Douala, Cameroon 15 September 2011
Access to information : all citizens should have access to environmental information Participation: informed, meaningful, and representative using (C) FPIC principle Access to justice: securing the 2 other rights and providing rights to redress and remedy
Rio 1992 Declaration on Environment and Development 2002 Johannesburg Action Plan on Implementation of Environment and Development Aarhus Convention (UNECE, 1998) Bali Guidelines (2011)
Information important for holding institutions accountable and operating transparently - including state, parliamentarians, district assemblies, chiefs, community leaders and organisations. Participation – enables communities to be fully involved in processes so they can inform all decisions and can provide or withhold their consent openly and transparently. Justice – prevents abuses and empowers community members to resolve conflicts fairly.
costs, bureaucracy, corruption, capacity, access and legal standing, enabling legislation not in place, accessibility of decision making processes and dispute settlement institutions, info made in languages, etc.
Is it a matter of either or? what is the relation between them ? many people depend on traditional systems in forest and rural regions does state law recognise traditional systems? are democratic rights applied to the traditional systems including procedural rights – if not why not and how?
translation of law into local languages, guides explaining the laws, legal acts, seminars, legal empowerment at the local level, training, education. community codification of traditional legal systems procedural rights proactive advocacy, drafting of legal proposals, training on the issues (land law, forest law, etc)
‘open day’ tribunal, capacity building with government and customary leaders on improving procedural rights seminar to mobilise people and make them have confidence in justice, advocacy and promotion of a better access to courts, legal assistance brought at community level (NGOs providing free legal assistance to those groups)
Embed in the VPA and REDD processes and related laws and policies procedural rights. All legislation should include these rights. Also communities need to ensure procedural rights are part of agreements where communities can be held to account
Are procedural rights recognised in your national legal system – both customary and state ? If so are they effective? What actions can communities and civil society organisations take to develop further and make effective procedural rights? What steps specifically can you take within the VPA and REDD processes to advance procedural rights? Lets keep it practical !!!!!
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