UN Global Recognition Right Healthy Environment

A statement by the Center for International Environmental Law calling for the United Nations to formally recognize the right to a healthy and sustainable environment to align with existing national and regional legal trends.

• There is a widespread global trend toward recognizing the right to a healthy environment, with over 100 national constitutions including explicit provisions and the right being protected in more than three quarters of the world's nations.
• Regional treaties and courts have already integrated this right, specifically the African Charter of People’s and Human Rights, the Aarhus Convention in Europe, the Escazú Convention in Latin America, and a landmark advisory opinion from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
• The author argues that the United Nations has failed to take decisive steps toward global recognition of this right, which creates a gap in the human rights protection regime.
• Global recognition by the UN would not create a new right or redefine corporate and state responsibilities, but would instead elevate the priority of preventing environmental degradation and strengthen legal remedies against reckless corporate behavior and inadequate public policies.
• The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment proposed that the UN General Assembly recognize the right to a healthy and sustainable environment, suggesting mechanisms such as a dedicated UN General Assembly Resolution or the French proposal for a Global Pact for the Environment.

APA

Duyck, S. (2018). UN Global Recognition Right Healthy Environment. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/un-global-recognition-right-healthy-environment/

Chicago

Duyck, Sébastien. UN Global Recognition Right Healthy Environment. Center for International Environmental Law, 2018. https://www.ciel.org/un-global-recognition-right-healthy-environment/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Duyck |first1=Sébastien |title=UN Global Recognition Right Healthy Environment |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=25 October 2018 |url=https://www.ciel.org/un-global-recognition-right-healthy-environment/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{duyck2018global, author = {Duyck, Sébastien}, title = {{UN Global Recognition Right Healthy Environment}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ciel.org/un-global-recognition-right-healthy-environment/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }