Meeting venue

The ninth meeting of the negotiating committee of the regional agreement on access to information, public participation and justice in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean will be held in the Salón Real III of the Hotel Real Intercontinental San José.

Hotel Real Intercontinental San José

Address:                    Autopista Próspero Fernández

                                    Opposite Centro Comercial Multiplaza, Escazú

                                    San José, Costa Rica

Tel:                              (506) 2208 2100

Website:                      https://www.intercontinental.com/hotels/us/es/san-jose

Meeting coordination

The meeting is being organized by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Government of Costa Rica, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship.

Questions on substantive matters related to the meeting may be addressed to Carlos de Miguel, Chief of the Sustainable Development Policies Unit, and Valeria Torres, Economic Affairs Officer, both of the Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division of ECLAC (principio10.lac@cepal.org, tel. (+56) 2 2210 2310). On behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica, Adriana Murillo, Head of the Multilateral Department (ammurillo@rree.go.cr tel (+506) 2539 5422), and Daniel Zavala, Human Rights Officer in the Directorate-General for Foreign Policy (dzavala@rree.go.cr, tel (+506) 2539 5570), will be available to participants.

Consultations on operational aspects of the meeting may be addressed to María Paz Rivera (mariapaz.rivera@cepal.org, tel. (+56) 2 2210 2618) and Adrián Sandí  (asandi@rree.go.cr, tel. (+506) 2539 5567) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica, or Katia Vega (vicemi@minae.go.cr, (+506) 2233 9469), of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy of Costa Rica. 

Hotel reservations

A limited number of rooms have been reserved with special rates at the following hotels:

HOTEL REAL INTERCONTINENTAL SAN JOSÉ (meeting venue)

Autopista Próspero Fernández

Opposite Centro Comercial Multiplaza, Escazú

San José, Costa Rica

Telephone: (506) 2208 2100

Attention: Amanda García, Reservations Manager

Email: amanda.garcia@r-hr.com

PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE NO MORE AVAILABLE ROOMS AT THE HOTEL REAL INTERCONTINENTAL SAN JOSÉ

QUALITY HOTEL REAL SAN JOSÉ

Autopista Próspero Fernández

Pozos

San José, Costa Rica

Telephone: (506) 2204 6700

Attention: Amanda García, Reservations Manager

Email: amanda.garcia@r-hr.com

Single standard room: US$ 85 + 13% tax (includes breakfast, Internet and transfer to and from the meeting venue)

Requests for reservations should be addressed directly to the hotel chosen by 16 February 2018. After that date, the hotels reserve the right to change their prices and cannot guarantee room availability. Please use the form on page 7 to make a reservation.

Delegates are responsible for their own reservations. It is advisable to check that the hotel has processed your request and to ask for a reservation number or confirmation code.

The hotel requires a credit card number to hold a reservation. Hotels in Costa Rica apply a no-show policy, whereby reservations may be cancelled up to 48 hours prior to expected arrival; otherwise, cardholders will be charged for the first night. All delegates must settle their own hotel bill at the end of their stay.

Entry requirements for Costa Rica

• Entry visa:

All foreigners must enter Costa Rica with a valid passport, ticket for their return journey or onward travel, and at least US$ 100 per month of tourist stay.

Circular DG-0009-02-14 of the Directorate-General for Migration and Aliens stipulates that nationals of the following Latin American and Caribbean countries require a visa to enter Costa Rica:

Colombia
Cuba
Ecuador
Haiti
Jamaica
Nicaragua
Dominican Republic

Nationals of other Latin American and Caribbean countries do not require a visa to enter Costa Rica. For specific queries on other nationalities and passport validity requirements, please see circular DG-0009-02-14, available online at: http://www.migracion.go.cr/extranjeros/visas.html.

• Yellow fever vaccination:

As stipulated in Decree No. 33934-S-SP-RE, vaccination against yellow fever is compulsory before admission to Costa Rican territory for individuals proceeding from geographical areas considered to be at risk. Vaccination must be demonstrated with the International Certificate of Vaccination against Yellow Fever, which is valid 10 days after immunization is accredited. The Latin American and Caribbean countries considered at risk for yellow fever are: Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).

Individuals who have been in transit in the airports, ports or border posts of at-risk countries during their journey to Costa Rica are exempt from the yellow fever vaccination requirement. The full decree and ministerial decision amending the list of geographical areas considered to be at risk of yellow fever transmission are available at the following links:

http://www.costarica.cl/docs/Decreto%20Vacuna%20contra%20la%20Fiebre%20A...

https://www.ministeriodesalud.go.cr/images/stories/docs/DTIC/2016/dm_ofi...

Any queries in relation to matters of entry to Costa Rica (visas or yellow fever vaccinations) should be addressed directly to the nearest Embassy of Costa Rica.

Local transport

Participants are responsible for their own transport to and from the airport and the hotel.

Online registration and participant registration

An online registration system will be available on the ECLAC website (http://negociacionp 10.cepal.org/9/en) as from Monday, 15 January.

Registration of participants will take place from 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday, 28 February in the lobby of the Salón Real III at the Hotel Intercontinental San José.

You will be issued with an identification badge, which, for security purposes, must be shown at all meetings.

For any further information on participant accreditation, please contact Paula Warnken (paula.warnken@cepal.org, tel. (+56) 2 2210 2651) or María Paz Rivera (mariapaz.rivera@cepal.org, tel. (+56) 2 2210 2618).

Online registration does not exempt participants from the requirement to send an official note to the Secretary of the Commission indicating the names of the head of delegation and accompanying members.

Opening session

The opening session will start at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, 28 February.

Internet

The offices and conference rooms set aside for the meeting will have wireless Internet access (Wi-Fi).

Languages

The official languages of the meeting will be English and Spanish. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided.

Medical services

The Government of Costa Rica will provide first aid services in case emergency medical assistance is required at the meeting venue.

Documents

This will be a paper-smart meeting. All official documents and statements will be made available to read or download at the ECLAC website http://negociacionp 10.cepal.org/9/en. Participants are advised to bring their laptop computer, tablet or other mobile device to the meeting, since only a limited number of printed documents will be available.