Environment

In Southern Africa and other regions alike the majority of refugees are fleeing from climate disasters. Yet, international refugee law is silent on the matter. This leaves vulnerable groups at greater risk of human rights violations including statelessness and persecution.

Climate change and natural disasters' impact on IDPs in Asia-Pacific must be viewed from a climate justice perspective. A rights-based approach, prevention measures, and participation in decision-making are crucial in building a protection system for IDPs.

The absence of a legally binding instrument on IDPs protection, considering their unique vulnerabilities and needs, leaves a growing number of individuals in limbo. It is high time to create an innovative, holistic European convention on IDPs, adopting new lenses on human rights and related challenges.

Addressing the climate emergency and pressing sustainability issues requires rethinking the way in which the economy operates. Directing capital toward sustainable initiatives and divesting from harmful ones are key to building resilience for future generations. However, are ESG investments capable to fulfil these objectives under the current format?

A novel approach to environmental protection has emerged in the law, known as Rights of Nature (RoN). RoN proponents claim that nature is a legal subject possessing inherent rights. This ecocentric discourse shows striking similarities with human rights law.

Energy justice is a relatively new concept aimed at fair distribution of energy costs and benefits. Between oil-rich gulf and energy-poor MENA countries, energy justice, or lack thereof, overlaps with human rights, politics and international relations within and outside the region.

In the battle against COVID-19, a neglected but extremely knowledgeable voice is that of Indigenous or indigenising religions. These groups have both biological and spiritual insight that could contribute to the discussion around resiliency, behaviour adaptation and contributory environmental concerns.

‘We don’t call water a resource; we call it a sacred element. … [I]t’s about reciprocity. That’s the only way we are going to learn how to shift our culture from an extraction culture to a balanced and harmonious culture with the land.’ (Xiye Bastida, Mexican climate activist)

The term ‘intergenerational equity’ relates to the rights of ‘future generations’ which is often taken to refer to those ‘yet to be born’. Child/youth climate activists are however demonstrating that present children intersect with future generations, and that intergenerational rights are children’s rights.

Latin America and the Caribbean is the most insecure region for land and environmental defenders. States must be prepared to protect human rights defenders and implement public policies tackling the root causes of violence, including rethinking the extractive matrix.