolescents.

The judicial action, in short, is based on the concerns that we have had for many years as residents of Marcos Juárez who see our health affected, due to the non-compliance and ineffectiveness of the current legislation, and we have decided to seek a response, with the support from Fundeps, an organization from Córdoba that has been working for 15 years promoting rights and accompanying affected communities throughout the province.

This decision seriously affects the right of access to justice in environmental matters of the Marcos Juárez community, since there was no discussion about the use of agrochemicals or their impact on health and the environment. This type of resolution goes against the precautionary principle that must prevail in any environmental process, where measures must not only be proposed to eliminate environmental damage, but also minimize the possibility of its continued occurrence.

We reaffirm that our fight for an environment free of pesticides is still standing and stronger than ever. Our commitment to a healthy environment for the entire population of Marcos Juárez is unwavering.

We will continue working hard to guarantee an environment free of contaminants and pesticides, based on the constitutional principles that support us.

 

More Information:

 

Contact:

María Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org

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They ask the Senate to guarantee a composition of the Supreme Court that includes women

Given the absence of women in the presidential proposal to fill the vacancies in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, a group of 12 civil society organizations sent a letter to the president of the Agreements Commission of the Chamber of Senators, Guadalupe Tagliaferri, so that the public hearing for the appointment of the two male judges proposed by the Executive Branch does not begin because it is unconstitutional and discriminatory based on gender. Likewise, it implies a strong setback in the diversity that the highest court must have, with a serious impact on its legitimacy.

“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 all of Argentine history there were only three women in the Court compared to 104 men. Instead of reversing this alarming reality, the Executive Branch decided to integrate this court only with men. Today it is the Agreements Commission of the Upper House, the body that has the historic opportunity to prevent us from having an absolutely male Court for at least 7 years, leaving out women who meet the conditions to occupy that position and reinforcing the stereotypes that block their access to places of power and decision-making.

The moments of greatest political participation of women in these spaces also coincided with important advances in gender matters. The creation of the Court’s Women’s Office and the Domestic Violence Office, fundamental organizations for documenting and reversing discrimination and violence, took place when Carmen Argibay and Elena Highton de Nolasco were part of the highest judiciary.

An equal integration of the Supreme Court and equal access to public positions, especially in hierarchical and power bodies, are political rights of women and the State has the obligation to make them effective, in accordance with the commitments assumed in international rights treaties. humans with constitutional hierarchy. Likewise, Decree 222/03 includes these standards for the process of appointing judges to the Court and establishes that a diverse gender composition must be promoted when defining appointments.

Although in the Argentine Judiciary 57% of the staff is made up of women, they occupy only 31% of the positions of judges in the national and federal justice system and only 29% of the highest authorities there.

It is the duty of the Executive Branch to propose women for the Court who have the qualities, suitability and commitment to the rights required for such a function and, of the Legislative Branch, to promote and ensure that said obligation is fulfilled.

For this reason, Amnesty International, the Latin American Justice and Gender Team (ELA), the Women’s Network for Justice, the Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies (Fundeps), Women in Equality (MEI), the Foundation for Study and Research of Women (FEIM), Fundación Poder Ciudadano, the Center for Justice and International Law (CEJIL), the Institute of Comparative Studies in Criminal and Social Sciences (INECIP), the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ), the GQUAL Campaign and the Association for Civil Rights (ADC), ask the Senate not to begin the discussion of the specifications to appoint two judges to the Court in order to guarantee gender equality in the Argentine Justice.

 

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

 

*Image taken from a publication of the Gender with Class Foundation

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Serious setback in access to justice: they order the closure of 81 care centers throughout the country

Yesterday, June 10, a resolution from the Ministry of Justice was published in the Official Gazette ordering the dissolution of 81 Access to Justice Centers. In this way, there will be only one Center per province and remote care will be privileged, which dismantles a primary legal care system linked to decentralizing and breaking down the geographical barriers that the most vulnerable people face when accessing justice. Civil society organizations and different people and institutions committed to access to justice agree on the loss that the reduction of this service means.

“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”.

For 15 years, the Access to Justice Centers (CAJ) have been extended as a federal policy throughout the country that brings answers to all citizens, but particularly to the most vulnerable groups in society. The focus is precisely on popular neighborhoods and/or rural areas, places that historically have had greater barriers to accessing their rights. CAJs are devices that provide primary legal care: it is about providing services that specifically address the daily legal needs of vulnerable communities: access to personal documentation, advice on family or work issues, assistance to crime victims, among others. issues. It is the first line of care, located in the territories, that allows removing historical barriers linked to the distance between those most vulnerable people and the state responses they require.

