July 4, 2018 – A New Independence Day
In the United States, the Fourth of July is celebrated as Independence Day. Someday history books may celebrate the Fourth of July 2018 as a new “independence day” – not...
Environment
Legal Actions Against Mountain Valley Pipeline Underscore Grassroots Activism’s Importance
The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is a 303-mile U.S. interstate project currently under construction that would transport fracked natural gas from northern West Virginia through southwest Virginia. The MVP is...
Recent Trends in Climate Change Litigation: Colombia’s Amazon and Juliana v U.S
On April 4, 2018, the Colombian Supreme Court handed down an important ruling (Tutela, a rights-based injunction) on climate change. The plaintiffs in the case are twenty-five children who argued...
When Human Rights Are Not Enough: Defending the Rights of Nature (with Mari Margil)
There is an unmistakable growing awareness of the ways in which our human lives and the environment are intertwined and interdependent. Unprecedented environmental degradation, resource depletion, and the looming reality...
Moving towards the recognition and protection of climate change refugees under international human rights law
The recent hurricanes that hit the coast of the Caribbean have renewed the fears of a global climate refugee crisis. However, there is a lack of clarity on who exactly...
U.N. Framework Principles on Human Rights and the Environment: A Catalyst for Grassroots-Centered U.S. Reform?
John H. Knox, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, recently issued a final report to the U.N. Human Rights Council. The report, which contains 16 Framework...
Homeless at Home: Forced Internal Displacement In India
In September 2017, the Prime Minister of India inaugurated the Sardar Sarovar Dam (SSP), which was designated as the second largest dam in the world. Most of the Indian media...
Taking the backseat? Strategic utilisation of human rights in the implementation of SDGs
Human rights and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are closely entwined. The text of the Agenda declares that human rights constitute the foundation and the aim of development. It states...
Sustainable Development as a Human Right (with Olivier De Schutter)
In September 2015, the UN adopted a set of goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all people. These are the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to...
Irish High Court rules Constitution protects a ‘Right to an Environment’
The recent 2017, Irish High Court judgment on environmental rights has been described as ‘historic’ as it declared that the Irish Constitution protects an un-enumerated personal constitutional ‘right to an...
Waitangi Day: Rights, Sovereignty and the Politics of a National Day
New Zealand celebrated its national day this week. Unlike Canada Day which marks the anniversary of the Canadian federation, or Australia Day which marks the anniversary of the establishment of...
Atmospheric Trust Litigation: Offering Hope To India’s Hapless Adivasi Community
The all-encompassing phenomenon of anthropogenic climate change has endangered the lives and livelihood of humanity at large. However, the distribution of adverse effects of climate change is not uniform. The...
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