One of the obligations under the Aarhus Convention is the periodic (before each Meeting of the Parties, which takes place every 3-4 years) preparation of a national report on the implementation by the Party of the provisions of the Convention.
Such a reporting mechanism is based on Article 10 of the Aarhus Convention and provides for continuous monitoring of progress in the fulfillment by the Parties of their obligations under the treaty, namely progress in the implementation of relevant legislative, regulatory and other measures and their practical application. Before the next Meeting of the Parties, on the basis of the submitted national reports, the Secretariat of the Convention prepares a consolidated report on the implementation of the Convention, which outlines the progress, significant trends, challenges and decisions noted by the Parties in the relevant reporting cycle/period. Such periodic reports serve as a source of information on the state of implementation of the Aarhus Convention as a whole by its Parties and serve as a guide to further vectors of its development. To ensure wide access for all and also to promote further exchange of knowledge and experience, national reports on implementation prepared by the Parties for each reporting cycle are accessible through search engine supported by the Secretariat.
Is Ukraine participating in this process? Unfortunately no. The National Implementation Report for 2014-2017 reporting cycle was not submitted to the Convention Secretariat in a timely manner and was therefore not included into the consolidated report presented at the 2017 Meeting of the Parties in Budva. The Ministry released this report in the middle of 2018.
The 2021 report for the 2017-2020 reporting cycle was to be prepared in 2020 and submitted to the Secretariat of the Convention in April 2021 at the latest. EPL constantly monitors the news of the Ministry of Environment and its official website, and we have not noticed any announcements about the publication of the draft report and inviting the public to comment on it, as such reports should be prepared through a transparent and consultative process with public involvement at the national level.
It is sad and funny, but according to Indicative plan of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine to hold public consultations for 2021 conducting electronic consultations with the public on the official website of the Ministry of Environment and at the meeting of the Public Council under the Ministry of Environment of draft National Report on Ukraine’s Implementation of the Aarhus Convention is scheduled for November 2021, after the Meeting of the Parties in mid-October 2021.
This fact is particularly sad because despite some gaps in the implementation of the Aarhus Convention that still exist, Ukraine in general has ensured a fairly high level of implementation of the Convention at the national level. Ukraine could be a leader in its region – Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. And in terms of ensuring access to justice, our Supreme Court could serve as an example for many European countries. All this could be … if Ukraine had prepared and submitted the report in time …