The traditional institutions of the justice sector do not deal – or arrive very late, in a fragmented manner and through long, rigid, winding, expensive and generally ineffective paths – to provide answers to many of the problems that communities face. Faced with this, having decentralized centers, with a territorial approach, that can fully accompany people in resolving the needs they experience is essential.

According to data from the Ministry’s own website, from 2016 to 2022, the Access to Justice Centers attended more than 1,300,000 queries.

What is the current situation of the CAJs?

According to official information from the Ministry of Justice provided in response to a request for access to information made by the Civil Association for Equality and Justice (ACIJ), six Centers had been closed so far this year (going from 109 to 103 ). However, today, a resolution from the Ministry of Justice was published in the Official Gazette that resolves that there will be only one Center per province and remote care will be privileged, which violates a first principle of primary legal care linked to decentralize and break down the geographical barriers that people face. At the same time, it does not take into account the need for support that the most vulnerable people face or the technological barriers.

The cost of Access to Justice

Simultaneously with the announcement of the Official Gazette, the Executive Branch issued a statement that ignores, on the one hand, the most basic premises of access to justice and, on the other, some obvious facts such as that in Argentina there has been no Ombudsman for a long time. 15 years or that the Crime Victim Assistance Centers (CENAVID) operate precisely in the CAJ or remotely through telephone service.

In the same statement, reference is made to the cost that this policy has for the country. The first thing to say is that it is not possible to verify the figure of 8 billion pesos that the Ministry of Justice mentions regarding the cost of maintaining the CAJs. However, it is necessary to highlight that, if that were the correct number, it would correspond to only 0.01% of public spending. In comparative terms, it is equivalent, for example, to 8% of the tax benefits granted to the Mercado Libre company in 2023 or 0.18% of what Argentina has paid in external debt services so far.

At the same time, it is important to highlight that the use of the law by people in situations of greater vulnerability and early attention and resolution
of legal consultations and conflicts result in better economic results in general, avoiding the loss of resources and the aggravation and escalation of the problems they face. Investment in Access to Justice ends up reducing State expenses. Currently, international organizations such as the OECD encourage the implementation of this type of device, in part, with arguments of this type.

Concern about the current situation is transversal. Civil society organizations and different people and institutions committed to access to justice agree on the loss that the reduction of this service means. In the current situation of socioeconomic crisis, these territorial and people-centered policies are a fundamental instrument for effective access to justice.

FIRMS

  • ACIJ – Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia
  • ELA – Equipo Latinoamericano de Justicia y Género
  • INECIP – Instituto de Estudios Comparados en Ciencias Penales y Sociales
  • CELS – Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales
  • Fundeps
  • Capibara
  • Xumek
  • RAAC – Red Argentina de Abogacía Comunitaria
  • Curas Villeros
  • Andhes – Abogados y Abogadas del Noroeste Argentino en derechos humanos y
    estudios sociales.
  • Observatorio de justicia sanitaria y climática

About access to justice

Access to justice is an internationally recognized human right and is also considered instrumental, that is, it allows access to others rights. It includes guaranteeing the effectiveness of the rights of all people, which includes not only being able to access judicial actions but not finding non-judicial, administrative and alternative responses to conflicts that affect people’s daily lives.

Contact
Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org
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We present the website “Escazú for communities”: a tool to defend the environment

We launched the web platform “Escazú Agreement for communities”, which provides information about the Agreement and the rights it contemplates with data and practical models to make them effective. Additionally, within the site, a document is available to download that brings together the experiences and learnings of different communities in Córdoba that face environmental problems and have been fighting for years.

“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 Escazú Agreement is the first environmental treaty in the region on Access to Information, Public Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is also the first treaty in the world to contain provisions related to the protection and promotion of the work carried out by human rights defenders in environmental matters.

At Fundeps, we have been accompanying the process of the Agreement since before its approval in 2018, due to the central role it plays in strengthening environmental democracy and climate justice. Within the framework of this process, when it came into force in Argentina we launched a Resource of the Escazú Agreement and a Guide on Access to Environmental Information. Then, we carried out a training cycle on access to public environmental information and an introduction to Escazú, and in 2023, as part of the project called “Escazú Agreement: What is happening in Córdoba?”, we held workshops in different locations in the province. crossed by socio-environmental conflicts.

