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Print articleThe human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
April, 2023 - Beccar Varela
The Human Rights Council of the United Nations General Assembly, at its 52nd session held between February 27 and April 4, 2023, through this document, urged States to:
to. Respect, protect and fulfill human rights, including the rights to life and to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, to an adequate standard of living, to adequate food access to drinking water and sanitation and to housing and cultural rights, also in all measures taken to address environmental problems;
b. Pass and enforce strong laws that guarantee, among other things, the rights to participation, access to information and justice, including the right to an effective remedy, in environmental matters;
c. Facilitate public awareness and participation in decision-making related to the environment, including civil society, women, children, youth, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, farmers, older persons, people with disabilities and others who directly depend on biodiversity and the services provided by ecosystems, protecting all human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
d. Fully comply with their obligations to respect, protect and fulfill human rights without any discrimination, also in the application of environmental laws and policies;
and. Promote a safe and enabling environment in which individuals, civil society organizations, including environmental human rights defenders, and those working on environmental and human rights issues, such as climate change, biodiversity, and pollution, they can carry out their work without threats, obstacles or insecurity;
F. Provide effective remedies against human rights abuses and violations, including those related to the enjoyment of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, in accordance with their international obligations and commitments;
g. Establish, maintain and strengthen effective legal and institutional frameworks to regulate the activities of public and private agents in order to prevent, reduce and remedy damage to biodiversity and ecosystems, taking into account human rights obligations and commitments related to the enjoyment the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment;
h. Take into account human rights obligations and commitments related to the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in the implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals, taking into account their integrated and multisectoral nature;
Yo. Increase funding and support for and collaboration with community-based women's organizations working on climate, environmental and human rights issues, and the implementation of gender action plans under agreements multilaterals on the environment.
