Written submissions

The Green Rights Coalition has recently responded to a call for contributions from the UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. This call is part of the preparation for a thematic report that will be presented at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 2024. The report aims to review the implementation of this fundamental right, highlighting the progress, challenges, and opportunities concerning its effectiveness. In light of the triple planetary crisis related to pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss, it is essential to address these issues by prioritizing environmental human rights.

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In our response, the Green Rights Coalition specifically focused on Question 6 of the call for contributions, which addresses the main challenges regarding the effective implementation of the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. Several issues were identified:

• Fragmentation of international environmental law: Despite the existence of more than 500 multilateral environmental agreements, the lack of a global agreement hinders the effective implementation of environmental human rights. This fragmentation leads to inconsistencies and reduces the effectiveness of environmental protections.

• Absence of a binding legal framework at the international level: Internationally, the right to a healthy environment is primarily recognized through soft law instruments, such as UN declarations and resolutions. In the absence of a legally binding international treaty, the effective implementation of the right to a healthy environment is weakened.

• Lack of monitoring and enforcement mechanisms: Internationally, there are no monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that the right to a healthy environment is uniformly respected. This gap creates difficulties, particularly concerning the accountability of states in cases of environmental breaches.

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To address these challenges, the Green Rights Coalition proposes and supports the creation of a legally binding global instrument that recognizes, respects, and protects environmental human rights, foremost among them the right to a healthy environment.  Additionally, we emphasize to the Special Rapporteur the importance of monitoring and control mechanisms to ensure the effectiveness of the right to a healthy environment. Inspired by initiatives such as the Global Pact for the Environment and the Draft International Covenant on the Right of Human Beings to the Environment., we present various potential mechanisms to be implemented. We believe that the effectiveness of the right to a healthy environment necessarily depends on these mechanisms, which guarantee regular monitoring of environmental commitments and, ultimately, state accountability and compliance with their obligations.

Furthermore, the Green Rights Coalition supports regional initiatives advocating for legally binding instruments that protect the right to a healthy environment, such as the campaign for an additional protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. This proposed protocol would explicitly integrate the right to a healthy environment within a regional legal framework in Europe, enhancing the effectiveness of this right and serving as a model globally.
 

Participation in this call for contributions is an important step in our advocacy efforts.
By highlighting the main challenges and proposing concrete solutions, we hope to foster the emergence of a future treaty capable of protecting environmental rights worldwide. Indeed, the Green Rights Coalition deeply believes that our future can only be safeguarded if environmental rights are recognized and protected everywhere in the world.
By collaborating with United Nations platforms and human rights organizations, we strive to place environmental human rights at the heart of global discussions.