Highlights and images for 16 January 2019

Highlights for Wednesday, 16 January 2019

The Ad hoc Open-ended Working Group (AHWG) opened on Wednesday with the observance of a minute of silence for the victims of Tuesday's suspected terrorist attack in Nairobi. The Co-Chairs led the tribute for the victims and their families, and in solidarity with the people and government of Kenya.The AHWG resumed consideration of the Secretary-General’s report on “Gaps in international environmental law and environment-related instruments: towards a global pact for the environment” (A/73/419), covering chapters on, respectively, environment-related instruments (trade, investment, intellectual property, and human rights), gaps related to the governance structure of international environmental law (IEL), and gaps relating to the implementation and effectiveness of IEL.Among the points raised were:

• The role of UNEP and the United Nations Environment Assembly, and their relationship to other parts of the IEL regime;
• The scope of the AHWG’s mandate regarding environment-related instruments, and the autonomy of MEAs;
• Gaps in the UNSG’s report, including corporate responsibility for environmental damage;
• The merits of an overarching normative framework for IEL, and the respective merits of specialization in MEAs;
• Links between implementation of IEL and means of implementation;
• The role of non-state actors and resources to facilitate their participation in the AHWG process;
• Inter-MEA coordination and synergies, including recognition of ongoing work, and whether synergies are best achieved at the national level;
• Links between the AHWG mandate and Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals;
• Implementation at various scales, including local, regional, and global, and capacity building for stakeholders, including judges;
• The scope of the AHWG, including state and civil liability; and
• The merits of continuing with a facilitative model of compliance in MEAs.

Bilateral conversations also continued throughout the day, as delegations sought to clarify numerous issues in order to develop their positions.

IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, povided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from the 1st Substantive Session of the Ad Hoc Open Ended Working Group Towards a Global Pact for the Environment.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis

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Co-Chair Amal Mudallali, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lebanon

Luciano Donadio Linares and Martin Gronda, Argentina

Melissa Cotterill, Australia, and Vigen Ananyan, Armenia

Haibo Gou, China

Ana Barreira, International Institute for Law and the Environment

Co-Chair Francisco António Duarte Lopes, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Portugal, with Jamil Ahmad, UN Environment (UNEP)

Pamela Rocha, Ecuador, and Martin Gronda, Argentina

Helge Elisabeth Zeitler, European Union

Lori Dando, US

Akram Mirzakhani, Iran

Rana Burley, Canada

Pamela Rocha, Ecuador

Birthe Ivars, Norway

Tom Okurut, Uganda

From L-R: Abdullah Tawlah, Saudi Arabia; Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt; and Hussein Roshdy, Egypt

Jamil Ahmad, UN Environment (UNEP), with Abdullah Tawlah, Saudi Arabia

Maribe Mujinga Nsompo, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Marta Juarez Ruiz, Costa Rica

Shannon-Marie Soni, Canada

Nassira Rheyati, Morocco

Helge Elisabeth Zeitler and Sebastian Gil, European Union

Nazrul Islam, Bangladesh

Vinicius Trindade, Brazil

Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt

Yacouba Savadogo, Burkina Faso

Clement Yow Mulalap, Federated States of Micronesia

Maria del Rosario Lemos, Colombia

Nathan Glassey, New Zealand

Rútur Arnarson, Iceland, and Peter Doran, IISD Reporting Services

Saglar Djerang, Chad

Marco Balarezo, Peru

Around the venue