There is growing recognition that human rights and protection of the environment are intertwined. More than 100 countries recognize the right to a healthy, safe and clean environment, and at the same time, sustainable environmental governance cannot exist without respect for human rights. Despite this symbiotic relationship, people are killed every week protecting our environmental rights.
On this 10 December observance of Human Rights Day, we ask Arnold Kreilhuber, Acting Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Law Division and Mr. Todd Howland, Chief, Development, Economic and Social Issues Branch, UN Human Rights (OHCHR), how we can support those courageous activists who are harassed, intimidated, criminalized and forced from their lands.
What are the key accomplishments of the formal partnership between UNEP and OHCHR, signed one year ago? Looking forward, what role do you expect this partnership to play in strengthening environmental rule of law and in promoting environmental human rights?
Arnold: Our work together focuses on three priorities aimed at strengthening environmental rule of law and promoting environmental human rights. Our priorities for collaboration:
- Protecting environmental human rights defenders and enhancing the civic space available for them;
- Integrating human rights, including the right to a healthy environment, into UN processes;
- Supporting States and other actors in their efforts to promote and protect a healthy environment
In order to achieve these, we will jointly pursue global initiatives as well as work with countries and stakeholders. Since signing the MoU In August 2019, we have provided guidance to environmental human rights defenders in Brazil and worked with judges in South Asia and South-East Asia to strengthen capacities in environmental adjudication, particularly in the context of environmental rights. Updates on all our joint efforts under the MoU can be found in our new quarterly Environmental Rights Bulletin.
Todd: Looking ahead, 2021 will be a key year for biodiversity, so we are planning joint advocacy on integrating human rights into plans for conservation, sustainable use and benefit-sharing of biodiversity. We are also looking at 2021 as a year in which States will renew their commitments to climate action under the Paris Agreement, and we will work together to advocate for ambitious commitments that incorporate human rights obligations. We are committed to deepening our efforts to work together to protect the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment for all.
The protection of environmental human rights defenders is a key component of your collaboration and is also seen as a critical target under SDG 16: pursuing peace, justice and strong institutions. Who are environmental human rights defenders, and what are OHCHR and UNEP doing to support them?
Arnold: Environmental human rights defenders are human rights defenders working on environmental matters. They exercise and defend environmental and land rights as well as other human rights. In championing the human right to a healthy environment, whether in opposition to exploitation of resources, defense of indigenous lands, or in seeking accountability for the abuse of environmental human rights, many environmental human rights defenders face threats of violence, abuse, incarceration and more.
UNEP and OHCHR are working together to support these courageous activists and advocate for better protection for their activism. We will, together, seek more effective accountability for those who perpetrate violence and intimidation and aim to develop regional and global networks of environmental human rights defenders. We see this as a critical foundation for meaningful and informed participation by civil society in environmental decision-making.
Where can OHCHR and UNEP better support countries to prioritize human rights and environmental protections in Recovering Better from COVID-19?
Todd: The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us the necessity of rethinking our interactions with nature and wildlife. We must take action to repair environmental damage and preserve biodiversity, as a strategy to limit the rise of zoonotic diseases.
Our efforts must include commitments to greater protection for the marginalized among us. Like pandemics, environmental harms have a disproportionate impact on those who may already face situations of discrimination and vulnerability. Women, children, persons with disabilities, minorities, older persons, migrants and indigenous peoples all face disproportionate limitations on their rights to food and land, water and sanitation, housing, livelihoods and other basic necessities as a result of the twin burdens of environmental degradation and disease.
We have an opportunity and a responsibility to recover from COVID-19 in a way that protects human rights, including the right to a healthy environment, and that builds societies that are socially, economically and environmentally more sustainable, more equitable, and more just.
How can social justice movements be strengthened by supporting efforts to ensure that environmental justice is understood and pursued as a critical component of the global conversation about racial equity and inclusion?
Todd: We have to remember that we cannot treat environmental justice and racial injustice and discrimination as separate issues; the reality is that environmental injustices often spring from systemic racism and other forms of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law. Racial minorities and other communities who have faced historic and structural discrimination often face disproportionate risks related to environmental harms and at the same time are left out of environmental policy discussions.
Arnold: As part of our shared mission to fight environmental injustice and contribute to the protection of environmental human rights defenders, we must be more deliberate and committed to understanding and challenging racial inequity to operationalize the human right to a healthy environment.
Fulfilling human rights, including the human right to a healthy environment, can foster more resilient societies. Meaningful, informed and effective participation of all people is not only a human right; it can be transformative and lead to more effective, equitable and inclusive environmental action that nurtures the diverse interests of all people, leaving no one behind.
