Consultation on the proposed Guide for Mainstreaming the Gender Perspective in the Implementation of the Escazú Agreement

I. Background

Recognizing the importance of continuing to advance gender equality in order to achieve the full and effective implementation of the Escazú Agreement, during the Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Agreement, Decision III/4 was adopted. This decision requests that ECLAC prepare, “with the support of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, as well as other United Nations system bodies, funds and programmes, a guide for mainstreaming the gender perspective in the implementation of the Escazú Agreement, and present it at the next ordinary meeting of the Conference of the Parties.”

Accordingly, the Secretariat has initiated a participatory process for its preparation. As a first step, a virtual questionnaire was designed and implemented to gather information on gaps, challenges, and measures for mainstreaming the gender perspective in access rights—access to information, public participation, access to justice in environmental matters—and in the protection of the environment. The questionnaire was available from 3 January to 14 February 2025 for States Parties, United Nations system agencies, and the general public.

Subsequently, a preliminary version of the annotated outline was submitted to an open public consultation between April and June 2025. The online form received contributions from public institutions of several States Parties to the Escazú Agreement, as well as from ombudspersons’ offices across the region. International organizations such as UN Women and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also participated, as did a significant number of individuals and civil society organizations.

Additionally, in the framework of the Third Forum on Human Rights Defenders in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in April 2025, in-person and virtual workshops were carried out to discuss the contents of the proposed outline of the Guide. These instances made it possible to gather experiences, opinions, and relevant observations for the development of the document.

After a process of systematizing the results of the consultation and the workshops, a complete version of the Guide was prepared for a final consultation. This final phase seeks to gather final comments and suggestions for specific adjustments from States Parties, international organizations, and the general public.

This final consultation begins today, November 25, 2025, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which aims to denounce the violence perpetrated against women worldwide and demand policies in all countries for its eradication.

III. Objectives of the Questionnaire

The consultation on the proposed Guide for Mainstreaming the Gender Perspective in the Implementation of the Escazú Agreement seeks to:

• Gather the overall assessment of States Parties, international organizations, and the public regarding the proposed Guide as a whole.

• Identify specific observations and suggestions concerning the measures aimed at implementing a gender perspective in the pillars of the Agreement.

• Obtain feedback on the institutional measures intended to strengthen the mainstreaming of the gender perspective in the functioning of the organs of the Escazú Agreement.

• Collect additional inputs that contribute to improving the document.

IV. Timeline

The questionnaire will be available from 25 November 2025 to 26 January 2026 (11:59 p.m., Santiago, Chile).

V. General Information about the Survey

The questions are organized according to the main sections of the Guide:

1. Overall assessment of the document.
2. Measures aimed at the implementation of the pillars of the Agreement, organized into five areas of action:

• Normative frameworks and procedures
• Accessibility and affordability
• Language, communication, and recognition
• Capacity-building
• Networks and alliances

1. Measures for the institutional architecture of the Agreement, including the Conference of the Parties, the Presiding Officers , and the Secretariat of the Agreement.
2. Additional final comments.

Thank you very much in advance for your contributions!