In addition to its contribution to the negotiations for a plastic treaty at the United Nations (click here for the article), the Global Pact Coalition has also submitted its comments to the Montevideo Environmental Law Programme.
The Montevideo Environmental Law Programme is “an intergovernmental programme designed to guide the identification and implementation of priority actions in the field of environmental law to be undertaken by the United Nations Environment Programme, in collaboration with other relevant actors for the decade beginning in 2020”.
The Secretariat of the Programme is currently working on a partnerships and stakeholder engagement strategy. In this context, the Secretariat invited all interested stakeholders and partners of the programme to comment on the annotated outline of the strategy by 31 July 2023.
The Global Pact Coalition has submitted its response to the call for comments. It applauds this initiative which gives recognition to members of civil society and showcases the central role they play in the development and promotion of environmental rule of law. The GPC believes that working together with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other actors of civil society is crucial to support the successful implementation of the Programme.
The main suggestion of the GPC concerns the concrete role and rights of stakeholders and partners. It recommended that the Montevideo Environmental Law Programme V gives non-State stakeholders a right of initiative and proposal in the process of drafting environmental norms. Indeed, at the international level, non-State stakeholders have already been recognized for their numerous contributions to the international legal framework. Therefore, giving non-State stakeholders a right of initiative and proposal would only shed light on the traditional and fundamental role they have always played in the development of new legal norms.
The GPC is honored to present its commentary on the annotated outline for the Secretariat of the Montevideo Programme’s consideration and hopes that its contribution may serve to substantiate the present partnerships and stakeholder engagement strategy.
You can find here the commentary, sent in English to the Secretariat.