Your Right to a Healthy Environment - UNECE

RIGHTSThe birth of environmental rightsA government ministry supports a project to fill in an abandoned copper minewith sewage sludge from a wastewater treatment plant. The ministry classifiesthe waste as non-hazardous, but other authorities and experts point out that thewastewater includes industrial discharge from several factories.Citizens from a nearby village form a committee to oppose the plan. They sue theproject contractor, but the court rejects their claim. The citizens are convincedthat the court is ignoring applicable laws as well as strong evidence that theindustrial wastes could be dangerous for their community. But, without fullaccess to scientific information about the case, and with no further legal remediesavailable, their case stalls.Not so long ago, this would have been the end of the campaign. But today, agrowing number of citizens are benefiting from a new emphasis on environmentalThe Aarhus Convention recognizes every person’s right to a healthy environment – as well as hisor her duty to protect it.