This entire journey, added to the daily accompaniment to communities in Córdoba, allowed us to detect the need to create a tool that brings together all the inputs created, information related to the Escazú Agreement and that provides practical instruments to facilitate the exercise of the rights it regulates. For this reason, we launched “Escazú for communities” (agreementdescazu.org), a platform that provides information about what the Agreement is, what rights it contemplates and how they are exercised, what is the history of the Agreement, which countries in the region are part, the answers to frequent doubts that arise among those who defend the environment, among other contents. Our objective is to make available to communities the tools that Escazú offers to promote and monitor their effective implementation, and strengthen the struggles of people and groups that defend the environment, collective health and their territories.

Among the tools on the site, you can find: models for requesting public environmental information, explanations on how citizen participation should be guaranteed and made effective in decisions that impact the environment, types of judicial actions that can be filed to claim; the obligations of States to guarantee the safety of those who defend the environment, among other issues.

At Fundeps we have also been working to strengthen the strategies and approaches to socio-environmental conflicts, putting human rights defenders in environmental matters at the center. For this reason, within the website you can also access “Resisting and re-existing in community. Stories and experiences of socio-environmental struggles in Córdoba. This document is the result of a series of interviews carried out during 2023 and 2024 with seven communities in struggle in the province of Córdoba (OMAS, VUDAS, Todxs por Nuestros Arreros, Vecinos Autoconvocados de Marcos Juárez, Preservando el Parque de la Vida, Madres de Barrio Ituzaingó and Friends of the San Martín Reserve), to whom we deeply appreciate their support and collaboration. The purpose is to share the experiences of the communities, their stories and their useful advice for those who are beginning a process of socio-environmental struggle.

We are committed to this website serving as reference material and strengthening environmental capacities. We also promote the dissemination of struggle strategies and the learning of those who carry them out in the province, so that socio-environmental challenges are navigated solidly knowledge, based on shared experiences and, above all, on the network.

We hope that it will be useful to interested people, and above all, to those who defend human rights in environmental matters.

VISIT THE WEBSITE

Author

Ananda María Lavayen

Contact

Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org

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Civil society organizations and academics reject the candidacy of Lijo and García-Mansilla to the CSJN

Gides (Social Rights Research Group), Fundeps (Foundation for the Development of Sustainable Policies) and Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir Argentina presented ourselves to the Ministry of Justice of the Nation to explain the reasons why we consider that the candidates for fill the vacancies in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla, do not meet the conditions required to integrate the highest body of justice in our country.

“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 academic and civil society organizations with a long history in the field of human rights, we understand that the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, as the main guarantor of the National Constitution and the Rule of Law, can only be made up of people whose experience reflects strong suitability and independence, as well as a firm commitment to constitutional principles and human rights.

Ariel Lijo faces serious accusations in the Judicial Council, including negligence in the investigation of corruption cases, unjustified delays in legal processes and accusations of illicit enrichment, in addition to criminal charges for illicit association, money laundering, bribery and influence peddling. . Furthermore, he lacks professional or academic merits to support his candidacy.

Likewise, we express our deepest concern about the flagrant lack of representation of various sectors of society in the potential composition of the Supreme Court. The inclusion of new members should reflect gender diversity and thematic and regional specialization, to ensure adequate representation of a federal country like ours. It is necessary to emphasize that gender diversity in public positions and decision-making bodies is a legally binding requirement derived from our constitution and international treaties.

For all of the above, we reject the candidacies of Ariel Lijo and Manuel García-Mansilla to the CSJN. We demand that constitutional guarantees be respected to achieve an equitable composition that takes into account regional and gender diversity, as well as the minimum conditions of professional experience required to occupy one of the most important positions of justice in our country.

Contact

Mayca Balaguer, maycabalaguer@fundeps.org

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We participate in the 3rd Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement

From April 21 to 24, we participated in the Third Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement (COP3) that took place in Santiago, Chile. Likewise, we were part of the event that was held previously (Pre-COP) and the parallel panels of civil society organizations.

“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 April, the Third Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement was held: a treaty on access to information, public participation and access to justice in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Conference of the Parties is the highest deliberative and decision-making body of this regional Agreement, and is held once every two years, with the purpose of making decisions, reviewing and promoting the application and effectiveness of the Agreement.

Particularly, the main objective of this third COP was the treatment and approval of the Action Plan on human rights defenders in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, the result of extensive prior public participation. This Plan aims to advance the implementation of Article 9 of the Agreement, which establishes the obligation of the Parties to guarantee a safe and conducive environment for the actions of defenders without threats, restrictions and in safe conditions. The Plan is structured into four axes, each with strategic actions:

  1. knowledge generation;
  2. recognition;
  3. strengthening of capacities and cooperation for the national implementation of the Action Plan;
  4. evaluation, monitoring and review.

