Beyond establishing rights and obligations, the Escazú Agreement also created a governance ecosystem that enables regional cooperation, oversight, and participation in environmental decision-making. This ecosystem brings together States, civil society, experts, and regional institutions to support the implementation of the treaty.
Notably, the Agreement includes “the public” as a broad category comprised of people, communities, organisations and other actors who may participate in implementation and decision-making processes under the Agreement.
For you, these bodies provide important spaces and opportunities to raise concerns, share information, influence policy development, and monitor how States are fulfilling their commitments. The Escazú Agreement establishes several governance bodies that provide opportunities for you to engage. These include:
The Conference of the Parties (COP)
It is the main decision-making body responsible for guiding implementation of the Agreement. The COP has several important functions. It adopts decisions, guidelines, and work programmes that shape the implementation of the Agreement across the region. It also establishes subsidiary bodies, facilitates cooperation between States, and promotes capacity-building initiatives.
These forums are regulated by rules of procedures and should take place every two years at a minimum. The provisional agenda is defined by the Presiding Officers alongside the Escazú Secretariat (ECLAC), and they must release it eight weeks before the Conference, but State Parties will have the final say on it at the COP opening. You can leverage your advocacy to engage in coalitions and with other stakeholders to influence the agenda beforehand, addressing your topics of concern with national focaL points and country representatives when appropriate, or to influence the Public Representatives' priorities so they channel them in meetings with Presiding Officers.
During COP, you can deliver statements directly or by requesting the Public Representatives if the COP elected Chair grants you permission. You can also circulate documents, briefings, or any relevant information to the State Parties' representatives so they can consider your inputs in their statements and decisions. You can also organise side events, roundtable discussions and briefings in coordination with the Secretariat and the Presiding Officers.
In addition to COP, the EHRD's forum was also created to boost the involvement and participation of advocates, governments and other stakeholders. These forums specifically discuss the implementation of Article 9 — EHRDs guarantees — and take place biannually. Stay tuned on the ECLAC website and social media to know modalities! (example here).
The Committee to Support Implementation and Compliance (CSIC)
It is a body created to help ensure that States effectively implement the treaty's commitments. It was formally established at COP1, following EHRDs' advocacy. Unlike courts or judicial mechanisms, the Committee is designed to be consultative, transparent, non-adversarial, and non-punitive. Its purpose is not to sanction States but to identify challenges, facilitate dialogue, and provide guidance to improve implementation of the Agreement.
CSIC consists of seven independent members who operate in their personal capacity, ensuring geographic representation across the region and maintaining independence in their work. All members hold the position for two years and may be re-elected once.
Amongst their functions, they:
Source: ECLAC
Public representation
The Public Representatives ensure civil society, communities, and other stakeholders are present and relevant in the governance processes of the Escazú Agreement. This feature makes the Escazú Agreement one of the most participatory environmental treaties in the world.
Participants registered in the Regional Public Mechanism, a platform that enables civil society and individuals from Latin America and the Caribbean to engage in Escazú processes, including the election of Public Representatives. Their mandate is voluntary and independent of the States, and they serve for two years, with the possibility of re-election.
They are an ally to you as an EHRD because they can channel your views, concerns, and proposals into regional decision-making spaces. You can regularly interact with the Public Representatives, raise concerns through the CSIC or promote advances in regional implementation through the Forums and COPs as arenas.
These bodies create multiple entry points for civil society organisations, communities, and environmental defenders to engage with the Agreement's governance processes, share information, raise concerns, and advocate for stronger environmental protections.
A relevant example to illustrate how the public can participate is the Guide for Mainstreaming the Gender Perspective in the Implementation of the Escazú Agreement. The idea emerged from civil society and was championed by States to act upon the differentiated barriers faced by women and people of diverse gender identities in accessing information, participation, justice, and environmental defence. At COP3 (2024), Parties adopted Decision III/4, mandating the preparation of the Guide.
The process was shaped through public consultations, questionnaires, and discussions in the Forum on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters, where CSOs, women defenders, and other stakeholders played a central role. This ensured the Guide reflected lived realities, including gender-based risks and exclusion. Its advancement at COP4 (2026) illustrates how civil society engagement can help translate broad commitments into practical, gender-responsive guidance for implementation.
The Committee's role is to support the implementation of the Agreement and promote compliance with its provisions. Although the Committee is not a judicial body, it can still be a valuable advocacy mechanism for you.
As we said, the Committee to Support Implementation and Compliance (CSIC) seeks to monitor the correct implementation of the Escazú Agreement. Therefore, when there is a breach in compliance, submitting communications before CSIC is the institutionalised mechanism to hold State Parties accountable.
Anybody can submit a communication. In practice:
This Communication mechanism seeks to ensure anybody can hold State Parties accountable, aiming to advance the implementation of Escazú’s provisions.
Communications can include any breach in compliance under the Escazú Agreement provisions, including access to information, participation, justice and EHRDs protection. In this sense, the nature of information can be wide but it must be properly supported with evidence. This CSIC communications overview details the information required for the Committee to analyse.
Once the CSIC has received a communication, they will assess whether it is a regular communications procedure or it can be addressed under a Rapid Response Mechanism, designed to deal with urgent matters affecting EHRDs, such as threats, attacks, or any potential risk to their role.
The CSIC can trigger its Rapid Response Mechanism to address urgent situations affecting the implementation of the treaty. When a situation presents credible indications of risk, urgency, or serious harm related to the rights protected by the Agreement, the Committee may adopt measures to prevent further harm while the case is declared admissible This mechanism allows the Committee to acknowledge situations that may put people at risk of attacks, threats of intimidation and to address breaches of the commitments made under the Escazú Agreement.
Source: ISHR
For more information, check the Escazú Agreement Public Participation handbook here.
After Indigenous Mapuche environmental defender Julia Chuñil disappeared in southern Chile in 2024 while defending her community’s land against logging and extractive interests, her relatives and supporters began facing intimidation and security risks as they demanded an investigation. Chilean and international organisations then activated, for the first time, the rapid response mechanism created under the Escazú Agreement by submitting communications to the Committee to Support Implementation and Compliance (CSIC). They documented the threats, the disappearance, and the lack of adequate protection measures, asking for urgent international action. In response, the mechanism publicly called on Chilean authorities to protect the family and investigate the case, showing how defenders can use regional environmental treaties not only after attacks occur, but also to demand rapid preventive protection and international scrutiny.
