Global Pact for the Environment

Last updated

The Global Pact for the Environment project was launched in 2017 by a network of experts known as the "International Group of Experts for the Pact" (IGEP). [1] [2] The group is made up of more than a hundred legal experts in environmental law and is chaired by former COP21 President Laurent Fabius. [3]

Contents

On 10 May 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by 142 votes in favor, 5 votes against (United States, Russia, Syria, Turkey, and the Philippines) and 7 abstentions (Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Iran, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, and Tajikistan), a resolution paving the way for the negotiation of a Global Pact for the Environment (Resolution A/72/L.51 of 10 May 2018, "Towards a Global Pact for the Environment"). [4]

On 8 May 2020, the United Nations Environment Programme nominated two co-facilitators to lead the process. Their mandate is to lead informal consultations to prepare a first draft of a "political declaration" that is to be debated at the UN Environmental Assembly's fifth session in February 2021. [5] [6] This text was adopted in March, 2022 during a special session of the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly, called UNEP@50, that commemorated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Environment Programme. [7]

Objectives

The Global Pact for the Environment seeks to recognize the rights and duties of citizens and governments towards the Planet. Its approach is to enshrine the fundamental principles of environmental law in a legally binding instrument, thereby remedying the shortcomings of international environmental law. While these principles are already contained in political declarations such as the 1972 Stockholm Declaration and the 1992 Rio Declaration, they currently lack legal force. [8]

In contrast to these declarations, a Global Pact would be a multilateral treaty endowed with legal force that would enshrine fundamental environmental rights as well as the principles that guide environmental action. Building on the dynamic of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement, a Global Pact would raise the threshold for environmental protection worldwide. It is intended for global adoption. It would complement existing sectoral conventions, such as the Paris Agreement or the Montreal Protocol by enshrining principles that would apply to the Environment as a whole. If adopted, it would be the first international treaty that takes a comprehensive and non-sectorial approach to the environment. [8]

The Global Pact's methodology to enhance environmental standards is to recognize a "third generation of fundamental rights" – environmental rights. This approach mirrors that of the two international covenants of 1966: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which are generally seen as having enshrined the first two generations of human rights. [9]

Origins

The Global Pact for the Environment was first proposed in 2017 by an international network of more than a hundred experts (professors, judges, lawyers) from forty different countries now known as the "International Group of Experts for the Pact" (IGEP). [10] The current IGEP chair is Laurent Fabius, President of the French Constitutional Council and former President of COP 21. Its Secretary-General is Yann Aguila, a lawyer at the Paris Bar and President of the Environment Committee of the Club des Juristes, a French legal think tank. [11]

Notable members of IGEP include: [11] [12]

Enshrining fundamental principles of environmental law in a universal binding treaty is however not a novel idea. Environmental lawyers have been calling on States to adopt such a treaty at least since the 1987 Brundtland report, which elaborated a list of "Legal Principles for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development." [13] In 1995, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also proposed a draft International Pact on Environment and Development. [14] In 2015, the Environment Committee of the Club des Juristes likewise proposed the adoption of an international environmental treaty. [15]

Content

A preliminary draft was conceived by IGEP experts in 2017 to serve as a basis for international talks. The definitive wording of the text is still subject to negotiations. [16]

The preliminary draft is structured around a preamble and twenty fundamental principles, balanced between rights and duties and supplemented by six articles dealing with final provisions. The text is based on two "source principles", a right and a duty: the right to an ecologically sound environment and the duty to take care of the environment. These substantive and procedural principles are already widely established and accepted in previous environmental declarations. Yet, a Global Pact would elevate these principles from guiding ideas to legally binding, enforceable sources of law for legislators and courts in all UN member states. [17] [18]

Substantive principles include:

Procedural principles include:

The preliminary draft of the Global Pact proposes innovations such as the official recognition of the role of civil society in protecting the environment. It further includes the principle of non-regression, which prohibits going back on existing levels of environmental protection.

