The undersecretary of Ministry of Environment, Gerardo Amarilla, pressured Deputies to discuss the bill so that environmental crimes are included in the Penal Code, an initiative that was approved in the Senate in June of last year and remains without being discussed even in committee.
Under the premise that Uruguay is lagging “a little behind” regarding this issue in the region, and noting that it is almost the only one on the continent, the Undersecretary of Environment acknowledged that the text is not ideal but insisted on the need to be decisive and finally approve the project. “We have to be practical in these circumstances,” said Amarilla.
The undersecretary, in his role as interim minister, in the Constitution, Codes, General Legislation and Administration Commission, He assured that he understands that the project approved in the Senate is a simpler version of the one presented by other legislators in Low camera. However, he stressed the need for it to be approved since it covers a series of important aspects that “are a tool.”
On the other hand, Amarilla highlighted that the prosecutors are undergoing training through an agreement with the Argentine Prosecutor’s Office in relation to environmental crimes and that they plan to make an agreement so that they can take courses abroad.
Faced with the claim of the undersecretary, the deputy for the National Party, Mario Colman, responded that “beyond the consideration of the ministry, it is a decision of this commission which project to deal with.” “We have a study of two projects. We should address what we wanted. It is clear, evident and obvious that one project is more advanced than the other and that the authorities ruled mainly in favor of one,” he added.
Furthermore, the Colorado senator, Ope Pasquetregarding the need for rapid approval and without modifying any article, commented: “We have to work on a br project, but nothing prevents us from considering that project when we notice that there are elements that are not contemplated and that are In the other project, we will incorporate them.”
Approved in the Senate
In mid-June of last year, the project was approved in High camera. It is made up of 13 articles that establish penalties of environmental crimes for contamination of water, air and soil due to residues, substances or dangerous waste, among others, and sentences of between 6 months and 8 years in prison. However, there are also 12-year penalties for the illegal introduction of hazardous waste into areas of national jurisdiction.
On the other hand, there is a separate chapter for crimes against biodiversity, which carry sentences of between three months and six years in prison, in the case of fishing, capture and death of fauna in protected areas. The same happens in the case of felling, alteration and destruction of flora in protected natural areas.
The project dates back to 2015 when it was proposed to include within the Penal Code a chapter of Environmental Crimesbased on previous proposals that were given since 2002 by different authorities.
Prior to that year of the project, Uruguay had developed a lot of legislation from the environmental point of view in the field of administrative law with the Environmental Impact Law, with the administrative sanctions that the law provides, the General Law of the Environment and the Law of the National System of Protected Areas.
Source: Ambito
