Government confirms its position of not signing Escazú Agreement: “It is not convenient for Chile”

This afternoon, the Chancellor Andres Allamand attended the Senate Foreign Relations committee to explain the government’s position on the Escazú Agreement, which has the date for its entry into force on September 26 with the ratification of 11 States, that is, in less than 20 days. Until that date, the countries of the region have to ratify their subscription and adhere to the first Latin American pact that seeks to guarantee access to information, participation and justice in environmental matters.

Chile’s position, until now, has remained with certain uncertainty after the government of Sebastián Piñera refused to sign in September 2018, arguing possible problems in sovereignty in the face of possible territorial conflicts. This despite having led the negotiations of the pact together with Costa Rica and even after the President himself called on the countries of the region to join the treaty.

However, this afternoon the minister pointed out that the position of the Executive “It has not changed. The agreement, in the government’s opinion and as it is proposed, is inconvenient for Chile. That is the reason why so far it has not subscribed ”. In any case, he added that “we are exhausting, these days, the analysis of four aspects that go to the bottom of the debate.”

The four spotlights Those referred to by the Chancellor and which are the structure of the debate within his portfolio are: analyze what is the content of the changes that the agreement will bring to Chilean environmental legislation; second, what is the interpretative scope of some principles of the treaty; third, to see the nature of the obligations and commitments to which Chile would be subjected if it signs and ratifies the agreement; and fourthly, the judicial contingency, that is, the possibility that by virtue of Escazú, the country could eventually be taken to international tribunals.

Thus, the Secretary of State stated that “a decision of this nature must require the best understanding of all sectors that have an interest in the matter”, but added that “I do not want there to be any room for misinterpretation. I have said that the government’s position has not changed (…) There should be no room for the generation of a false expectation because the terms are eloquent enough ”.

Despite this, Allamand assured that the government will make known in a “complete and exhaustive” way the set of background that defines its position. “We were asked to carry out an exhaustive analysis of the consequences and implications of the treaty and that is what we have been doing in recent times and particularly since I assumed the position of chancellor, to that I committed myself”, said.

On the occasion, and after the intervention of the Chancellor, Senator Ricardo Lagos Weber noted that “it is clear to me that what the government is going to try to do, after two years of delay, is to explain why it did not sign an agreement which Chile led and that was left undone in an abrupt manner and with explanations that they are none of the ones you point to now. Third, and what is more serious, is that it takes the floor away from everything that the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of the Environment did on that occasion based on an interpretation that arose in a very abrupt way.

“I am sorry but I want to tell you that sooner rather than later Chile will sign and ratify that treaty, I guarantee that,” he added.

At the beginning of his intervention in the commission, the minister referred to the deadlines that the agreement has. “It is very important to say that the term to be an initial subscriber of the agreement expires soon, on September 26. It is very important to state that this is not a fatal term from the point of view of the consequences or things that resemble it. countries can join later ”.

What happens is that the pact needs the ratification of eleven countries in the region for it to enter into force. In any case, the States may sign it later. So far there are nine countries that have completed this step, but another five are on that path: Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Mexico.

Chile is within the group of 12 countries that have not subscribed together with Venezuela, El Salvador, Cuba, Honduras, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.