UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE

Protecting your environment

The power is in your hands
Quick guide to the Aarhus Convention

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE

Protecting your environment

The power is in your hands
Quick guide to the Aarhus Convention

ECE/MP.PP/9

Geneva, 2014

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Ban Ki-moon,
Secretary-General
of the United Nations

CONTENT

I.

CREATING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT

Unique principles and mechanisms

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The right to have access to environmental information

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The right to participate

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IV. STRENGTHENING THE CONVENTION

 
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THE RIGHT
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Now take few minutes to read how you can help shape your
environment so that it remains healthy and safe, for you and
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A Fragile Balance
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AIM OF THE CONVENTION

In order to contribute to the protection of the right of every person of present
and future generations to live in an environment adequate to his or her health and
well-being, each Party shall guarantee the rights of access to information, public
participation in decision-making, and access to justice in environmental matters in
accordance with the provisions of this Convention.
(Article 1 of the Aarhus Convention)

The Power of Three

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It has three region-wide, expert task forces, which
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PROTECTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

Access to environmental information held by public

authorities upon request. In addition, public authorities
must actively collect and disseminate certain types of
environmental information.

Participate in decision-making on decisions to permit

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environment and during the preparation of plans,
programmes, policies and legislation relating to the
environment.

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to challenge a refusal or inadequate response to request
for information; to challenge the legality of a plan or
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challenge actions or omissions that contravene national
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Aarhus enshrines Principle 10

of the 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment
and Development
Principle 10:
Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned
citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have
appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by
public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in
their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes.
States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making
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proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided.

PROTECTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

| 11

Aarhus Convention is
adopted at the Fourth
Environment for
Europe Ministerial
Conference in Aarhus,
Denmark

First Meeting of
Signatories to the
Aarhus Convention

First session of the Meeting of the

Parties is held in Lucca, Italy

Second session of the Meeting of the Parties held

in Almaty, Kazakhstan

Third session of the Meeting of the Parties is held in Chisinau,

Republic of Moldova

Aarhus Convention Compliance

Committee is established as a
consultative and non-confrontational
mechanism to review compliance by
individual Parties

Meeting of the Parties adopts amendment to the

Convention on public participation in decisions
on genetically modified organisms (GMO
amendment)

Chisinau Declaration is adopted, recognizing the contribution

of the Aarhus Convention to putting Principle 10 into practice,
emphasizing particularly the role the Convention can play
in achieving a green economy and good governance, and
acknowledging the work still to be done

Also adopts guidelines on promoting the

application of the principles of the Convention in
international forums (Almaty Guidelines)

Task Force on Access to Justice is

established to provide a platform for
sharing information, experiences and
good practices related to access to
justice

Aarhus
Convention
developments

Year

Relevant
environmental
developments
around the
world

Guidelines on Access
to Environmental
Information and
Public Participation in
Environmental Decisionmaking (Sofia Guidelines)
adopted in Sofia,
Bulgaria, by ECE member
States to put Principle 10
into practice

1992

1993 1994

1995

Earth Summit The Rio

Declaration on Environment
and Development adopted:
Principle 10 stresses that
environmental issues are best
handled with the participation
of all concerned citizens
Convention on the Protection
and Use of Transboundary
Watercourses and International
Lakes (Water Convention)
adopted: Includes provisions on
public information concerning
the protection and use of
transboundary waters

12 | PROTECTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

Second meeting of
the Signatories to the
Aarhus Convention

Kyiv Protocol on
Pollutant Release
and Transfer
Registers
(Protocol
on PRTRs) is
adopted as a
protocol to
the Aarhus
Convention

Aarhus Convention
enters into force

1996 1997

1998

1999

Protocol on Water and

Health to the Water
Convention adopted.
The Protocol aims to
protect human health
and well-being by better
water management and
is the first international
instrument to take
Aarhus provisions
on board

2000

Millennium
Development Goals
established following
the Millennium
Summit of the
United Nations

2001

2002

World Summit
on Sustainable
Development,
Johannesburg,
South Africa

2003

Aarhus Clearinghouse
launched to share
Aarhus-related
news and resources
through an
collaborative online
public database

2004

Aarhus Conventions Task Force on Access to Information is

established to strengthen implementation of the Conventions
provisions on access to information

Protocol on PRTRs
enters into force.

2005

2006 2007 2008

2009

Task Force on Public

Participation in
Decision- making
is established
to improve
implementation of
the Conventions
provisions on public
participation

2010

Status report as of early 2014: Aarhus ratified by

47 Parties, including the European Union
Protocol on PRTRs ratified by 33 Parties,
including the European Union
More than 90 communications from the public
and 1 submission from a Party made to the
Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee,
making it a powerful tool for ensuring the
implementation of the Convention

2011

United Nations
Environment
Programme
(UNEP) adopts
Guidelines for the
Development of
National Legislation
on Access to
Information, Public
Participation and
Access to Justice
in Environmental
Matters, in Bali,
Indonesia (Bali
Guidelines). Aarhus
Parties play an
active part in the
negotiation of the
Guidelines

2012

United Nations
Human Rights
Council appoints
new Special
Rapporteur on the
implications for
human rights of the
environmentally
sound management
and disposal
of hazardous
substances and
wastes

2013

2014

United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development (Rio+20 Conference) held in Rio
de Janeiro, where 192 Governments renew
their political commitment to sustainable
development. Also, a number of Latin American
and Caribbean countries adopt a declaration
launching a process to explore the feasibility of
adopting a regional instrument on Principle 10
United Nations Human Rights Council appoints
first Independent Expert on the issue of human
rights obligations relating to the enjoyment
of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
environment to, among other things, promote
best practices relating to the use of human
rights in environmental policymaking

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Human rights

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14

PROTECTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

The Convention helps

countries strike a
sustainable balance
for development
and allows every
person to have a
say in shaping their
environment.

