Advancing implementation of Aarhus Convention in Belarus in focus at workshop co-organized by OSCE

MINSK, 31 January 2014 – More than 40 representatives of central and local government, civil society and academia highlighted the challenges and solutions for advancing the implementation of the Aarhus Convention in Belarus, at a three-day workshop co-organized by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), which ended today.

Participants familiarized themselves with the current implementation of the Aarhus Convention, a key UN document on access to environmental information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. They also explored different measures to enhance the implementation of the Convention and its amendment on genetically-modified organisms at the national and local levels.

Vitaly Kulik, First Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, at the opening session said the country had already made significant progress in integrating the Convention’s provisions into national legislation and in strengthening the capacities of state institutions. “The workshop will help to further promote the implementation of the Convention,” he said.

“The diverse participation of practitioners from the central and local level demonstrates the strong commitment of Belarus to the implementation of the Aarhus Convention,” said Nino Malashkia, Associate Environmental Affairs  Officer at OCEEA. She emphasized the importance of good environmental governance in addressing environmental challenges.

Maryna Yanush, Legal Adviser in the Aarhus Convention Secretariat, said: “Improving compliance with the provisions of the Convention in accordance with the recommendations of the Compliance Committee of the Aarhus Convention, encouraging public participation in decision-making concerning genetically-modified organisms, as well as in international forums are areas that require further efforts, and this event was one of the steps forward."

The workshop was organized by OCEEA and the Aarhus Convention Secretariat in close co-operation with the Belarus Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and in partnership with the RUE Belorussian SRC ‘Ecology’.

This event is supported within the framework of the Environment and Security (ENVSEC) Initiative - a partnership comprising the OSCE, UNDP, the UN Environment Programme, the UN Economic Commission for Europe, the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe (REC) as well as NATO as an associate partner.