The Development of Environmental Human Rights

Abstract

Human rights and the environment are linked with each other in two ways. Firstly, the environment is seen as pre-condition of realization of human rights. Because human beings are dependent on the environment. We all meet our basic needs including air, water and food from nature. Individuals cannot exist without the mother earth. For this reason, human rights may not be enjoyed at the absence of a clean environment. Secondly, human rights can be an effective way to achieve environmental safety. These two linkages are united under the umbrella of environmental human rights. Environmental human rights are the rights of people to protect the environment for the sake of human beings. There have been numerous studies investigating the scope and types of environmental human rights. However, how the linkage between human rights and the environment has been evolved has not been discussed sufficiently so far. Accordingly, this paper aims to explore how environmental human rights have been developed over history. This research finds that environmental human rights have been developed by international environmental law more than international human rights law.

Keywords

• Environmental Human Rights
• Human Rights
• Right to Clean Environment
• Procedural Rights

References

1. ACHPR (1981). African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. https://www.achpr.org/legalinstruments/detail?id=49#:~:text=The%20African%20Charter%20on%20Human,freedoms%20in%20the%20African%20continent.
2. Anton, D. K., & Shelton, D. L. (2011). Environmental Protection and Human Rights. Cambridge University Press.
3. Atapattu, S. (2002). The Right to a Healthy Life or the Right to Die Polluted? The Emergence of a Human Right to a Healthy Environment Under International Law. Tulane Environmental Law Journal, 16, 65–126.
4. Banisar, D., Parmar, S., de Silva, L., & Excell, C. (2011). Moving From Principles to Rights: Rio 2012 and Access to Information, Public Participation, and Justice. Sustainable Development Law & Policy,12(3), 8-15.
5. Chauhan, A. J., & Johnston, S. L. (2003). Air Pollution and Infection in Respiratory Illness. British Medical Bulletin, 68(1), 95-112.
6. Colombo, U. (2001). The Club Of Rome And Sustainable Development. Futures, 33(1), 7-11.
7. Cramer, B. W. (2009). The Human Right to Information, the Environment and Information About the Environment: From the Universal Declaration to the Aarhus Convention. Communication Law and Policy, 14(1), 73-103.
8. Eden, S. (2004). Greenpeace. New Political Economy, 9(4), 595-610.

9. European Commission (1998). The Aarhus Convention. https://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/pp/documents/cep43e.pdf
10. Gellers, J. (2012). Greening Constitutions with Environmental Rights: Testing the Isomorphism Thesis. Review of Policy Research, 29(4), 523-543.
11. Gittleman, R. (1981). The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights: A Legal Analysis. Virginia Journal of International Law, 22(4), 667-714.
12. Glazebrook, S. (2009). Human Rights and the Environment. Victoria University of Wellington Law Review, 40(1), 293-350.
13. Hays, S. P. (1981). The Environmental Movement. Journal of Forest History, 25(4), 219-221.
14. Humphreys, D. (2015). Know Your Rights: Earth Jurisprudence and Environmental Politics. International Journal of Sustainability Policy and Practice, 10(3-4), 1-14.
15. Karabıçak, M., & Armağan, R. (2004). Çevre Sorunlarının Ortaya Çıkış Süreci, Çevre Yönetiminin Temelleri ve Ekonomik Etkileri. Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 9(2).
16. Koester, V. (2007). The Compliance Committee of the Aarhus Convention-An Overview of Procedures and Jurisprudence. Environmental Policy and Law, 37(2), 83.
17. Kravchenko, S. (2007). The Aarhus Convention and Innovations in Compliance with Multilateral Environmental Agreements. Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy, 18(1), 1-50.
18. Kritidis, P., Florou, H., Eleftheriadis, K., Evangeliou, N., Gini, M., Sotiropoulou, M., ... & Vratolis, S. (2012). Radioactive Pollution in Athens, Greece due to the Fukushima Nuclear Accident. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 114, 100-104.
19. Mason, M. (2010). Information Disclosure and Environmental Rights: The Aarhus Convention. Global Environmental Politics, 10(3), 10-31.
20. Morgera, E. (2005). An update on the Aarhus Convention and Its Continued Global Relevance. Review of European Community & International Environmental Law, 14(2), 138-147.
21. Olawuyi, D. S. (2014). Recognizing the Intersections between Human Rights and the Environment in Legal Education and Training. Asian Journal of Legal Education, 1(2), 103-113.
22. Our World in Data (2019). Future Population Growth. https://ourworldindata.org/future-population-growth
23. Pathak, Puneet (2014). Human Rights Approach to Environmental Protection. OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, 7(1),17-24.
24. Porras, I. M. (1992). The Rio Declaration: A New Basis for International Co‐operation. Review of European Community & International Environmental Law, 1(3), 245-253.
25. Samvel, G. (2020). Non-Judicial, Advisory, Yet Impactful? The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee as a Gateway to Environmental Justice. Transnational Environmental Law, 9(2), 211-238.
26. Sands, P. (1993). Enforcing Environmental Security: The Challenges of Compliance with International Obligations. Journal of International Affairs, 46(2), 367-390.
27. Toth, B. (2010). Public Participation and Democracy in Practice-Aarhus Convention Principles as Democratic Institution Building in the Developing World. Journal Of Land Resources & Environmental Law, 30 (2), 295-330.
28. Umozurike, U. O. (1983). The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The American Journal of International Law, 77(4), 902-912.
29. UN (1972, July 25). Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. http://undocs.org/en/A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1
30. UN (1992, August 12). Report of The United Nations Conference On Environment And Development. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/generalassembly/docs/globalcompact/A_CONF.151_26_Vol.I_Declaration.pdf
31. UN (2011, December). Review of Implementation of the Rio Principles. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/1127rioprinciples.pdf
32. UN (n.d). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/
33. UNECE (2005). Aarhus Convention: Parties to the Aarhus Convention and their dates of ratification. https://www.unece.org/env/pp/aarhus/map.html
34. UNECE (2011, October 29). Environmental Rights Not A Luxury: Aarhus Convention enters into force. http://www.unece.org/fileadmin//DAM/env/pp/press.releases/01env15e.html
35. UNECE (n.d). Compliance Committee. http://www.unece.org/env/pp/ccbackground.html
36. University of Minnesota Human Rights Library (1994). Draft Principles On Human Rights And The Environment, E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/9, Annex I (1994). http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/1994-dec.htm#:~:text=On%2016%20May%201994%2C%20an,human%20rights%20and%20the%20environment.
37. Urbinato, D. (1994). London's historic" pea-soupers."(smog in London, England). EPA Journal, 20(1-2), 44-45.
38. Wates, J. (2005). The Aarhus Convention: a Driving Force for Environmental Democracy. Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, 2(1), 2-11.
39. Wirth, D. A. (1995). The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development: Two Steps Forward and One Back, or Vice Versa. Georgia Law Review, 29(3), 599-653.