Last June, the Stockholm+50 conference outcome also recommended that States “recognise and implement the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment”.Billions of people around the world still don’t have access to clean water or enough water. Billions of people around the world are not eating healthy and sustainably produced food, and all of us are suffering because of the decline of biodiversity.
Canada has also worked with indigenous communities to upgrade water and sanitation infrastructure and more than 130 communities in the last decade.
So, what action is going to be taken by the General Assembly?
We also need to shift to a circular economy, and we need to detoxify society, and the right to a healthy environment is one of the most powerful tools we have to hold governments accountable.
Why is it important for countries to vote ‘yes’ on this resolution?
Costa Rica, the Maldives, Morocco, Slovenia and Switzerland presented the draft text to the 193-member Assembly, the UN’s most representative body, last June, following the landmark resolution adoption of a similar text adopted in October 2021 by the UN Human Rights Council.
General Assembly resolutions are not binding, meaning countries don’t have a legal obligation to comply with them, so how could they be held accountable?
UN Special Rapporteurs such as Mr. Boyd are tasked with specific thematic or country mandates by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, where they report back on their fact-finding or monitoring missions, usually at one of the forum’s three regular sessions a year. The expert positions within the Council’s Special Procedures section are honorary and incumbents are not paid for their work.
People need to understand that biodiversity is really the foundation of life on this planet. If it wasn’t for the plants and the trees that are producing oxygen, we wouldn’t be able to breathe. If it wasn’t for the ecosystems that filter water we would be in deep, deep trouble.
Oh! I’ll be jumping up and down with excitement. I’ll be so happy and just absolutely thrilled about the way that this is going to increase and improve people’s quality of life all over the planet.
The resolution recognizes the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right essential for the full enjoyment of all human rights and, among others, calls upon States and international organizations to adopt policies and scale up efforts to ensure a clean, healthy and sustainable environment for all.
Countries don’t have a legal obligation, but they have a moral obligation.