Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T02:11:15.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - Environmental Rights and International Human Rights Covenants: What Standards Are Relevant?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 May 2019

Stephen J. Turner
Affiliation:
University of Lincoln
Dinah L. Shelton
Affiliation:
George Washington University, Washington DC
Jona Razzaque
Affiliation:
University of the West of England, Bristol
Owen McIntyre
Affiliation:
University College Cork
James R. May
Affiliation:
Widener University School of Law, Delaware
Get access

Summary

During the last two decades, victims of environmental abuse have resorted to the human rights machinery to seek redress. While none of the global human rights treaties embodies a distinct right to a healthy environment, human rights institutions have used existing rights to articulate environmental rights. Although the link between environmental degradation and human rights is no longer in doubt, it is not clear what standards these institutions use when deciding whether there has been an infringement of environmental rights. This chapter seeks to discuss how two UN treaty bodies – the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – have developed environmental rights by interpreting existing rights creatively. In so doing, the chapter will discuss whether these two committees have applied any standards to ascertain whether the rights protected under the two treaties have been violated. If so, are there any emerging principles about standards that may be useful for other human rights bodies that have to adjudicate environmental rights disputes?
Type
Chapter
Information
Environmental Rights
The Development of Standards
, pp. 17 - 40
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×