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material form.

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OF THE
ENVIRONMENT

FACTORS

STATE OF
HABITAT

16

(a) The state of elements of the environment, such as air

and atmosphere, water, soil, land, landscape and natural
sites, biological diversity and its components, including
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these elements;

(b) Factors, such as substances, energy, noise and radiation,

and activities or measures, including administrative
measures, environmental agreements, policies, legislation,
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economic analyses and assumptions used in environmental
decision-making;

(c) The state of human health and safety, conditions of human

life, cultural sites and built structures, inasmuch as they
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environment or, through these elements, by the factors,
activities or measures referred to in subparagraph (b) above.

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of a Party to the Convention, or any
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in a Party, for a wide range of environmental
information, from air quality to noise levels
to economic analyses used in environmental
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you are requesting the information, or located near the area you are requesting
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| 17

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www.portalu.de

PortalU The German

Environmental Information Portal
(www.portalu.de) provides
quick and simple public access to
a wide range of environmental
information, documents, data
and digital maps. It is a one- stop
shop to access environmentally
www.portalu
relevant web pages, data
.de
catalogues and databases from
over 450 public organizations
in Germany. You can search
through the whole information range
or search selectively through single environmental topics, digital
maps, measured data, press information or historical events.
It is like having an entire environmental State library at your
QJHUWLSVDQGLVDZRUNLQJH[DPSOHRIDSXEOLFDXWKRULW\
providing active access to information, as set out in the Aarhus
Convention.
On the site, its possible to check for the latest news or
monitoring data relating to air quality, or get up-to-the-minute
information on a legislative proposal or adopted law on waste
management. You can search multiple sources of information
on an environmental matter from across the German federal
states and local authorities, as well as other resources often not
accessible through Internet search engines. This website is just
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access to information. Austria, Serbia, and Georgia, as well as
several other countries in the ECE region, have established similar
sites or portals.

18

PROTECTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

The right to participate

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when all options are still open, on decisions to permit certain types of activities and
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pillar is closely linked with the other two pillars: to
participate in a meaningful way you must have
access to all the information relevant to the
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enshrined in the Aarhus Convention
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| 19

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participation in decision-making

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Early notice of the environmental decision-making procedure,

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things:
The proposed activity
The nature of possible decisions
The public authority responsible for making the decision
The public participation procedure envisaged (including
time frames and opportunities to participate)

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for informing the public and for the public to prepare and
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Access to all information relevant to the decision-making, free

of charge and as soon as it becomes available
20

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The public is entitled to submit any comments,

information, analyses or opinions it considers relevant to
the proposed activity, in writing or, as appropriate at a
public hearing or inquiry

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participation

The competent public authority must ensure due account

is taken of the outcome of the public participation

Prompt notice of decision

The public must be promptly informed of the decision.

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with the reasons and considerations on which it is based

If operating conditions are reconsidered

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repeated, as appropriate
If the public authority reconsiders or updates the
operating conditions for the activity, the above
requirements should be applied again as appropriate
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| 21

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Nordland County is located

along the north-west coast
of Norway. Nordland County
Council developed a Regional
Plan for Climate Change to
inform people about the impact
of climate change on the fragile
coastal province they are living
Scenic town
of Reine on
in. The Council wanted to raise
Lofoten isla
Harvepino
nds in Norwa
y
public awareness, to create
debate about climate change
and energy issues and to get
feedback on the Regional Plan from
a wide range of people. The Council also hoped that, if people
knew and understood the risks of climate change, they would
be more receptive to changing their energy use, thus helping to
reduce greenhouse gases.
So, the Council took to the road moving from town to town
by electric car and setting up information tents at markets and
in town squares to talk to people face to face about climate
change and how it related to their daily life. The Council worked
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social media to encourage input from young people in particular.
A notable success from the road trip was the increased level of
engagement by those, like older people or children, who might
have not otherwise had had the chance to participate.

22

PROTECTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

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administrative review procedures to challenge:

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| 23

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1*2o65,*+772-867,&(83+(/'

On the Canary Island of Tenerife,

a private company wished to
develop a port in a marine area
in which a threatened species of
sea-grass was found. The public
authority issued an order to
remove the species of sea-grass
Cymodea Nodosa from
the catalogue of threatened
species on the islands.