The preliminary draft also provides for a mechanism to monitor the implementation of the Pact to ensure its effectiveness. This mechanism, which consists of a committee of experts, would be a forum for States to exchange experiences and recommendations in light of national best practices. [18]

Diplomatic Trajectory

The Global Pact draft text was presented for the first time in Paris on 24 June 2017, with attendance from several prominent figures involved in environmental protection, such as Ban Ki-moon, Mary Robinson, Laurent Fabius, Laurence Tubiana, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Anne Hidalgo, Nicolas Hulot, and Manuel Pulgar-Vidal. [19] [20] [21]

On 19 September 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron held a 'Summit on a Global Pact for the Environment' on the margins of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly in New York to introduce the project to the diplomatic scene. [22] On this occasion, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UN General Assembly President Miroslav Lajčák, and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Erik Solheim expressed their support for the project. [23]

On 10 May 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 72/277 entitled "Towards a Global Pact for the Environment", which formally launched international negotiations on the adoption of such a Pact. [4] It established the negotiations' terms of reference and provided for:

On 5–7 September 2018, the working group held its first organizational session in New York. There, Member states scheduled for three substantive sessions to take place in Nairobi in January, March, and May 2019. [24] This group was chaired by two co-chairs that were nominated by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, Miroslav Lajčák. These were Francisco António Duarte Lopes, Permanent Representative of Portugal and Amal Mudallali, Permanent Representative of Lebanon. [25] [26]

In December 2018, the United Nations Secretary-General published his report on the Global Pact for the Environment. The report, entitled "Gaps in International Environmental Law and Environment-Related Instruments: Towards a Global Pact for the Environment", underlined that the effectiveness of international environmental law could be strengthened by a comprehensive and unifying international instrument that enshrines all the principles of environmental law. Such an instrument "could provide for better harmonization, predictability and certainty". [27]

In June 2019, the working group adopted recommendations that were in net retreat from the original proposals of the co-chairs. Indeed, States effectively opted for adopting a political declaration in 2022 to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the Stockholm Conference. These recommendations constitute a setback to the project's initial ambition that aimed for a legally binding international treaty that would enshrine the general principles of environmental law. [28]

On 30 August 2019, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 73/333. This resolution "noted with satisfaction the work of the working group" and "agreed with all its recommendations". [7] It forwarded these recommendations to the United Nations Environment Assembly for its consideration for it to "prepare, at its fifth session, in February 2021, a political declaration for a United Nations high-level meeting, subject to voluntary funding, in the context of the commemoration of the creation of the UNEP by the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm from 5 to 16 June 1972." [7]

On 8 May 2020, the President of the United Nations Environment Assembly and the Chair of the Committee of Permanent Representatives nominated two-cofacilitators to lead the negotiations process. These are Saqlain Syedah, from Pakistan, and Ado Lohmus, from Estonia. These co-facilitators leading informal consultations to prepare the work of the Environment Assembly's fifth session in February 2021. In that context, their mandate is to supervise three consultative meetings, the first of which occurred in June 2020. The other two, which were originally scheduled for November 2020 and February 2021, were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The second consultation took place in November 2021. The third and final session took place on the 27th February 2022 , resulting in the adoption of a High-Level Political Declaration in March 2022, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of UNEP and the 1972 Stockholm Declaration. This declaration mentions the right to a healthy environment: “Recognizing that a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is important for the enjoyment of human rights, taking note of Human Rights Council resolution 48/13 entitled “The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. ” [6]

Right to a Healthy Environment

In September 2020, a small group of states (Costa Rica, Morocco, Slovenia, Switzerland and the Maldives) began discussions to have the right to a healthy environment recognized by the United Nations Human Rights Council. [29]

On October 8, 2021, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 48/13 by a vote of 43 in favor, none against and 4 abstentions (China, India, Japan, and Russia). This resolution recognizes for the first time at the international level the right to a healthy environment as a human right. [30] It follows an international campaign led by more than a thousand NGOs and fifteen UN agencies. [30]

This resolution also invites the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York to examine the issue. [30]

As of March 2022, this same small group of States (Costa Rica, Morocco, Slovenia, Switzerland and Maldives) initiated discussions so this right could be recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in New York. [31]

