Universal Human Rights to a Healthy Environment

By Alejandro Angulo

After a battle of many years, the UN has passed a resolution declaring Human Rights to a Healthy Environment, as a universal right for all people. Universal rights are defined as interdependent and indivisible, and all human beings are recognized, without any exclusion. The reason for this is that if we are deprived of access to one of these rights, the rest will be harmed. This is regardless of whether a country has considered it in its legislation—in every case it is considered universal. With the UN declaration, no country can exclude any group or individuals from this. To the contrary, every nation is obligated to observe these rights under every circumstance, time, or place.

In Mexico, this right is installed in both the General Constitution and in the state Constitutions. However, now that such rights have been declared Universal, one can go to international forums or courts to enforce such laws. The UN took a long time to accept and declare this right as Universal, although given the existing environmental crisis and a globalized world, it was fully pertinent to consider it in that category of universal. It has been recommended that this right be included in the legal bodies of municipalities, so that all efforts are coordinated and the Universal Human Right to a Healthy Environment is guaranteed to all citizens.

It should be made clear that this is not just a declaration, but that its importance lies in being recognized as a vital right, inherent to the life of anyone in the world. It is also important to note that now this right has been added to the five main Universal Human Rights currently recognized. What this means, is that a healthy environment is considered not only necessary, but also an indispensable condition for today’s societies. It is not possible to have quality of life without this human right that applies to all human beings.

We hope that from now on, the universal human right to a healthy environment will be taken into account in all public and private policies. The same goes for any budget proposals. There ought to be sufficient financial resources allocated to make this right a reality. Actions and projects must be aimed toward strengthening and shaping a healthy environment. This will contribute to the strengthening of institutions, and effective access to environmental justice.

A healthy environment necessitates a set of actions, investments, and programs to make it become reality, and to improve year after year. Only in this way can we speak of an effective universal human right to a healthy environment, especially since we face serious climate challenges. There is water scarcity, decline in biodiversity and, with it, the loss of ecosystems that naturally remove pollutants. There is also the sequestration of CO2, and the infiltration of water into aquifers. This is not simply a declaration, it is an actual exercise in preserving this right in order to enjoy a healthy environment in our lives.