The Aarhus Convention Test — Environmentalists and Freedom of Information in Post-Soviet States

March 2004

On June 25th, 1998, the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters was adopted in the Danish city of Aarhus at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in the ‘Environment for Europe’ process. On Monday, April 19, Tatiana R. Zaharchenko (Research Scholar, Kennan Institute and Visiting Scholar, Environmental Law Institute) will present on the impact of the Aarhus Convention on public access to environmental information in Post-Soviet States.

Dr. Zaharchenko, an Environmental Law Professor at the Ukrainian Law Academy for 12 years, was one of the first legal professionals who — at the beginning of perestroika — introduced issues of access to information, right to know and public participation in the framework of Soviet environmental law. In 1994, under a National Resources Defense Council project, she wrote the first-ever Citizen Guide for Environmental Democracy in Russia, which became a leading reference source for public interest environmental lawyers in Russia and a guidebook for lawyers from other former Soviet Union countries. Most recently, Dr. Zaharchenko has worked as a consultant for the Danish Environmental Protection Agency in Belgium, Croatia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan to design projects for implementation of the Aarhus Convention.

The event is co-sponsored Environmental Change and Security Project, Woodrow Wilson Center.

WHEN: April 19, 2004, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
WHERE: Woodrow Wilson Center, Ronald Reagan Building,
6th floor auditorium
1 Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave,
Washington, DC, 20036

For directions to the Woodrow Wilson Center please see: http://wwics.si.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=events.map