| Montreal, 18/09/2003 – By notice posted on its web site (<http://www.cec.org>), the Secretariat of North America's Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) is seeking information from the public for use in preparing a factual record on Mexico's alleged failure to effectively enforce its environmental law by denying access to environmental justice to indigenous peoples of the Sierra Tarahumara, in the state of Chihuahua.
On 9 June 2000, the Comisión de Solidaridad y Defensa de los Derechos Humanos A.C. filed a submission with the Secretariat alleging that Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law with respect to the citizen complaint process, the prosecution of alleged environmental crimes and other alleged violations with respect to forest resources and the environment in the Sierra Tarahumara. On 6 November 2001, the Secretariat determined that some of submission's assertions warranted requesting a response from the Party. After reviewing the Party's response, on 29 August 2002 the Secretariat notified the Council that it recommended the preparation of a factual record with respect to most of the assertions that it had considered warranted a response from the Party. On 22 April 2003, the Council decided unanimously to instruct the Secretariat to develop a factual record regarding submission SEM-00-006 (Tarahumara).
Under Article 14 of the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC), the Secretariat may consider a submission from any nongovernmental organization or person asserting that a Party to NAAEC is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law. Where the Secretariat determines that the NAAEC Article 14(1) criteria are met, it takes further steps that can lead to the development of a factual record on the matter. A factual record seeks to provide detailed factual information to allow interested persons to assess whether a Party has effectively enforced its environmental law with respect to the matter raised in the submission.
Under Article 15(4) and 21(1)(a) of the NAAEC, in developing a factual record, the Secretariat shall consider any information furnished by a Party and may ask a Party to provide information. The Secretariat also may consider any relevant technical, scientific or other information that is publicly available, submitted by the Joint Public Advisory Committee (JPAC) or by interested nongovernmental organizations or persons, or developed by the Secretariat or independent experts. In accordance with Article 15(7) of NAAEC, the Council may, by a two-thirds vote, make the final factual record publicly available.
The CEC was established under NAAEC to address environmental issues in North America from a continental perspective, with a particular focus on those arising in the context of liberalized trade. The CEC Council, the organization's governing body, is composed of the environment ministers (or equivalent) of Canada, Mexico and the United States.
For further information, please consult: <http://www.cec.org/citizen/>. |
