This Manual was designed to improve and facilitate use of the UNEP Guidelines on Compliance with and Enforcement of MEAs through a variety of means. Its organization follows that of the UNEP Guidelines, with the first part of the Manual devoted to compliance and the second part to enforcement.
The Manual is intended for use by a wide audience: treaty negotiators, political officials, lawyers, police, customs officers, researchers, and legal drafters in governmental, non-governmental, academic, and professional institutions. Considering the breadth of topics and audiences entailed, this Manual is a reference tool. It is not meant to be read cover-to-cover.
Nature and Scope of the UNEP Guidelines and Manual
The Manual elaborates upon the Guidelines, and profiles national and international experiences on compliance and enforcement in the context of implementing MEAs and national laws. The Guidelines and the Manual are nonbinding and advisory in nature. There is no specific requirement to apply Guidelines or the Manual. Instead, the Guidelines and the Manual seek to facilitate the implementation of MEA commitments, which often are binding.
The Guidelines may be viewed as a “toolbox” of approaches for promoting implementation of MEAs. The Manual is a handbook explaining how the tools set forth in the Guidelines may be used. As such, the Manual is explanatory: it summarises and provides examples of various legal, policy, and institutional approaches to improve MEA implementation at different stages.
The Manual reflects the premises underlying the Guidelines that each MEA is unique and that the implementation situation of each Party is different. The Manual expands upon the compliance and enforcement guidance provided in the Guidelines through case studies, basic explanations and other implementation tools. Definitions and interpretations of the text of the Guidelines are provided. There is no single way to use the Manual, and it is designed to serve as a reference for various actions related to compliance and enforcement.