Azul Delegation Attends Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) Regional Meeting Ahead of INC 5.2, Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations
For Immediate Release
Friday, June 6, 2025
Contact: media@azul.org
Azul Delegation Attends Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) Regional Meeting Ahead of INC 5.2, Global Plastics Treaty Negotiations
Panama (Friday, June 6, 2025) – This week, Azul’s Founder and Executive Director, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, and Azul’s Senior Policy Associate, Roland González Pizarro, attended the regional meeting of the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) ahead of INC 5.2, the upcoming Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in Geneva, where they engaged in the process as observers.
Following the conclusion of the regional meeting, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš, Azul’s Founder and Executive Director, released the following statement:
“We are encouraged by the leadership and ongoing efforts of the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC) during the regional meeting in advance of the upcoming Global Plastics Treaty negotiations at INC 5.2 in Geneva. We are grateful for the opportunity to engage in this critical process as observers, and we remain hopeful it will lead to a strong, binding instrument that will address the complete cycle of plastics and provide equitable access to financing mechanisms.”
In March 2021, just one year prior to UNEP adopting Resolution 5/14, which mandated the development of a global treaty to end plastic pollution, Azul and the United Nations Environment Programme released the report Neglected: Environmental Justice Impacts of Marine Litter and Plastics Pollution. The 66-page report, available in English and Spanish, has been a leading resource at plastic treaty talks as it details how plastic pollution disproportionately affects marginalized communities around the world – hindering the achievement of all 17 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the entire plastic lifecycle, from production to waste disposal.
Azul plans to attend the upcoming negotiations at INC 5.2 in Geneva, after participating as observers in the process since the first session of negotiations at INC-1 in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 2022. A roundup of analysis and statements from the latest session can be found on Azul’s website.
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Azul is an ocean justice organization working with Latino communities to protect our blue planet. Founded in 2011, Azul has developed and executed campaigns that achieved groundbreaking ocean conservation policy victories at local, national, and international levels.