Tenerife, Can
ary Islands,
Spain, Southw
Mstyslav
estern Europe
Chernov

At the application of an
environmental NGO, Federacin
Ecologista Ben Magec, Ecologistas en Accin, the Court
granted an interim measure to suspend the order from coming
into force. The national and regional governments, together
with the private company involved, contested the decision. They
argued that the suspension of the port development would cause
irreparable damage to the public interest because of the projects
socioeconomic potential. In their view, the economic public
interest outweighed any interest in protecting the sea-grass.
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suspension of works on the Port.
Moreover, even though national legislation stated that a bond
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required before the grant of injunctive relief, the Court decided
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the NGOs right of access to justice under the Convention. While
the Court was entirely aware of the economic consequences
of the port project being halted, it was also aware that if the
injunction were subject to a compensation bond, the NGO would
not be able to continue with its application, meaning that the
injunction would inevitably be lifted and resulting in irreversible
damage to the sea-grass and the environment.

24

PROTECTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

IV STRENGTHENING
THE CONVENTION
Ensuring implementation
and compliance
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to ensure that its implementation at the national level is continuously
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Specialized task forces and a work programme of

activities
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| 25

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In 2007 the NGO Alliance for
the Protection of the Vlora Gulf
submitted a communication
to the Aarhus Convention
Compliance Committee alleging
that local communities had not
been informed or consulted, as
the Aarhus Convention requires,
about plans by the Albanian
authorities to establish a major
Lagoon of Nar
industrial and energy park
ta, National
Park, Albani
Decius
a
north of the port of Vlora
on the Adriatic coast. The
project included plans for oil
and gas pipelines, installations for
the storage of petroleum, three thermal power plants and a
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National Park.
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complied with the Convention. The Albanian authorities had
issued the planning decision for the industrial energy park and
the thermal electrical power station without properly informing
and consulting with the public concerned as the Convention
required. The Committee also found that the Governments
regulatory framework was not clear, transparent and consistent.
It made recommendations on how Albania could improve its
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to provide advice and assistance to the Party concerned in
implementing the Committees recommendations.
At its third session in 2008, the Meeting of the Parties endorsed
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the Committee monitored Albanias progress in implementing
the Committees recommendations and Albania reported on the
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could participate in similar plans and activities, including followup phases of the Vlora project. In its report to the fourth session
of the Meeting of the Parties in 2011, the Committee considered
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no longer in a state of non-compliance.

26

PROTECTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

Compliance mechanism
In addition, the Convention has an innovative compliance review
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a special compliance committee made up of independent
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underpins the openness and transparency of the
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 7
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| 27

From communication to compliance how

the Compliance Committee works to ensure
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STEP

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The communication is submitted, preferably by e-mail,
to the secretariat.

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The Committee determines communications provisional admissibility
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concerned for response

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raise concerns it may have about the admissibility. The Committee may send
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additional written questions to either or both parties.

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as well as to answer questions from the Committee. Observers also have an
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admissibility. The Committee may ask the parties to respond to additional questions
in writing after the hearing.

28

PROTECTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

STEP

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comments and posted online.

STEP

STEP

Recommendations to the Party pending the next

session of the Meeting of the Parties
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by the Meeting of the Parties and subject to the agreement of the Party,
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about steps that Party should take to come into compliance. In this way, the
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session of the Meeting of the Parties.

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The Committee, having considered the comments received from
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session of the Meeting of the Parties for its endorsement.

STEP

10

STEP

Implementation of recommendations pending

the next session of the Meeting of the Parties
In the intersessional period, the Committee monitors the progress
made by the Party, also considering any comments from the
communicant and observers, and makes a report on the Partys progress to
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and decision on non-compliance
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of the Parties for its endorsement, together with any report on the Partys
progress to implement the Committees recommendations in the meantime. If the
Committee found the Party concerned to be in non-compliance, the Meeting of the
Parties may adopt a decision on compliance concerning that Party.

STEP

11

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of the Parties
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12

The Committee monitors progress by the Party in implementing the Meeting of

the Parties decision on non-compliance, considering also comments from the
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adopt a further decision on non-compliance concerning that Party. The Committee will
monitor the Partys progress until it enters into compliance.

PROTECTING YOUR ENVIRONMENT: THE POWER IS IN YOUR HANDS

| 29

.HHSLQJSDFHZLWKHQYLURQPHQWDO
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The Aarhus Convention is always evolving to keep pace with emerging issues and
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Amendment on GMOs
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Promoting public participation in international forums

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Key players in the daily life

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International organizations
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| 33

For more information:

Aarhus Convention website
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/welcome.html
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Aarhus Convention Implementation Guide, second edition
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/publications/aig
Contacts:
Aarhus Convention secretariat
Environment Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email: public.participation@unece.org
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http://www.unece.org/env/pp/nfp

NOTES

NOTES

The UNECE Environment Division

The power is in your hands

Protecting your environment:

For more information, please contact us at:

Aarhus Convention secretariat
UNECE
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone:
+41 22 917 2376
email:
public.participation@unece.org
website:
http://www.unece.org/env/pp/welcome.html
Designed and printed by the Publishing Service, United Nations, Geneva GE.13-26761 April 2014 8,000 ECE/MP.PP/9