Panama Hosts Key Escazú Agreement Compliance Mission as Regional Environmental Governance Deepens

By De Puy & Asociados

From October 6 to 8, 2025, Panama City became the focus of a critical institutional process under the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, commonly known as the Escazú Agreement. In a mission framed by consultation, technical dialogue and public engagement, the Committee to Support Implementation and Compliance (CSIC) concluded a three-day visit that reflected both Panama’s commitment and the challenges ahead for full implementation of the treaty’s provisions. 

The Escazú Agreement, adopted in 2018 in Escazú, Costa Rica, and in force regionally since 2021, is the first legally binding instrument in Latin America and the Caribbean designed to operationalize access to environmental information, public participation in environmental decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters – principles collectively known as Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration. Its ambition extends beyond procedural rights: the Agreement explicitly addresses protections for environmental human rights defenders, seeking to ensure a safe and enabling environment for civil society actors working on environmental issues. 

The CSIC is a subsidiary body of the Conference of the Parties – the main governing body of the Agreement – with a mandate to promote application and support Parties in implementation. It operates on principles of transparency, non-judicial dialogue and cooperative analysis rather than enforcement or sanction. Its work includes periodic consultation and dialogue with States Parties, technical assessments and recommendations tailored to national contexts. 

In preparation for the Panama visit, the Committee and the Government of Panama agreed on two priority lines of inquiry: firstly, the mechanisms for public participation in environmental decision-making and authorisation processes for projects with significant environmental impacts; and secondly, access to environmental justice through competent public authorities. These themes are core pillars of the Escazú Agreement, reflecting its dual emphasis on procedural democratic rights and substantive access to legal redress.

The Committee’s program involved fourteen meetings with a broad spectrum of state institutions, ranging from the Ministry of Environment to the Panama Canal Authority, the Judiciary, the Office of the Attorney General, and other regulatory and oversight bodies. This wide institutional engagement underscored the cross-sectoral nature of environmental governance and the need to integrate Escazú principles across diverse administrative and legal frameworks. 

In addition to dialogues with officials, the Committee prioritized public participation. On October 6, an open participatory meeting drew civil society organizations, local communities, youth representatives and academic voices to the Faculty of Public Administration at the University of Panama. Broadcast online, this session allowed direct citizen input on Panama’s implementation challenges and priorities. Such engagement is itself a practical manifestation of the Agreement’s commitment to participatory governance. 

At the closing session, Patricia Madrigal, Chair of the Committee, emphasized that the visit exemplified technical and collaborative dialogue, and noted that Panama was the first State Party in Central America to host the Committee under its consultative mandate. The Committee also praised Panama’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its environmental legal framework and the openness of institutions to engage in continuous improvement. 

The Committee shared a preliminary assessment of the visit’s two thematic pillars. On public participation, it highlighted that while strides have been made, further progress is needed in defining clear operational frameworks to incorporate and systematize citizen observations, especially in Environmental Impact Assessment processes. This aligns with broader regional challenges around embedding participatory rights in formal environmental procedures. 

Regarding environmental justice, the Committee acknowledged Panama’s efforts in training and awareness-raising on environmental and human rights issues. It encouraged continued movement towards the consolidation of a specialised environmental jurisdiction with adequate resources — a necessary structure for realizing the treaty’s justice commitments. 

Following the visit, the Committee will prepare a preliminary report to share with Panama for comment before issuing a final report that includes specific conclusions and recommendations. This report will form part of a continuous dialogue between the Committee and the State Party, reflecting the Treaty’s cooperative and non-adversarial approach to compliance.