Adopting the Language of Rights for Environmental Protection: Legal and Theoretical Justifications

One of the current debates in public international law is the question of whether to treat environmental violations as human rights violations. These debates have been developed in a fragmented manner by different scholars, theorists and thinkers in the field of public international law. This paper takes the analysis further; it reviews, analyses and responds to the legal and theoretical debates surrounding the proposals for the creation and recognition of a substantive environmental right under international law. It considers the questions ‘why do we need an environmental right under international law and can environmental protection can be rightly classified as a human right concern?’ The debates are explored under two headings: the proliferation debate (the new right will lead to a proliferation and devaluation of the human rights currency); and the redundancy debate (the new right will be redundant as environmental
concerns are already indirectly covered by existing human rights treaties common law remedies and environmental agreements).

This paper develops a case for substantive environmental rights under international law. It argues that creating an environmental right under international law could be an effective way to recognize the vital character of a clean environment to human existence. It could also be a good way to offer a more coordinated, detailed and well documented approach for dealing with the
linkages between environment and human right, as opposed to the fragmented approaches adopted across national and regional levels that have not fostered a broad understanding of the linkages. This paper also highlights the main issues that still need considerable thought if this recognition is to be achieved under international law.