Link

This report by Friends of the Earth International (FOEI) argues that environmental rights are fundamental human rights. It details various global struggles where communities resist the impacts of neoliberal economic globalization, corporate impunity, and state negligence. The document outlines a framework for environmental justice, emphasizing the right to a sustainable lifestyle, a healthy environment, access to water, and food security, while documenting specific legal and social battles against multinational corporations and governments.

• Friends of the Earth International defines environmental rights as the access to natural resources preserved from pollution—including land, habitat, food, water, and air—as well as political rights such as the right to information, participation in decision-making, and the right to resist undesirable development projects.
• In Argentina, the Ava Guarani people have faced violent displacement and repression by police and the San Martin del Tabacal company to make way for sugarcane and genetically modified soy monocultures on their ancestral lands in Salta province.
• In Cameroon, the French company SA Rougier and its subsidiary SFID were sued in French civil courts by villagers in the Miatta region for illegal logging that destroyed cocoa and fruit plantations, though the case faced rejection due to the limitations of French law regarding crimes committed abroad.
• The island of Curaçao suffers from a 'toxic legacy' left by Royal Dutch Shell, which operated a refinery from 1918 to 1985. A 1983 study found pollutant concentrations four times higher than globally accepted levels, leading to severe health issues including cancers and congenital malformations.
• In Ukraine, the ISTA battery factory in the Dnipropetrovsk region caused significant health problems, including lead found in children's teeth. Local action supported by Friends of the Earth Ukraine eventually stopped the factory's expansion and led to the replacement of its management.
• Residents near London's Heathrow Airport experience noise levels up to five times the WHO's recommended maximums, causing sleep deprivation and health issues. A legal challenge reached the European Court of Human Rights, which, while ruling in favor of the UK government in 2003, formally recognized 'environmental human rights' for the first time.
• In South Korea, the Saemangeum reclamation project involves building a 33km dike to drain 41,000 hectares of wetlands for industrial and agricultural use, threatening the livelihoods of 22,000 fishers and the habitat of 200,000 migratory birds.
• The Colombian government's use of glyphosate (Roundup Ready) for aerial spraying of coca and poppy crops has caused severe environmental degradation and health problems, including skin and eye irritations and nervous system excitation in border areas.
• In Cochabamba, Bolivia, a massive popular uprising known as the 'water war' successfully forced the withdrawal of a privatization law and the removal of the consortium Aguas del Tunari, which had increased water prices by 300%.
• In Slovakia, the privatization of water services in Trencin led to a lack of transparency and a 'culture of secrecy' regarding contracts between the municipal company TVK and the private operator TVS (controlled by Suez-Lyonnaise des eaux), prompting a legal complaint to the Slovak Supreme Court in 2004.
• In Mexico, the center of origin for maize, there is significant concern over genetic contamination from US-produced genetically modified (GM) corn. Studies in Oaxaca and Puebla found GM DNA in traditional varieties, despite GM corn being illegal to cultivate in Mexico.
• The 'Bush, touch not my food' campaign was launched by FOEI and over 350 organizations to oppose US efforts via the WTO to force the European Union to accept GM foods, arguing this violates the right of citizens to decide what they eat.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2004). Link. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/human_rights1.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. Link. 2004. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/human_rights1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=Link |date=September 2004 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/human_rights1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2004link, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{Link}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2004}, month = sep, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/human_rights1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }