Latin American Leaders in Nairobi Issue Statement at Conclusion of Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution’s Third Session (INC-3)
For Immediate Release
Monday, November 20, 2023
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Latin American Leaders in Nairobi Issue Statement at Conclusion of Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution’s Third Session (INC-3)
As the global plastics treaty’s negotiations pass the half-way mark to an ambitious timeline for draft completion by the end of 2024 – leaders across the Americas offer their perspectives on INC-3 and on the work ahead for INC-4
Nairobi, Kenya (November 20, 2023) – Azul, a Latinx-led and serving ocean and coastal justice organization, shares the following statement alongside Latin American leaders from Mexico, Chile and Costa Rica, who convened among more than 160 countries and INC-3 observers at the UN Environment Programme headquarters from November 13 to the 19th, in support of a legally binding global plastics treaty. They will next meet in Ottawa, Canada for INC-4 in April.
“The work to achieve a strong, legally-binding plastics treaty is underway and we know this is more important than ever – the plastics crisis requires real governmental action from around the world and particularly from the United States,” said Azul’s Founder and Executive Director Marce Gutierrez-Graudiņš, based in the U.S., at the conclusion of the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-3). “As we look ahead to INC-4 we must continue to hold our nation’s leaders accountable to ensure the needs of our communities enduring the greatest burdens of plastics and environmental justice are met swiftly with a science-based approach.”
Azul recognizes U.S. Latinos strongly support the U.S. government doing more to prevent plastic pollution. Azul’s U.S. Latinos and the Ocean Poll found that 86 percent of Latinx voters believe plastic pollution will only worsen unless the U.S. government intervenes to curb and prevent it, and 92 percent of Latino voters support increasing efforts to do so.
In 2021, Azul and the United Nations Environment Programme released the report Neglected: Environmental Justice Impacts of Marine Litter and Plastics Pollution which has been a leading resource at global plastic treaty talks. Azul is an INC observer focused on ocean justice and a global plastics treaty that accomplishes all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Many states recognize the urgent need to reduce plastic production,” said MarViva Foundation’s Regional Coordinator for Marine Pollution, Alberto Quesada of Costa Rica at the end of the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-3). “The most important thing to note is the commitment shown by the majority of the states to make headway in negotiating points where there is agreement, for example on issues of fair transition, with special attention to the collectors, and not to stop so much, for now, on those points of greatest disagreement. We can recognize in the states a greater commitment to make progress at a better pace.”
“There is still hope,” said Red de Acción por los Derechos Ambientales (RADA) co-founder Alejandra Parra Muñoz of Chile at the conclusion of the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution (INC-3). “The power of big corporations has consistently tried to dominate the plastics treaty negotiations, and of course they succeed in influencing many governments. But the people are also here and we are fighting tirelessly to make our voices heard. The chances of having an ambitious treaty are still open, but we need to continue to mobilize and let our governments know that we are watching them and that a treaty to stop this environmental catastrophe is urgently needed.”
“The plastic pollution crisis is a health crisis,” said Health Care without Harm International Sustainability Associate Director Neydi Cruz of Mexico. “The significance of this treaty to human health is now increasingly being mentioned. It is about comprehensive global health: human health depends on the health of the planet. We depend on a healthy environment and therefore, the healthcare sector is also committed and taking urgent sustainability actions to reduce dependence on plastics, reusing where possible and promoting the search for alternatives.”
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Azul is a Latinx-led and serving ocean justice organization. It was founded in 2011 to bring Latinx perspectives and participation to ocean conservation and has long advocated for environmental justice and equity at international, national level in the U.S., as well as in the state of California. Learn more at www.azul.org.
Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) works to transform health care worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint, becomes a community anchor for sustainability and a leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice. Learn more at www.saludsindanio.org.
MarViva, created in 2002, contributes to spatial and marine management, the promotion of responsible market dynamics for marine products and services, and the strengthening of institutional and local capacities to optimize the sustainable management of the sea. Learn more at www.marviva.net.
La Red de Acción por los Derechos Ambientales (RADA) arose as a spontaneous initiative following the commemoration of International Water Day, a collective event that brought together different grassroots organizations in and around the city of Temuco. Since its formation in 2007, RADA has been dedicated primarily to the defense of the environment and the socio-environmental rights of Mapuche and non-Mapuche communities in the Araucanía region in Chile. Learn more at www.radaraucania.org.