It is a must-have fundamental right of every human being to have access to a healthy and clean environment. Recently, the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council) agreed on this resolution during the autumn session of the forty-seven member council.
By passing the basic right for creating a sound environment, the new resolution conceded the harm caused by environmental destruction and climate change on billions of people around the world with the susceptible group confronting the hefty burden.
Additionally, it is a major step in the combat against triple planetary disturbance- waste & pollution, biodiversity & nature loss, and climate change- we are encountering.
Based on WHO (World Health Organization), about 13.7 million fatalities are reported annually which are associated with the environment, mainly due to chemical exposure, air pollution, and so on.
Resolution 48/13 was presented by Switzerland, Slovenia, Morocco, the Maldives, and Costa Rica. It even has plenty of backing from business & young activists groups, 15 UN agencies, indigenous peoples’ groups, over 1300 civil society organizations.
Nonetheless, in the preparation of acknowledging the resolution, it acquired massive criticism from the US and Britain together with Russia and Brazil.
The resolution was passed with the strong support of
4 abstentions and 43 votes in favor from Japan, China, India, and Russia.The matter will now be passed to the New York’s UN General Assembly for additional considerations.
This resolution has been passed weeks prior to the commencement of an important climate that is planned to hold in Glasgow, Scotland by November 2021- the COP26.
The High Commissioner stated that the final decision of the HRC (Human Rights Council) in acknowledging the human right to a sustainable, healthy, and clean environment is regarding safeguarding the planet and people- the food we consume, the water we use, and the air we inhale. Additionally, it is about safeguarding the natural bodies which are the fundamental systems to the livelihoods and lives of all people, no matter where they live.
She added that decisive action is of utmost importance to assure this resolution on the human right to a sound & healthy environment serves as a stepping stone for more radical environmental, social, and economic policies in the future that will safeguard nature and people.
Marc Limon, the executive director of URG (Universal Rights Group), a brain-trust centered on global human rights policy, remarked that they should not end this now.
Their subsequent step should be the General Assembly’s acknowledgment of this new international right. Afterward, they require the amazing international coalition formed over the past two years to keep pushing, such that this significant occasion at the UN provides actual improvement for the environment and lives of people.
The UNHRC additionally passed another resolution- 48/14. The Council has formed a Special Rapporteur that concentrates on the human rights effects of climate change.
This individual, with a 3-year post, will observe how climate change’s adverse effects like slow-onset and sudden disasters influence the effective & full enjoyment of human rights.
It was passed with the resolution 42-1. Japan, India, Eritrea, China, Russia abstained and Russia objected.
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