Letter from 143 civil society organizations (02 August 2024)

This document is a joint civil society letter to the INC Secretariat on plastic pollution objecting to restrictions on Observer participation in ad hoc intersessional open-ended expert groups. It argues that exclusion compromises transparency and inclusiveness, notes these groups are subsidiary organs whose meetings should be public under provisionally applied Rules of Procedure, and states that only the groups themselves may decide to close sessions. It invokes UNDRIP and the Aarhus and Escazú instruments to ground participation rights, particularly for Indigenous Peoples and frontline communities. The letter requests public webcasts via Interactio, full application of the Rules to all intersessional work, and translation at minimum into French, English, and Spanish. It concludes with an extensive roster of signatory organizations from multiple regions.