The Right of the Child to a Clean Environment

THE INTRODUCTORY SECTION discusses the human right to a clean environment and some of the practical and philosophical issues surrounding this issue, together with the description of a case in the Philippines which broke new ground in environmental litigation and the concept of inter-
generational equity.

In Part 1, “Right of the Child to a Clean Environment at International and European Levels”, the individual papers cover a variety of topics, beginning with the declaration that there is no international law instrument that explicitly grants a child the right to a clean environment. Nonetheless, there are some international agreements which indirectly deal with this issue, namely the ILO (International Labour Organization) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). One argument is to use these agreements, and how this might be possible is covered in some detail. Another paper stresses that the key issues of the CRC cannot be implemented without addressing the environment as a key determinant in their realization. Details of developments relating to children and environmental protection in India are given in another of the papers. Children have featured
heavily in the NGO environmental movement and thus have been helping to shape their environment; recent court cases in India have shown positive trends in recognizing this. Finally, the European Community has very indistinct rights of children in connection with the environment, and there are no clear-cut statements; however, it may be that some indirect, general or composite rights cover children and this possibility is explored.

In Part 2, “Right of the Child to a Clean Environment at National Levels; Selected Case Studies”, Argentina is shown to have a constitutional item giving the right to a clean environment; this was amended in 1994 to include inter-generational equity. Polish environmental legislation is
trying to come into line with the European Union, and Poland ratified the CRC in 1991. While there is no right to a clean environment for children, they are ensured the right to a certain standard of living and health care. Nigeria's successive military regimes have sidelined honouring international obligations at the national level, and the case study on Nigeria covers law and the environment and also the place of the child in national law. In the Gambia, there is no universal definition of the “child”; it refers to different ages depending on the application. The constitution, however, does grant the right to a clean environment and the new constitution contains for the first time a section on the rights of a child. The last paper in this section covers the role of NGOs and, in particular, one NGO in Patagonia which aims to introduce children to the history, geography and wildlife of the place where they live.

The book ends with several annexes. Annex 1 is a summary of responses and questionnaires, Annex 2 gives more detailed responses and Annex 3 consists of the Commission on Human Rights report on Human Rights and the Environment.