At its 48th session, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution declaring access to a clean and healthy environment a human right. The resolution passed with overwhelming support with 43 votes in favour, 0 against, and 4 abstentions. This is a historic step and one that is celebrated by Liberal International; LI, in collaboration with the ALDE group of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, has been breaking ground on building political consensus around the link between human rights and climate change. Albeit not being legally binding, the resolution sends a powerful message and can help to shape global standards in the area.
Liberal International has been working alongside the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to globalize the policy link between climate change and human rights. As the only international network of political parties working to introduce the right to access to a safe environment, we salute the innovations that the Parliamentary Assembly is producing for Europe – just a week before the UNHRC resolution was passed, the Assembly adopted a series of reports containing recommendations regarding human rights and the environment, to be further approved by the Committee of Ministers. One of the key demands is that a new right to “a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment” is added as a protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights.
On this UN day, Liberal International celebrates these new developments which recognise how environmental degradation seriously impacts the enjoyment of human rights.
“The recent initiatives by the UNHRC and PACE are important steps in the direction towards shifting the intersection of human rights and the environment from a policy issue to a normative and value-based issue globally. However, advocacy is now needed to ensure that the resolutions and recommendations lead to concrete results”, deputy chair of LI’s Climate Justice Committee Susanna Rivero Baughman states.
