The plenary of the House of Representatives approved this Monday the project by which the agreement of Escazusigned in 2019 by the government of Iván Duque, but which was not ratified by the last Congress.
It was a no vote and 121 votes in favor of ratifying the agreement after more than two and a half hours of debate.
What had not been achieved in three years was achieved in 63 days. The first thanks go to the Colombian youth”, commented the Minister of the Environment, Susana Muhamad, and said that from now on they start working on its implementation.
The debate was full of controversy. The opposition denounced that witchcraft was being practiced in the bars and finally Radical Change, Democratic CenterMarelen Castillo and Miguel Polo Polo left the premises.
They argued that there were no guarantees and that they would not vote on a project that had not been adequately discussed.
“Here the only ones who have not had guarantees are our social and environmental leaders. Many of them are no longer here to witness what we hope will be a historic event,” said the speaker Caroline Giraldo.
“The agreement does not belong to some parties or some sectors. It marks sustainable development, it is a country issue,” added the congresswoman.
This agreement establishes the implementation in Latin America and the Caribbean of the rights for public participation in environmental decision-making processes. And it is also key to protecting environmental leaders.
The Democratic Center, which presented a negative paper, assures that there are already laws in our country and instances that are in charge of protecting the environment.
“Not opening the door to international jurisdictions when in Colombia we have institutions that should effectively comply with the postulates and approaches that the Escazú agreement wants to bring,” they affirmed from that party.
On the other hand, Cambio Radical sought to postpone the debate, but the plenary session denied this proposal, arguing that it had already been widely discussed.
“It is the only international treaty that speaks of protecting environmental leaders. Luckily we did not postpone this debate, it could not be postponed for any reason,” said the speaker.
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