Considering that a safe and healthy environment is necessary for the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and freedoms, NPWJ joins the global initiative alongside more than 900 civil society organisations, indigenous communities and social movements to call on the United Nations Human Rights Council to recognise the universal human right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
The open letter issued by this global initiative, which seeks to raise awareness of the importance of the environmental protection for present and future generations and advocate for the universal recognition of this right within the framework of the current Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, states that “The historic and urgent moment in which we live requires the UN Human Rights Council to formalize the recognition of the right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment without any further delay. The dignity of all persons must be protected both individually and collectively, and both substantively and procedurally, from the natural and human-made degradation of the environment and the impacts of climate change.”
The global initiative considers it is necessary for a legal instrument to safeguard the protection of the environment as a human rights issue to be adopted at the international level. Therefore, together we are urging the UN Human Rights Council to formalise the recognition of this right and make it universal, to provide environmental justice for indigenous and local communities who have been fighting against the devastation of their lands and territories. “The Human Rights Council’s recognition of a right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment will create the foundation for strengthening the environmental policies and legislation of States, providing wider support and legitimacy and thus improving their environmental performance”, as the letter points out.
NPWJ invites all civil society organisations and NGOs that work in the human rights field to join this global initiative. Although, the letter was already sent to the Human Rights Council, it remains open for signatures.
Further information about the global call: https://1planet1right.org/media/r2eforall.pdf
Link for signing up the letter and join the initiative: https://tinyurl.com/yysyqupp
Short advocacy video clip produced by Universal Rights Group: https://youtu.be/Ys4Wau8swFo
