Escazú Agreement gains momentum: COP4 advances implementation and strengthens the regional gender agenda

Date: Wednesday, 29 April 2026

^{Photo: UN Women/Lorena Lamas}

The fourth Conference of the Parties to the Escazú Agreement (COP4) marked a key moment to consolidate progress and, above all, to accelerate the implementation of a treaty that has positioned Latin America and the Caribbean as a pioneering region in environmental democracy. Held in Nassau, Bahamas, from 21 to 24 April, COP4 brought to the forefront a persistent challenge: moving from normative commitments to concrete action.

As the first environmental treaty in the region and the only one in the world with specific provisions for the protection of environmental human rights defenders, the Escazú Agreement has established a robust framework around access to information, public participation, and access to justice. However, its implementation across the region remains uneven, with significant gaps persisting, particularly in contexts where defenders, especially women, face structural and differentiated risks.

^{Photo: UN Women/Lorena Lamas}

In this context, COP4 served as a platform for both accountability and strategic projection. The 19 States Parties, including the Bahamas and Colombia, which have recently ratified the Agreement, reported progress on the commitments adopted at COP3, addressing key areas such as the Regional Action Plan on human rights defenders, the development of pollutant release and transfer registers, and the strengthening of participation and environmental justice mechanisms. Across these priorities, gender mainstreaming stands out as a central component for ensuring the effective and equitable implementation of the Agreement.

^{Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean: guide on gender mainstreaming}

One of the most significant milestones in this agenda was Decision III/4, adopted at COP3, which established a comprehensive framework to advance gender mainstreaming in the implementation of the Escazú Agreement. Among its key outcomes is the development of the Guide on gender mainstreaming, a technical tool that responds to a specific request from States and provides guidance, recommendations, and good practices to integrate a gender perspective into legal frameworks, institutional arrangements, and decision-making processes. With the guide now available, the focus shifts to its uptake and effective implementation, calling on States Parties to incorporate its recommendations into national policies and plans, strengthen institutional capacities, and establish mechanisms to translate these standards into tangible changes on the ground.

Along the same lines, Decision III/4 underscores the importance of promoting the full and effective participation of women in all their diversity, integrating a gender perspective in the creation of safe environments for defenders, and strengthening monitoring and reporting mechanisms. It also encourages alignment with other multilateral environmental frameworks, such as the conventions on climate change, biodiversity, and desertification, which have also begun to incorporate specific provisions on defenders, with a view to generating synergies and reinforcing coherence in the gender and environmental governance agenda. It further highlights the strengthening of the Principle 10 Observatory on access to environmental information, as well as the promotion of cooperation and knowledge exchange with United Nations entities, funds, and programmes, and the secretariats of relevant multilateral environmental agreements, to support Parties in strengthening capacities and advancing the effective implementation of the Agreement.

In addition, COP4 delivered important operational advances, including the establishment of working groups on pollutant release and transfer registers and on access to environmental justice, as well as the adoption of methodological guidelines for the development of national implementation roadmaps. These tools are key to identifying gaps, setting priorities, and guiding national public action in a participatory manner. In this regard, their development and implementation are expected to align with the Guide on gender mainstreaming, ensuring that they respond to differentiated realities and needs.

COP4 also provided space for initiatives that reinforce the inclusive and intergenerational nature of the Agreement. Notably, the dialogue “Women at the Center: Environmental Justice and Peacebuilding through the Escazú Agreement,” organized by Enjuves, highlighted the transformative potential of young women’s leadership in the environmental agenda. The participation of UN Women in this space reaffirms its commitment to promoting these forms of leadership as drivers of change, recognizing their key role in territorial defense, sustainability, and peacebuilding.

In sum, COP4 confirms that the region is not starting from scratch: it has the frameworks, tools, and experience needed to advance towards more just and inclusive environmental governance. The challenge now is clear: accelerating implementation, closing remaining gaps, and ensuring that commitments translate into real transformations, with gender equality as a strategic pillar of this transition.