Ensuring a Human Rights-Based Approach to the International Legally Binding Instrument to End Plastic Pollution, Including in the Marine Environment

The document advocates for the integration of substantive and procedural human rights into the Global Plastics Treaty, noting that plastic pollution infringes upon rights to health, life, and a clean environment. It critiques the current Compilation Draft for treating public participation as voluntary and omitting the right to effective remedy, while recommending that the final treaty explicitly operationalize the right to a healthy environment and protect marginalized groups.

• Plastic pollution causes widespread health and environmental consequences that violate multiple internationally recognized human rights, including the rights to life, food, water, sanitation, adequate housing, an adequate standard of living, and the highest attainable standard of health.
• Low-income countries suffer a disproportionate economic burden from plastic pollution, which is estimated to be several times higher than that of developed nations, thereby undermining their right to development.
• The right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a critical framework for the Plastics Treaty; it has been recognized by the UN General Assembly in 2022 and is already incorporated into other multilateral environmental agreements like the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Bonn Declaration.
• The Compilation Draft of the Plastics Treaty is criticized for failing to adequately reflect States' obligations, specifically by framing public participation and access to information as voluntary measures rather than rights, and by completely omitting references to the right to effective remedy and access to justice.
• A human rights-based approach to the treaty should prioritize the protection of marginalized groups and vulnerable populations, including children, workers, women, girls, and Indigenous Peoples.

APA

Shah, D. (2024). Ensuring a Human Rights-Based Approach to the International Legally Binding Instrument to End Plastic Pollution, Including in the Marine Environment. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Ensuring-a-Human-Rights-Based-Approach-to-the-International-Legally-Binding-Instrument-to-End-Plastic-Pollution-Including-in-the-Marine-Environment.pdf

Chicago

Shah, Dharmesh. Ensuring a Human Rights-Based Approach to the International Legally Binding Instrument to End Plastic Pollution, Including in the Marine Environment. Center for International Environmental Law, 2024. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Ensuring-a-Human-Rights-Based-Approach-to-the-International-Legally-Binding-Instrument-to-End-Plastic-Pollution-Including-in-the-Marine-Environment.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Shah |first1=Dharmesh |title=Ensuring a Human Rights-Based Approach to the International Legally Binding Instrument to End Plastic Pollution, Including in the Marine Environment |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=November 2024 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Ensuring-a-Human-Rights-Based-Approach-to-the-International-Legally-Binding-Instrument-to-End-Plastic-Pollution-Including-in-the-Marine-Environment.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{shah2024ensuring, author = {Shah, Dharmesh}, title = {{Ensuring a Human Rights-Based Approach to the International Legally Binding Instrument to End Plastic Pollution, Including in the Marine Environment}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2024}, month = nov, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Ensuring-a-Human-Rights-Based-Approach-to-the-International-Legally-Binding-Instrument-to-End-Plastic-Pollution-Including-in-the-Marine-Environment.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }