• Guinea-Bissau becomes the first non-European country to join the convention.

• The country plans to use the instruments of the Convention to tackle climate change.

Guinea-Bissau has joined a global pact on government accountability, human rights, and the environment as the first nation outside of Europe. The United Nations announced this on Tuesday.

According to the United Nations, the Aarhus Convention, the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making, and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters “protects every person’s right to live in an environment that is adequate to his or her health and well-being”. It gives the citizens the right to participate in decision-making in environmental matters and “acknowledges that we owe an obligation to future generations”.

Olga Algayerova, the executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) said Guinea-Bissau is the first “outside the pan-European region” to join the convention. The convention took place on April 4th, and Guinea-Bissau a two-million population country acceded to the convention, bringing the total number of parties to 47.

Speaking on the occasion, Environment Minister Viriato Luis Soares Cassama said “Guinea-Bissau hopes to take advantage of the instruments of the Convention to fight climate change and promote its biodiversity…by allowing public participation in decision-making as well as access to justice when their rights to the environment are violated”.

According to the UNECE, Guinea-Bissau is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change”, as flooding and rising salinization in coastal areas pose a threat to it. These factors tend to have a negative impact on agriculture and may even result in a shortage of drinking water. Also, mining and construction activities pose a threat to the nation’s protected areas.

Guinea-Bissau also joined the UN Water Convention in 2021, becoming the fourth nation in Africa to do so.