It is important to highlight that the Escazú Agreement is the first international treaty that contemplates the protection of defenders. This incorporation is very relevant for Latin America and the Caribbean since it is considered the most dangerous region in the world for those who defend the environment. This is why advancing its protection and defense is a priority need for the region and an example for the rest of the world.

In addition, the mainstreaming of the gender issue was approved, through which measures, actions and activities will be incorporated aimed at integrating and reinforcing the gender perspective in relation to Escazú. Parties were also encouraged to continue promoting the full and effective participation of women in all their diversity, especially indigenous women. This is relevant since it forces countries to adopt measures to guarantee equity and equality.

Likewise, within the framework of the meeting, both in parallel and before and after, more than 30 events were held in which defenders, civil society organizations, indigenous communities, elected representatives of the public, and activists from across the region participated. and authorities. These events were very important for creating and strengthening ties, disseminating socio-environmental conflicts and building capacities among participants.

Although we cannot fail to notice the path that still needs to be taken to achieve environmental and climate justice, we recognize the enormous step forward that the approval of the Action Plan for defenders and the incorporation of the gender perspective implies. For these reasons, at Fundeps we continue to participate and firmly support the effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement, its dissemination and capacity building.

 

Authors

Manuela Fernández Grassani

Ananda María Lavayen

Contact

Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org

Marcos Juárez: we present a protection for the use of pesticides in populated areas

Together with the community of Marcos Juárez we presented an environmental protection in the Córdoba Justice Department. We request that the current ordinance on agrochemicals be modified with the objective of expanding the protection zone, compliance with controls and the functioning of the Advisory Commission on the Environment be made effective.

“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 application of agrochemicals in Argentina continues to be one of the main environmental problems and leads to serious contamination of water, soil, air and consequent damage to biodiversity and people’s health.

There are thousands of scientific studies around the world that prove the toxicity of these products and their link with the development of chronic diseases that affect adults and mainly children. Among them are: abnormal neurological development, cancer, increased incidence of non-hodking lymphoma, a condition in the human placenta with a probable impact on the development of abortions.

The problem of agrochemicals is no longer limited only to rural communities who see their homes, hospitals and schools fumigated daily, but affects millions of people in our country. As an example, the organization Democracia en Red, within the framework of the Pesticides Introduced Silently (PIS) project, analyzed 200 urine samples in the towns of Lobos, Saladillo, Barrio Nicole (La Matanza), Mar Chiquita and the City of Buenos Aires. Aires. The results showed that in all districts there were positive cases for glyphosate.

At Fundeps we have been addressing this problem for some time, developing and implementing different strategies to achieve adequate public policies to guarantee socio-environmental sustainability. In that sense, in 2019 we published our Agrochemical Emergency website where we systematized the immensity of socio-environmental conflicts that occur in our province from the use/misuse of agrochemicals, we also provide tools so that communities can claim for their rights. Simultaneously, we develop models of ordinances that propose restrictions on the use of these products and the creation of protection zones, seeking to promote local advances to improve the quality of community life.

Following this path, in the month of May we presented a first environmental protection for contamination with agrochemicals in Colonia Tirolesa, a process where even and despite the scientific evidence about the various health problems that the community continually suffers, no solution has been found.

Marcos Juárez: what happens with pesticides?

Marcos Juárez is a town located in the southeast of the province of Córdoba, an area known for its economic growth linked to agricultural exploitation and agroindustry, which uses large quantities of chemical products such as fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and despite the fact that Marcos Juárez has With ordinance 2446, which regulates the use and application of chemical and biological products for agricultural use and which the Municipality adheres to Provincial Law 9140, a large part of the population is exposed to these products on a daily basis.

The Marcos Juárez Ordinance arose from a process of collective struggle in 2010, when members of the community organized against the excessive fumigation with agrochemicals due to the social and health consequences caused by this form of production and that was intensifying over time. This ordinance represented a true historical milestone for Córdoba, since it establishes environmental protection zones for the application of agrochemicals. However, over the years the community began to observe that this regulation is insufficient. Added to this is the fact that the Municipality is unable to enforce compliance with this regulation (there are dozens of complaints for violations).

