Since the beginning of 2022, a coalition of NGOs has come together to work on a campaign to support the recognition of the right to a healthy environment by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Thanks to the leadership of Costa Rica, Maldives, Morocco, Slovenia, and Switzerland (the “Core group”), in 2021 the Human Rights Council (HRC) recognized the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment (Resolution 48/13, 8 October 2021), and invited the UNGA to consider the matter.
On April 12th, 2022, the Core group issued a joint statement announcing the adoption of a UNGA resolution and reaffirming that the recognition of the right to a healthy environment is “key to increase priority for environmental protection and climate action,” and that they will launch a resolution process at the UNGA in the coming months.
As a network of scholars and practitioners working on the intersection of human rights and the environment, the GNHRE has always taken a critically engaged approach to new developments of international environmental law, engaging with research and practice that examines both the possibilities and limits of human rights approaches to addressing problems of environmental governance and loss. While we maintain our critical stance, we also recognise the importance of finding critical solutions and engaging in advocacy and activism that supports inclusive and responsive developments in the law. As a result, the GNHRE and some of its members, decided to begin a process of engaging with and contributing to the efforts of the core group, starting with an advocacy letter sent to all of the UNGA ambassadors.
In this letter, the GNHRE outlined some of the key reasons why UNGA ambassadors should support UNGA recognition of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
The UNGA’s recognition of this right would come at a crucial juncture, as the effects of industrial activities are radically changing the conditions on our planet, , ranging from climate change to loss of biodiversity, and air, water, and land pollution, the spread of zoonotic disease, extreme weather events, and conflict over increasingly scarce resources.
More than 150 countries already legally recognise a right to a healthy environment as a matter of law in some form. For those States which do not currently recognise the right and are not party to relevant international treaties, the resolution would provide a pathway to informing and strengthening environmental standards and policies that support both the environment and the enjoyment of other human rights. For those States that do recognise the right, the resolution would give greater impetus and support for existing initiatives and encourage greater ambition and commitment to the realization of environmentally dependent human rights.
The recognition of the right to a healthy environment has been connected to improved social, economic and environmental laws, policies and standards relating to the enjoyment of a healthy environment. Universal recognition would catalyze progress at national and regional levels across the Global North and the Global South, and contribute to the ability of people all around the world to live healthy lives and enjoy their human rights. It would also be a tool for advocacy and activism by marginalised peoples and for their greater inclusion and participation in environmental decision-making at the local, national and international levels.
The GNHRE thanks the members who drafted this advocacy letter for their invaluable expertise.
The Working Group included:
Dina Lupin
Maria Antonia Tigre
Victoria Lichet
Natalia Urzola
Alexandra R. Harrington
James May
Chris Jeffords
Claudia Ituarte-Lima
Joshua C. Gellers
Asmaa Khadim
Otto Spijkers
Aoife Daly
Hannah Blitzer
Rosanna Anderson
Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin
Elisa Morgera
Alana Malinde S.N. Lancaster
Pedro Cisterna
Rosemary Mwanza
Link to the GNHRE letter draft: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h0K1GQJcJzmXzsq-8Zh1L4TrjzOp3VLyDOSnvelyHMI/edit