On 28 July 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted, by 161 votes in favour, 0 against and 8 abstentions (Russia, Belarus, Cambodia, China, Iran, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Syria), a resolution recognizing the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. Although General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, this resolution was welcomed by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, [32] multiple special rapporteurs [33] and members of some civil society organizations.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</span> Declaration adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, it was accepted by the General Assembly as Resolution 217 during its third session on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris, France. Of the 58 members of the United Nations at the time, 48 voted in favour, none against, eight abstained, and two did not vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Environment Programme</span> Aims to help solve environmental issues

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972. Its mandate is to provide leadership, deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues, including climate change, the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and green economic development. The organization also develops international environmental agreements; publishes and promotes environmental science and helps national governments achieve environmental targets.

Habitat II, the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements was held in Istanbul, Turkey from June 3–14, 1996, twenty years after Habitat I held in Vancouver in 1976. Popularly called the "City Summit", it brought together high-level representatives of national and local governments, as well as private sector, NGOs, research and training institutions and the media. Universal goals of ensuring adequate shelter for all and human settlements safer, healthier and more livable cities, inspired by the Charter of the United Nations, were discussed and endorsed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Global Compact</span> Non-binding United Nations pact

The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to get businesses and firms worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation. The organization solicits commitments to specific sustainability and social responsibility goals from CEOs and highest-level executives, and in turn offers training, peer-networks and a functional framework for responsibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development</span>

The Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) 2005–2014 was an Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) initiative of the United Nations. The Decade was delivered by UNESCO as lead agency, and gave rise to Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE) networks, and the GUPES universities' partnership. The launch of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development started a global movement to reorient education to address the challenges of sustainable development. It was the first UN Decade to establish a global monitoring and evaluation process and expert group. Building on the achievement of the Decade, stated in the Aichi-Nagoya Declaration on ESD, UNESCO endorsed the Global Action Programme on ESD (GAP) in the 37th session of its General Conference. Acknowledged by UN general assembly Resolution A/RES/69/211 and launched at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD in 2014, the GAP aims to scale-up actions and good practices. UNESCO has a major role, along with its partners, in bringing about key achievements to ensure the principles of ESD are promoted through formal, non-formal and informal education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">France and the United Nations</span> Overview of the relationship between France and the United Nations

France has been a member of the United Nations (UN) since its foundation in 1945 and is one of the five countries, alongside China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, that holds a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which is responsible for maintaining international peace and security.

The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Sweden, during June 5–16, 1972.

The Stockholm Declaration of 1972, or the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, is the first United Nations declaration on the global environment. It consists of 26 principles and led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which laid the foundation for future global environmental governance. The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Sweden, from June 5–16 in 1972. The 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment signifies the first international effort to place environmental issues at the forefront of global concerns. The Conference sought to recognize the finite nature of Earth's resources and human impacts on the environment. It represented the beginning of a global dialogue on the link between economic growth, the pollution of the environment, and the well-being of humanity. The resulting Stockholm Declaration urged its partnering nations to reduce air, land, and water degradation by integrating science and technology in their development plans. It also called nations to create regulations on wildlife protection, environmental conservation, and population control. While the reception of the ideas in the Declaration generally stayed positive, it received wide criticisms on its practical implementation, especially from developing nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities</span> Treaty of the United Nations

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Parties to the convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy full equality under the law. The Convention serves as a major catalyst in the global disability rights movement enabling a shift from viewing persons with disabilities as objects of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing them as full and equal members of society, with human rights. The convention was the first U.N. human rights treaty of the twenty-first century.

The right to public participation is a human right enshrined by some international and national legal systems that protects public participation in certain decision making processes. Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states the right of every person to participate in the affairs of his country, either directly or by selecting representatives. Likewise, the right to political participation means the right under which the ruling authority is committed to providing rights to citizens, including the right to nominate and elect representatives, to hold public office in accordance with the principle of equal opportunities, to participate in private and public meetings, and the right to form and join political parties. Articles 20 and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights make a similar declaration about the right to participate in the management of public affairs.

