Historic moment
Evelina Rioukhina, UNOG
The first day of the 5th Ministerial Conference “Environment for
Europe” was full of event. It is not possible to describe them
all, a couple of pages will be needed only to write down the titles.
However, one of the most particular was the historic moment of the signing
of the three UNECE environmental protocols. This did not happen by waving
a magic wand, or out of the blue. It was the result of a large amount
of work which had been done behind the scenes by all staff involved
from the Environment and Human Settlements Division and personally by
the Director Mr. Kaj Bärlund. Enormous efforts had been undertaken
by the Secretaries of the UNECE Environmental Conventions.
But now back to the ceremony. We are in Kiev, 21 May, pm. The whole
afternoon the UN Depositary is inspecting the Full Powers of the countries
to sign the Protocol and the Credentials to represent the countries
in the extraordinary meetings or special session within the Convention.
The agenda if overfilled, suffice it to give the afternoon schedule
of the events:
15:00-16-00 – the extraordinary meeting of the Parties
to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary
Context regarding the draft Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment
16:00-17:00 – the Joint Special
Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Conventions on the Protection
and Use of Transboundary Watercources and International Lakes and the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Transboundary Effects
of Industrial Accidents regarding the draft Protocol on Civil Liability
and Compensation for Damage caused by the Transboundary Effects of Industrial
Accidents on Trans- boundary Waters
17:00-18:00 – the extraordinary
meeting of the Parties to the Aarhus Convention on Access to Information,
Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental
Matters to adopt the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers.
All three Protocol were adopted, and at last – the historic moment:
18:00-19:00 – the signature of all the three Protocols.
The ceremony was opened by the Executive Secretary of the UNECE Ms. Brigita Schmögnerová. The heads of countries’ delegations were invited to the special chair so that they, in the presence of the UN Depositary, put their signatures under these legislation documents so important in the environmental .
More than a half of the member-States signed the Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (34 countries and the European Community signed during the ceremony on 21 May 2003, one more country signed on the 22 May, and more countries might sign during the work of the Ministerial Conference, i.e. 23 May), almost the same number of countries signed the new Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment (33 countries and the European Community signed during the ceremony 21 May 2003, and one more country signed the following day, one more signature is expected before the end of the Conference).
The Protocol on Civil Liability had more difficult birth and therefore, perhaps, deserves special word to be said about it (UNS published several articles on the importance of this very protocol). The Protocol on Civil Liability was welcomed by the majority of countries, although the number of the countries who signed was not so impressive. The negotiations preceding the Protocol were not easy ones, and the reality turned out to be more complicated. Until the very last moment it was not clear what countries would sign, and what countries still needed more time to state their position. It was an impression, that something else should be done, and urgently, some explanation or intervention was needed, perhaps, to reassure those who, although having full powers for signing this Protocol, started to hesitate. I closed my eyes hoping for a miracle. And the miracle happened! The intervention was made by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on behalf of the PCA Secretary-General; and was addressed by Dane Ratliff, Assistant Legal Counsel:
”The PCA Secretary-General congratulates the chair on her skillful conduction of the negotiations, in record time, with record efficiency and precision.
The PCA Secretary-General would also like to thank the Conventions Secretaries and the UNECE Executive Secretary as well for their excellent administration of the negotiation meetings.
As an Intergovernmental Organisation which was invited to participate in the negotiations, we hope that our Member States, and all States which went to great efforts to negotiate this Protocol will sign it as soon as possible.
As the chair kindly noted in her introduction, by allowing for claims of private parties in certain cases to be resolved through arbitration under the PCA Environmental Arbitration Rules, the drafters of this Protocol have taken an innovative step, which will balance the interests of all parties, and offers significant advantages over domestic litigation – thereby also potentially relieving national court systems which may not have the requisite expertise to resolve such claims, whereas an arbitral tribunal constituted under the PCA Environmental Arbitration Rules could, due to the government nominated panels of environmental law and science experts attached to them.
In summing up, through the inclusion of this arbitration provision, this Protocol can level the playing field between claimant and operator/respondent, and thereby increase fairness and access to justice beyond what is presently available in any other instrument.
The Secretary-General therefore congratulates the drafters on their excellent work in adopting this instrument – a positive step that will increase environmental security in the UNECE region”.
That historic day, 21 May 2003, 22 countries put their signatures under the Protocol. The Conference is not yet over and perhaps the miracle will go on and several more countries will sign this Protocol while still in Kiev. In any case, some countries have already clearly indicated their intention to sign this Protocol while it is open for signature in New York (as well as the two other Protocols) until the end of December 2003. It is clear; each signature will add the hope for environmental security in our European home, and finally will increase the feeling of security on our planet. And whatever the political or economical divergences the countries might have, the notion of security unites them all, and this will at the end be decisive logic for the protection and security of our environment, i.e. our lives. I do believe that this logic wins.
From Kiev, 22 May 2003.