To maximise the impact and operational effectiveness of the Aarhus Convention, various governance bodies and procedures help ensure its proper implementation including the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee and the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders
Source: ISHR
The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC) reviews whether Parties comply with their obligations under the Convention. It was created under Article 15 of the Convention, which required the Meeting of the Parties to establish a compliance mechanism that is non-confrontational, non-judicial and consultative and which allows for public involvement — in other words, designed to help improve implementation rather than punish States.
Listen to Áine Ryall, Chair of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee explains part of the mandate
Source: UNECE
The ACCC was established by the Meeting of the Parties in 2002 and plays a key role in monitoring how Parties comply with the provisions of the Convention. One of the most distinctive features of the Aarhus system is that members of the public can directly trigger the compliance mechanism. This means that individuals, communities, and civil society organisations — including EHRDs — can raise concerns if they believe a State is failing to comply with the Convention.
In practice, this happens through submitting a written communication to the Committee, in the required format, setting out the facts, the provisions of the Convention that may have been violated, and any relevant supporting documentation. Communications are submitted to the Aarhus Convention Secretariat, which registers and transmits them to the Committee. The ACCC can then decide whether to consider the matter, request further information, hold a hearing, and eventually adopt findings and recommendations.
The compliance mechanism can also be triggered in other ways. In addition to communications from members of the public, the Committee may receive:
A Party to the Convention can also request advice from the Committee.
For a visual overview, check out this infographic from the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee.
Source: UNECE
Under the Aarhus Convention, a rapid response mechanism was also created in 2021 in the form of a Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders. It is a mechanism meant to urgently address situations in which EHRDs face persecution, harassment, or retaliation for exercising their rights under the Convention.
Mr Michel Forst is the first mandate holder since 2022. He’s a prominent human rights expert and was formerly UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders (2014-2020) and UN Special Rapporteur on Haiti (2008-2013).
Source: UNECE
This mandate builds directly on article 3(8) of the Aarhus Convention, which requires each Party to ensure that anyone exercising their rights under the Convention "shall not be penalised, persecuted or harassed in any way for their involvement". The Convention, therefore, introduced the first legally binding international obligation, requiring States to protect environmental defenders.
Under the Aarhus Convention, an environmental defender includes any member of the public exercising their rights to access information, participate in decision-making or access justice in order to protect the right to live in a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. This definition may include for instance community members, Indigenous Peoples, activists, NGOs, lawyers, journalists, and climate advocates working to protect environmental rights (see also Chapter 1 - Who are EHRDs?).
The mandate focuses on situations in which you — or others in your community — face threats (e.g. smear campaign, legal proceedings, law enforcement abuse) for exercising your environmental rights. This could include threats for requesting environmental information, participating in public consultations, challenging environmental permits, or raising concerns about environmental harm.
The Special Rapporteur plays a broader role in raising awareness of the rights of environmental defenders and encouraging governments to strengthen their protection. The Special Rapporteur regularly engages with governments, civil society organisations, and international bodies to highlight challenges, threats and attacks faced by environmental defenders and promote better implementation of article 3 (8) of the Aarhus Convention. The Special Rapporteur also sheds light on critical situations through press releases and statements, and prepares reports on specific topics that contribute to a better understanding of challenges and threats faced by EHRDs under the Aarhus Convention (see also the introductory video in Section 3.3).
As we saw, the Aarhus Convention provides practical tools for EHRDs to raise concerns, influence environmental decision-making, and challenge barriers to participation, transparency, and justice. Here is what you can concretely do:
Use the compliance mechanism: The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee (ACCC) provides one of the most accessible international compliance mechanisms available to environmental defenders.
If you believe a State is not complying with the Aarhus Convention, you can submit a communication to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee explaining how authorities have failed to ensure access to environmental information, public participation, or access to justice. You can contact the ACCC directly at: [email protected].
Contribute to reports, consultations, and policy discussions: The Aarhus system regularly examines emerging challenges affecting environmental defenders, and civil society contributions play an important role in these discussions. You can submit position papers, evidence, or policy inputs during consultations organised by Aarhus bodies or the Secretariat. These submissions often inform discussions at the Meeting of the Parties, where governments review progress and adopt decisions guiding future implementation of the Convention. One relevant example is the public consultation held to publish the Guidelines on the Right to Peaceful Environmental Protest and Civil Disobedience. To know more, email [email protected] and request to be added to the Aarhus Convention mailing list and also subscribe to the newsletter of the Special Rapporteur.
Participate in relevant meetings of Aarhus Convention bodies, including its Task Forces on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice, as well as its Working Group of the Parties and the Meeting of the Parties. These meetings are public, and the issues and themes to be discussed at each meeting are listed on each meeting’s webpage in advance.
Request visits and engage with diplomatic actors: You can also raise visibility of environmental issues by meeting with experts elected by the Meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention, including the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders, through visits, briefings, and dialogue. These visits are not necessarily public; rather, they are a means to actively engage with international experts to advocate for EHRDs’ rights.
Environmental defenders and organisations may invite mandate holders - like the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders - or international partners to learn about specific situations affecting environmental rights. These engagements may include fact-finding visits, meetings with civil society organisations, or briefings with diplomatic missions and international institutions.
Seek protection through the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders: If you or someone in your community faces harassment, intimidation, criminalisation, or other reprisals for exercising rights under the Aarhus Convention, you can contact the Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders.
You can submit a complaint yourself or on behalf of another defender (with their consent). In the complaint form available on the website, you will find explanatory notes to support you. You can also email [email protected] if you have questions while preparing to submit a complaint. Once the Special Rapporteur receives the complaint, they review the information and may request additional details if necessary. You can also have a look at previous complaints and follow-up to support you in drafting your own complaint.
This mechanism aims to respond quickly and flexibly when environmental defenders face threats. It can increase visibility of your situation and encourage authorities to take steps to ensure you can exercise your environmental rights safely.
In the next section, we move to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and its relevant tools for EHRD.