In this context, in 2015 the Genetics and Environmental Mutation Group belonging to the Department of Natural Sciences of the University of Río Cuarto, headed by Dr. Delia Aiassa, evaluated the level of damage to the genetic material in children exposed to pesticides. in the town. The study shows that of the total number of exposed children, 20 (40%) presented persistent symptoms of various kinds. On the other hand, he maintains: “In the case of a relatively small city, this result shows that the sprays could reach (by air) the entire town and that the vulnerable population of children is subjected to extremely high and continuous exposure, givenwho lives surrounded by crops. Taking into account that there are no differences between the groups of children under study in terms of spray distances up to a maximum of 1095 m, this information should be taken into account when establishing environmental safeguards in localities that are surrounded by crops where spraying is carried out”.

From there, and considering that the ordinance establishes distances that are well below what is recommended, for example in some high risk areas (art. 4) the exclusion zone of 150 meters (when in other locations it is 1500 meters), the community organizes itself again and begins a long journey of demands to safeguard their lives and those of their children.

In this framework, at Fundeps we began to support this legitimate claim and after a long journey we decided to go to court in search of solutions.

The Environmental Protection Action

For these reasons, by virtue of the precautionary, preventive and intergenerational equity principle, on November 27 we presented an environmental collective action before the Córdoba justice system requesting, among other things:

  • The creation of an environmental protection zone no less than 1,095 meters away from the external limit of populated areas, where terrestrial fumigation is prohibited.
  • And an environmental protection zone of no less than 3000 meters where fumigation of areas with any type of chemical or biological product for agricultural use is prohibited.

The purpose of this action is to safeguard and protect the rights of those who live in the town. We hope that justice, making use of the powers granted by environmental legislation, will quickly order the Municipality of Marcos Juárez to adopt concrete and urgent measures. This is essential to safeguard the community’s rights to life, health and a healthy environment.

 

Authors:

Katen Moldes and María Laura Carrizo

Contact:

María Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org

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Diploma in Feminist Strategic Litigation launched

Amnesty International, ELA – Latin American Team for Justice and Gender, Fundeps and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law (Georgetown University) announce the launch of a new training course for lawyers in Argentina that brings together renowned faculty from throughout the region.

The proposal is aimed at legal professionals who wish to be trained in feminist strategic litigation strategies on sexual and reproductive rights in order to develop as leaders in their communities and environments. The Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) and the MxM Foundation support the initiative.

The Diploma will be free of charge and will be developed virtually between March and October 2024 through synchronous meetings and will culminate with a practical and face-to-face litigation experience in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, for which scholarships will be granted.

In addition, those students who have obtained a certificate of approval will be able to apply for a legal internship in the organizations coordinating the Diploma, so that they can apply the knowledge, skills and tools they have acquired.

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Brochure – information about the schedule, modules and teachers.

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Argentina presented the National Plan for the Implementation of the Escazú Agreement

On October 3, the national government presented the National Plan for the Implementation of the Escazú Agreement. This regional treaty was approved by Argentina in 2020 and seeks to implement the rights of access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making, access to Justice and the protection of human rights defenders in environmental matters.

“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 Secretary of Climate Change and Sustainable Development and Innovation of the Nation was appointed to advance towards the implementation of the Escazú Agreement in Argentina. This tour was designed in two stages: the first, aimed at carrying out a diagnosis to determine the status of compliance with the Agreement in our country, from which recommendations emerged: and the second was focused on designing the Plan. For this, a public consultation, collaborative virtual and in-person meetings, regional dialogue tables and a proposal box were carried out. In total, 533 contributions were received from citizens in the design of the Plan and the majority (65%) of the people who participated were women. At Fundeps we accompany this entire process by providing contributions in the different participatory instances.

The Plan is structured into 6 axes: access to public environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making, access to justice in environmental matters, human rights defenders in environmental issues, capacity building, governance system for the execution and monitoring of the implementation of the Agreement. Objectives and indicators are also established, which are very important for evaluating progress in implementation. The execution of the Plan will be over a period of 3 years and will be in charge of the National Executive Branch.

The process of creating the Plan was an open, participatory and transparent process, focused on ensuring citizen participation and building the necessary consensus to address the needs of the communities and make the Agreement effective. We celebrate the presentation of this Plan, which represents a milestone towards the consolidation of the application of the Escazú Agreement in Argentina and provides concrete tools to facilitate its implementation. Now we urge the national state and the provinces to implement its implementation and citizens to demand its effective application to achieve the ultimate goal of the Escazú Agreement: compliance with the right to a healthy environment.

 

More Information

 

Author

Manuela Fernández Grassani 

Contact

María Laura Carrizo, lauracarrizo@fundeps.org