OSCE promotes Aarhus Convention principles in Turkmenistan

ASHGABAT, 19 April 2011 – An OSCE-supported multi-stakeholder training course on the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters, known as the Aarhus Convention, was held in Ashgabat today.

The one-day event was organized by the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in co-operation with Turkmenistan’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Nature Protection.

The course aimed to provide information about the Convention and on developments in its implementation by signatory states, and was held as part of a mission by the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee and the UNECE Secretariat to Turkmenistan, which ratified the Convention in 1999.

“Since 2000, the OSCE Centre has been working to promote and raise awareness about the Aarhus Convention in Turkmenistan, and has conducted capacity-building activities in the country. The Centre is committed to continuing this work together with multiple stakeholders and international actors,” said Begoña Piñeiro Costas, acting Economic and Environmental Officer at the OSCE Centre.

Representatives from the UNECE Secretariat and Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee led the training course. They discussed key provisions related to the three main aspects of the Convention, namely access to information, public participation and access to justice, and their practical application. They also addressed ways to promote public participation in environmental decision-making and presented case studies.

The training course was attended by 30 participants representing government ministries, judicial bodies, research and educational institutions, and public environmental organizations.