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HUMAN RIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENT OFFICIALLY LINKED

In April, the UN Commission on Human Rights concluded that everyone has the right to live in a world free from toxic pollution and environmental degradation. The decision, the first time the Commission has addressed the links between the environment and human rights, was made at its 2001 annual meeting.

Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), welcomed the historic move, saying: "Many of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights have significant environmental dimensions. Environmental conditions clearly help to determine the extent to which
people enjoy their basic rights to life, health, adequate food and housing, and traditional livelihood and culture. It is time to recognize that those who pollute or destroy the natural environment are not just committing a crime against nature, but are violating human rights as well."

"Human rights cannot be secured in a degraded or polluted environment", he continued. "The fundamental right to life is threatened by soil degradation and deforestation and by exposures to toxic chemicals, hazardous wastes and contaminated drinking water. For this reason, we believe that the successful implementation of international environmental treaties on biodiversity, climate change, desertification and chemicals can make a major contribution to protecting human rights.”

Information from the UN Environmental Programme.