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women was adopted without a vote by the United Nations General Assembly in the 48/104 resolution of 20 December 1993. Contained within it is the recognition of "the urgent need for the universal application to women of the rights and principles with regard to equality, security, liberty, integrity and dignity of all human beings". It recalls and embodies the same rights and principles as those enshrined in such instruments as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Articles 1 and 2 provide the most widely used definition of violence against women.

Human rights and climate change is a conceptual and legal framework under which international human rights and their relationship to global warming are studied, analyzed, and addressed. The framework has been employed by governments, United Nations organizations, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, human rights and environmental advocates, and academics to guide national and international policy on climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the core international human rights instruments. In 2022 Working Group II of the IPCC suggested that "climate justice comprises justice that links development and human rights to achieve a rights-based approach to addressing climate change".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goals</span> 17 United Nations global goals for 2030

The Sustainable Development Goals or Global Goals are a collection of seventeen interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future". The SDGs are: no poverty; zero hunger; good health and well-being; quality education; gender equality; clean water and sanitation; affordable and clean energy; decent work and economic growth; industry, innovation and infrastructure; reduced inequalities; sustainable cities and communities; responsible consumption and production; climate action; life below water; life on land; peace, justice, and strong institutions; and partnerships for the goals. The SDGs emphasize the interconnected environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development by putting sustainability at their center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human rights and development</span>

Development is a human right that belongs to everyone, individually and collectively. Everyone is “entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized,” states the groundbreaking UN Declaration on the Right to Development, proclaimed in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Future generations</span> People yet to be born

Future generations are cohorts of hypothetical people not yet born. Future generations are contrasted with current and past generations, and evoked in order to encourage thinking about intergenerational equity. The moral patienthood of future generations has been argued for extensively among philosophers, and is thought of as an important, neglected cause by the effective altruism community. The term is often used in describing the conservation or preservation of cultural heritage or natural heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration</span>

The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration runs from 2021 to 2030. Similar to other nature related international decades, its purpose is to promote the United Nation's environmental goals. Specifically, to facilitate global cooperation for the restoration of degraded and destroyed ecosystems. Along with fostering efforts to combat climate change, safeguard biodiversity, food security, and water supply. While much focus is on promoting restoration activity by national governments, the UN also wishes to promote such efforts from other actors, ranging from the private sector and NGOs to regular individuals.

The Declaration on the Rights of Peasants is an UNGA resolution on human rights with "universal understanding", adopted by the United Nations in 2018. The resolution was passed by a vote of 121-8, with 52 members abstaining. The declaration has been interpreted to be in support of the seed sovereignty movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 12</span> 12th of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to ensure responsible consumption and production

Sustainable Development Goal 12, titled "responsible consumption and production", is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording of SDG 12 is "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns". SDG 12 is meant to ensure good use of resources, improving energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and ensuring a better quality of life for all. SDG 12 has 11 targets to be achieved by at least 2030 and progress toward the targets is measured using 13 indicators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right to a healthy environment</span> Human right proposed by environmental groups

The right to a healthy environment or the right to a sustainable and healthy environment is a human right advocated by human rights organizations and environmental organizations to protect the ecological systems that provide human health. The right was acknowledged by the United Nations Human Rights Council during its 48th session in October 2021 in HRC/RES/48/13 and subsequently by the United Nations General Assembly on July 28, 2022 in A/RES/76/300. The right is often the basis for human rights defense by environmental defenders, such as land defenders, water protectors and indigenous rights activists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montevideo Environmental Law Programme</span> UN program aiming to help solve environmental issues

The Montevideo Programme for the Development and Periodic Review of Environmental Law (Montevideo Environmental Law Programme) is a United Nations sequential ten-year intergovernmental program for the development and periodic review of Environmental Law, designed to strengthen the related capacity in countries. The program was conceived in 1982.

