The United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution no, declaring access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment a universal human right. The historic decision mirrored the Human Rights Council resolution in 2021. Declaring access to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right aimed at reducing environmental injustice, which often discriminates against women, children and indigenous communities. This recognition is especially important in light of the disastrous impacts of war on the environment and the sudden rise of climate refugees. The full implementation of the resolution can only be actualized if it is supplemented with regional and international agreements. The predecessor to this, the Stockholm Resolution, declared that people have a fundamental right to an environment of a quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being and found its way into many national laws. Constitutions and regional agreements. However, the current resolution grants environmental rights universal recognition. While UNGA Resolutions are not legally binding, however, they often act as catalysts for action in the international community.
The effect of war on the environment has been recognized by the Hague Conventions and Geneva Conventions. The ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine has resulted in extensive damage to the environment in Ukraine, which houses about 1/3rd of Europe’s Biodiversity. Ukraine, while contesting Russia for war crimes before the ICJ and ICC, is also building a legal claim against Russia for environmental damages. The precedent of Iraq’s reparation of Kuwait for environmental damages in the Gulf War of 1991 is a beacon of hope as environmental damages are rarely prosecuted under international law. The Resolution will indeed add value to Ukraine’s claim, especially in light of severe and long-term damage to water, soil and wildlife. Not surprisingly, the Russian Federation abstained from voting.
The Resolution must be strongly enforced by the international community, and steps must be taken to actualize the right. The UNGA can also be a catalyst in amending the Refugee Convention to include climate refugees who have previously been refused refuge due to the narrow definition within. But most importantly, States must now utilize the position to condemn States like Russia for causing havoc. It is important that States take action because, unlike other human rights issues, environmental damages cannot be contained or limited by national boundaries or enlisting armies and warships. The effects of the Ukraine-Russia war will have a profound impact on neighboring countries in the European Union. From damaging the biodiversity of the continent to poisoning freshwater sources. The risk of a second Chernobyl is looming over the EU. The impact of this war is estimated to affect millions of Europeans and the future of the EU.
Unfortunately, the cost of war often has a dire impact on the environment too. The US Department of Defense is the world’s single largest consumer of oil and, as a result, one of the largest greenhouse gas emitters. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had serious consequences on the environment, with studies suggesting that pollution from war has resulted in infant mortality rates and premature deaths. The new Resolution has the potential to make amends and restore environmental justice to vulnerable communities. Moreover, it can put pressure on nations States to put in place rigid environmental agreements, which would have a twin-fold effect- protecting the environment and deterring superfluous war. The international community must now wake up to protect the silent victims of war: nature.
References
Why the UN General Assembly must back the right to a healthy environment (2022, July 22)
United Nations, https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/07/1123142
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/social/environment
The Environmental Casualties Of War in Ukraine, (2022, June 22), Duke Today. Retrieved on 6 August, 2022)
Kottaśova I., Ukraine’s natural environment is another casualty of war. The damage could be felt for decades (2022, May), CNN. Retrieved on 4 August, 2022.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/22/europe/ukraine-russia-war-environment-intl-cmd/index.html
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/corinne-bell/every-state-should-have-right-healthy-environment
By The European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
