Advanced Course on International Law and Human Rights: The Human Rights Dimension of Environmental Protection

Traditionally, environmental protection originated from the desire to protect the environment inasmuch as it was useful for humankind (anthropocentric approach). As the environmental movement gained prominence, however, scholars have attempted to move away from this utilitarian model and have started to consider the protection of the environment as an end in itself (ecocentric approach). Arguably, in order to make the link between human rights and the environment, however, requires the adoption of a more anthropocentric stance. There can be no human right to a healthy environment unless the environment can be regarded as a tool for human welfare and realization, in addition to recognizing the inherent value of the environment.

This seminar is aimed at evaluating the relationships between human rights and environmental protection. International environmental law has achieved a large measure of success in many aspects, and one of them is precisely the transformation of environmental issues as human rights concerns. This transformation is of great assistance to the environmental movement, as it gains the aid of a very powerful rhetoric, and also puts a human face to the issue. To the extent that environmental degradation affects a human right, it becomes a more pressing issue, and is more readily and efficiently addressed by law and policy. To the extent that human rights impact on the environment, the moral and political foundation of environmental protection is reinforced by the universal message of human rights.

However, many questions surround the relationship between environmental quality and human rights, starting from the fundamental question of the validity of such a connection. This is always a question to be borne in mind during the sessions of this seminar, but, as far as the structuring of the course is concerned, it will be taken as a given that the anthropocentric approach is the dominant one, while recognizing that the inherent value of the environment is an important component of the debate. Among the many questions to be dealt with in this seminar are: biodiversity, indigeneity and rights; access to environmental justice; information and participation rights; heritage and environment; desertification and climate change; the right to water; the links between human rights, trade, human rights and the environment, and pollution and human rights. These areas by no means exhaust the topic, but rather must be seen as case studies and springboards for further reflection on this mutually reinforcing relationship.