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- Ελληνικά
Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Dr Maria Panayiotou met today with the UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention, Mr Michel Forst, who is visiting Cyprus. During the meeting, issues of protection of environmental defenders and better implementation of the provisions of the Aarhus Convention were discussed.
After the meeting, Dr Panayiotou made the following statement to the media representatives.
I consider Mr Forst's visit very important as he has recently been elected as an independent Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders, with the aim of establishing a rapid response mechanism to address cases of sanctions, persecution, harassment and other forms of retaliation against any person exercising their rights on environmental justice issues.
At the meeting we had the opportunity to exchange views on the general issues of the implementation of the Convention in Cyprus and the efforts of the Ministry and the relevant Authorities for information, awareness raising and capacity building activities in Cypriot society in relation to environmental law, access to justice in environmental matters, and the protection of environmental defenders.
We must say that Cyprus is the first country to officially invite Mr Forst to visit it, to see how the Convention is implemented and to explain the steps that the country should take. He has asked us to join a group of countries, to lead a group of countries in particular, to work to promote the Convention. This is something we will of course look at positively.
As part of his visit to Cyprus, Mr Forst will hold meetings today and tomorrow afternoon with non-governmental organisations, institutions dealing with environmental issues and civil society organisations. In addition, during his visit he will have a meeting with the Minister of Justice, the Environment Commissioner and the Parliamentary Committee on the Environment.
The highlight of his visit to Cyprus will be the information conference co-organised by the Department of Environment, the Department of Law of the University of Cyprus, the Office of the Environment Commissioner and the Cyprus Federation of Environmental Organisations entitled: "Access to Environmental Justice and Protection of Environmental Defenders."
The conference will take place in the ceremonial hall of the main buildings of the University of Cyprus, Kallipoleos Street, on 8 February, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
During the conference, the public will be informed about the state of access to justice for environmental issues in Cyprus, as well as the role of the Special Rapporteur at the international level. In particular, information will be provided regarding the provisions of the Aarhus Convention, the role of the Special Rapporteur for Environmental Defenders, technical issues of access to justice for environmental issues faced in Cyprus, as well as specific cases of access to justice for environmental issues."
(EN/NG/EP)
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