Right to a Healthy Environment

The right to a healthy environment is spreading across the globe in international agreements, constitutions, environmental legislation and court decisions. Even in countries where the constitution does not explicitly include the right to a healthy environment, courts have often ruled that this right is implicit in the right to life, the right to health, or the government's duty to protect the environment.

The Right to a Healthy Environment Around the World
A right to a healthy environment is now in the constitutions of over 100 countries.

These countries explicitly recognize the right to a healthy environment in their constitutions:

Africa: Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Egypt, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.

Asia: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Chechnya, China, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Laos, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Europe: Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine.

Latin America and the Caribbean: Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Ocenia: Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea.

International or regional instruments the right to a healthy environment has been recognized:

1972 - Chapter I, para. 1 and Chapter II of the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment ("Stockholm Declaration")

1981 - Article 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights

1990 - Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

1992 - Principle 1 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

1999 - Article 11 of the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ("Protocol of San Salvador")

2004 - Articles 38 and 39 of the Arab Charter on Human Rights

2015 - Recital 12 of the Paris Agreement

=Cases Involving the Right to a Healthy Environment=


 * Future Generations v. Ministry of the Environment
 * Khan v. Federation of Pakistan
 * López Ostra v. Spain

=References=