In the period from October 8 to 9, 2018, the Eighth Meeting of the Aarhus Convention's Public Participation in Decision-Making Process took place in Geneva (Switzerland).
The event brought together representatives of the countries parties to the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention), International Organizations, Aarhus Centers, NGOs, and experts.
At the meeting, the Task Force discussed issues of public participation in decision-making on environmental issues, with particular emphasis on the experience of their advocacy, namely:
- meaningful and early public participation;
- availability of all relevant documents to the public;
- effective notification and deadlines for public participation;
- ensuring a more complete account of public comments in the final decisions.
At this meeting, a report was presented, which reflects the experience and achievements of Kazakhstan in the field of ensuring greater accessibility of the population to environmental information; best practices and challenges for public access to information, especially in the context of the environmental decision-making process, as well as the implementation of the Maastricht recommendations for facilitating effective public participation in environmental decision-making.
A discussion took place to discuss the issues related to the protection of individuals exercising their rights in accordance with the provisions of the Aarhus Convention.