A world made new: Beyond COVID-19 to a low-carbon, resilient and inclusive world

by Dr. Edward Cameron Blog BORRAR, Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Climate, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, Thematic human rights issues

According to her son, Eleanor Roosevelt said the same prayer every night and closed with this wish: ‘save us from ourselves and show us a vision of a world made new.’ This prayer reminds me that in the midst of managing crisis we must also keep one eye on the better future we want to create. COVID-19 is both a …

The right to a healthy and sustainable environment

The right to a clean and healthy environment was left out of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (and therefore the two Covenants) because it was drafted before the advent of the modern environmental movement in the 1960s and 70s. However, over recent years, there has been a growing interest and movement, at national, regional and international levels, to correct …

The 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration and the contemporary human rights emergency of climate change

by David R. Boyd - UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment Blog BORRAR, Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Climate, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Special Procedures, Thematic human rights issues

Monday 10th December 2018, Geneva, New York and Katowice Two concurrent news stories, seemingly unrelated. First, the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a moment in history reflecting humanity’s ambition for a more just and equal world. Second, world leaders gathered in Katowice, Poland, to finalise the rules for implementing the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. …

Special Rapporteur calls on the UN to recognize the universal right to a healthy environment

by Danica Damplo, Universal Rights Group NYC Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Special Procedures, Universal Rights Group NYC BORRAR

Last week, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, David R. Boyd, made a historic push at the UN General Assembly for the human right to a healthy environment to be recognised at the global level. During his landmark address at the GA’s Third Committee, Boyd argued, firstly, that official UN recognition of the human right to a healthy environment would bolster and enhance work already underway …

It is time for the United Nations to recognise the human right to a healthy environment

by Professor John H. Knox, former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Climate, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, EHRD BORRAR, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Special Procedures, Thematic human rights issues

Earlier this month, on World Environment Day, the Executive Director of UN Environment, Erik Solheim, and I jointly stated that the historic moment has arrived for the United Nations to recognise the human right to a healthy environment at the global level. The fundamental UN human rights treaties do not include this right because the modern environmental movement began in the late 1960s, …

It’s time we all recognise the human right to a healthy environment

by Professor John H. Knox, former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Climate, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, EHRD BORRAR, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Special Procedures, Thematic human rights issues

Note: This article is based on a Joint Statement by UN Environment and the Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment ahead of World Environment Day.   Speaking ahead of World Environment Day on 5 June, the head of UN Environment, Mr Erik Solheim, and the Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, Mr John Knox, issued a …

2018: an important year for human rights and climate change

by Tiphaine Di Ruscio, Universal Rights Group Blog BORRAR, Climate, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, COP BORRAR, Thematic human rights issues

Cet article est également disponible en français . The idea that climate change undermines and may contribute to the violation of human rights, and that human rights obligations and principles can guide improved international and national climate change policy by focusing attention on the needs of the most vulnerable, is now well established. Yet it was not always so. Back in …

What are the human rights priorities of world governments in 2018?

by the URG team Blog BORRAR, Corruption and human rights, EHRD BORRAR, HRC BORRAR, Human rights implementation and impact, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Implementation BORRAR, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice BORRAR, Special Procedures, Thematic human rights issues, Treaty Bodies, Universal Periodic Review

An independent analysis of the High Level Segment of the Human Rights Council  At the opening of the 37th session of the Human Rights Council, nearly one hundred world leaders (e.g. presidents, prime ministers, ministers) delivered high level speeches commenting on the state of global human rights in 2018, and presenting their country’s priorities for the year ahead. The Universal Rights …

COP22 begins in Marrakech – UN leaders call for human rights principles to guide implementation of Paris Agreement

by H.E. Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gómez, Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group, Olivia Bebe and the URG team Blog BORRAR, By invitation, By invitation BORRAR, Climate, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues BORRAR, HRC BORRAR, Human rights implementation and impact, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Implementation BORRAR, Thematic human rights issues

7th November 2016, Geneva The 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) begins today in Marrakech, Morocco. After the entry into force of the Paris Agreement on climate change on 4 November this year, the Marrakech meeting will also represent the first Meeting of the Parties to the Paris …