From the Other Shore: Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights from an International Environmental Law Perspective

Abstract

The relationship between human rights and international environmental law is usually approached from the perspective of human rights. The question is how can human rights be used to implement international environmental law or, more generally, what is the influence of human rights on international environmental law. The ‘dependent variable’ is thus international environmental law whereas human rights are the independent or ‘explanatory variable’. For a number of legitimate reasons, including the significant contribution made by human rights’ adjudicatory and quasi-adjudicatory bodies to environmental protection, this standpoint is still the prevailing one. The present chapter takes the reverse perspective as its starting point, focusing on how international environmental law can help implement human rights obligations.