environmental rights Archives - Page 2 of 7 - Center for Global Law and Justice

October 12, 2021

UN Bodies Advance Recognition of Human Right to a Healthy Environment

In the past week, three developments at the United Nations strengthened international recognition of the relationship between the health of our planet and human rights. On October 8, the UN Human Rights Council adopted its first-ever resolution to recognize the human right to a healthy environment. [OHCHR Press Release: Bachelet] That same day, the Council created a new special procedure, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. On October 11, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) published its decision concerning a complaint in which 16 children […]

November 17, 2020

Escazú Agreement, Landmark Environmental Treaty, Expected to Enter into Force

Following ratifications by Mexico and Argentina, the Escazú Agreement will enter into force 90 days from when both States have deposited their ratifications. The treaty is the first to address environmental contamination, natural resource governance, and human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean. It recognizes a human right to live in a healthy environment, protects environmental defenders, and ensures access to information and justice on environmental matters. Argentina ratified the agreement on September 24, 2020, followed by Mexico on November 5. The other States parties are Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guyana, Nicaragua, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, […]

The IACHR holds a hearing in 2019 on Environmental Protection in the Amazon and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil.

July 22, 2020

Inter-American Commission Issues Precautionary Measures as COVID-19 Threatens Indigenous Communities

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has requested that Brazil protect the Yanomami and Ye’kwana peoples from the ongoing, heightened risk posed by COVID-19. [IACHR Press Release: Measures (Spanish)] In particular, the IACHR asked Brazil to protect the Indigenous communities’ rights to health, life, and personal integrity by taking steps to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 – including from trespassing miners – and by providing appropriate healthcare. See IACHR, Resolution 35/2020, Precautionary Measure No. 563-20, Members of the Yanomami and Ye’kwana Indigenous Peoples (Brazil), 17 Jul. 2020 (Portuguese). The precautionary measures adopted by the IACHR on July 17, […]

May 20, 2020

New CESCR General Comment 25 Analyzes Right to Scientific Progress

The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) has published new interpretation and guidance on the relationship between science and the enjoyment of economic, social, and cultural rights. See CESCR, General comment No. 25 (2020) on science and economic, social and cultural rights, UN Doc. E/C.12/GC/25, 30 April 2020. In fleshing out Article 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Committee defines the scope of States’ obligation to support and share scientific research and the advances it makes possible, with regard to everyday life and in crises such as pandemics. The […]

April 08, 2020

Inter-American Court Decides First Environmental Rights Case Against Argentina

In its first judgment to independently analyze the human right to a healthy environment, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has held Argentina responsible for violating Indigenous communities’ human rights through its failure to recognize and protect their lands. [IACtHR Press Release] In Indigenous Communities of the Lhaka Honhat Association (Our Land) v. Argentina, the Court considered allegations by Indigenous communities in the province of Salta that the State had failed to implement measures to stop illegal logging and other harmful activities in their territory, which had altered their Indigenous way of life and damaged their cultural identity. See […]

August 22, 2019

UN Human Rights Committee Recognizes Environmental Harm as Rights Violation

In a landmark decision, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has found Paraguay responsible for failing to protect individuals from severe environmental contamination by large-scale farms’ use of illegal chemicals, in violation of the State’s international obligations to protect the rights to life and respect for private and family life and the home. [OHCHR Press Release: Paraguay] While regional human rights bodies have recognized the link between pollution and enjoyment of human rights, this decision marks a first for the Human Right Committee, which oversees implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which 173 States […]

African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights session banner

December 03, 2018

December 2018: United Nations and Regional Human Rights Bodies in Session

In December, several universal and regional human rights bodies and experts will assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations through the consideration of State and civil society reports, country visits, and the review of individual complaints. Two United Nations treaty bodies will continue reviewing States’ progress, with regard to the elimination of torture and racial discrimination, in sessions that began last month. Four UN special procedures will conduct country visits in December, and two UN working groups will hold sessions. Regionally, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the […]

May 28, 2018

June 2018: Human Rights Council, UN Treaty Bodies, and Regional Human Rights Bodies in Session

In the month of June, several universal and regional bodies will be in session to assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations through interactive dialogues, the consideration of State and civil society reports, country visits, and the review of individual complaints. Two United Nations treaty bodies will meet in June to engage with States regarding their treaty obligations related to forced disappearances and children’s rights. Further, civil society can register this month to participate in the sessions of three treaty bodies that will meet in July to engage with States regarding their obligations related to discrimination against women, torture, […]

May 02, 2018

IJRC Newsletter: May 2018

We are pleased to share our latest newsletter. It details the newest additions to the Online Resource Hub, recent engagement with the universal and Inter-American human rights systems, and upcoming events. If receiving this update via email, you can also read the May 2018 newsletter online, or open the PDF directly. For the latest in human rights developments, visit the News Room and IJRC Daily.

March 20, 2018

CEDAW Committee Recommends a Gender-Based Approach to Environmental Disasters

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee) recently published a general recommendation on the adoption of a gender-based approach on the prevention of and response to climate change and environmental disasters. See Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, General Recommendation No. 37: Gender-related dimensions of disaster-risk reduction in the context of climate change, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/GC/37, 9 February 2018. The General Recommendation provides guidance to States on fully implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in the context of climate change and disasters; under the Convention, States […]

August 29, 2017

September 2017: United Nations and Regional Human Rights Bodies in Session

In the month of September, several regional bodies and universal bodies and experts will assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations by engaging in interactive dialogues, considering State and civil society reports, conducting country visits, holding hearings, and reviewing individual complaints. Five United Nations treaty bodies will meet throughout September to engage with States regarding their treaty obligations related to persons with disabilities; migrants and their families; enforced disappearances; children; and economic, social, and cultural rights. The UN Human Rights Council will be in session and will host panel discussions and forums related to unilateral coercive measures, the integration […]

August 16, 2017

United States Submits Official Notice to Withdraw from Paris Agreement

Two months after its announcement that it would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, the United States formally submitted notice to the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, on August 4, 2017 that it intends to withdraw as soon as it is eligible to do so. [UN News Centre] The Paris Agreement, which was developed to support the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has been described as the first universal, legally binding instrument to impose specific obligations on both developed and developing nations to address climate change. The United States’ decision to withdraw has drawn international criticism, and the […]