References

  1. "Global Pact for the Environment". IUCN. 2018-03-17. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  2. "Global Pact for the Environment - June 2017". IUCN. 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  3. "Origins". Pacte Mondial pour l'Environnement. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  4. 1 2 3 Hub, IISD's SDG Knowledge. "UNGA Adopts Resolution on Global Environment Pact | News | SDG Knowledge Hub | IISD" . Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  5. "Second informal substantive consultation meeting on United Nations General Assembly resolution 73/333". UNEP - UN Environment Programme. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  6. 1 2 "Implementation of General Assembly resolution 73/333, entitled "Follow-up to the report of the ad hoc open-ended working group established pursuant to General Assembly resolution 72/277" | Environment Assembly". environmentassembly.unenvironment.org. Archived from the original on 2021-01-22. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  7. 1 2 3 "A/RES/73/333 - E - A/RES/73/333". undocs.org. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  8. 1 2 International Group of Experts for the Pact (2017). White Paper. France: Le Club des Juristes. p. 7.
  9. Aguila, Yann; Viñuales, Jorge E. (March 2019). "A Global Pact for the Environment - Legal Foundations" (PDF). Cambridge Centre for Environment, Energy and Natural Resource Governance.
  10. "Members of the International Group of Experts for the Pact". Pacte Mondial pour l'Environnement. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  11. 1 2 "100 Jurists Call for action for the adoption of a Global Pact for the Environment". Le Club des Juristes (in French). Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  12. Environment, Global Pact for the (2018-12-17), Global Pact for the Environment , retrieved 2020-10-19
  13. Development, United Nations World Commission on Environment and. Brundtland Report.
  14. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). "Draft International Covenant on Environment and Development. Fifth Edition: Updated Text .:. Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform". sustainabledevelopment.un.org. United Nations . Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  15. "Report « Increasing the Effectiveness of International Environmental Law - Duties of States, rights of individuals »". Le Club des Juristes (in French). Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  16. Hub, IISD's SDG Knowledge. "Report Examines Legal Foundations of a Global Pact for the Environment | News | SDG Knowledge Hub | IISD" . Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  17. étrangères, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires. "Environment - The Goal of the Global Pact for the Environment (05.09.17)". France Diplomacy - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  18. 1 2 International Group of Experts for the Pact (2017). Draft Global Pact for the Environment (PDF).
  19. "Global green pact supporters launch Paris campaign". News24. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  20. Vidalon, Dominique (2017-06-24). "France's Macron to back push for global environment rights pact". Reuters. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  21. "Bid for environmental rights pact to kick off in Paris". phys.org. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  22. Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères. "Speech by M. Emmanuel Macron, President of the Republic: Summit on the Global Pact for the Environment (19.09.17)". France Diplomacy - Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  23. "French initiative to create global environment pact deserves support, says Secretary-General". UN News. 2017-09-19. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  24. ""Towards a Global Pact for the Environment" — Successful outcome at the Organizational Session of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group in New York, 5-7 September 2018, by Victor Tafur". IUCN. 2018-09-19. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  25. "Letter of the President of the General Assembly to the Permanent Representatives" (PDF). 14 August 2018.
  26. Hub, IISD's SDG Knowledge. "Portugal, Lebanon to Lead Open-ended Group on Environment Pact | News | SDG Knowledge Hub | IISD" . Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  27. Secretary-General of the United Nations (30 November 2018). "Gaps in international environmental law and environment-related instruments: towards a global pact for the environment" (PDF). United Nations: paragraph 102.
  28. "Failure of the Global Pact for the Environment: a missed opportunity or a bullet dodged?". IDDRI. Retrieved 2020-10-19.
  29. "The Right to a Healthy Environment". IUCN. 2021-10-29. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  30. 1 2 3 "Access to a healthy environment, declared a human right by UN rights council". UN News. 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2022-02-07.
  31. "Pacte mondial pour l'environnement", Wikipédia (in French), 2022-08-31, retrieved 2022-08-31
  32. "Bachelet calls for urgent action to realize human right to healthy environment following recognition by UN General Assembly". OHCHR. Retrieved 2022-09-14.
  33. "UN General Assembly declares access to clean and healthy environment a universal human right". UN News. 2022-09-14. Retrieved 2022-09-14.