Legal, Practical and Political Implications of Expanding Environmental Human Rights

Abstract

In recent years there have been many calls for greater recognition of environmental human rights within international human rights law, and particularly for the proclamation of a human right to a good environment. As creators of international law, nation States have the power to respond to these calls through the enactment of a new treaty or modification of existing laws. Yet, as this chapter argues, there are many factors which are likely to influence States’ actions in this area, and a number of important legal and pragmatic issues which need to be considered in determining how any new rights should be constructed. Particular care is required to ensure that new rights are meaningful and do not risk undermining the integrity of the international human rights framework as a whole. This chapter argues that there are significant challenges in formulating a right to a good environment which is suitable for inclusion in international human rights law and likely to attain the necessary support from nation States, suggesting that the protection of environmental human rights would be more effectively achieved through the clarification and articulation of obligations under existing human rights.