A Study on Balancing of Human rights with norms

relating to protection of environment

Abstract
This article's primary goal is to analyze various arguments on the environment, human rights,
and their effects in order to determine their consistency and coherence as well as to compare
opposing viewpoints. Finding the main connections between the environment and human
rights and globalization is the main goal of this essay. Priority policy challenges and
proposals at the national and international levels follow an integrated section on the
consequences of globalization and environmental policy and performance. The process in
which all peoples and communities encounter a more similar economic, social, and cultural
environment is known as globalization.

Introduction
The environment and human rights are inextricably linked: although a clean, safe, healthy,
and sustainable environment is necessary for us to exercise our human rights, a polluted,
dangerous, or otherwise harmful environment may infringe those rights.
Any declaration of a human right to environmental circumstances of a particular quality is
referred to as environmental rights. This indicates that they are quantifiable, significant, and
useful facets of society and its environment rather than abstract, distant, and irrelevant ideas.
The right to a healthy environment is guaranteed by the constitution in more than 100 nations.
People's and the planet's health and well-being are negatively impacted when environmental
rights are infringed. Since we are a part of nature, our human rights are entwined with our
living conditions. The exercise of human rights contributes to environmental protection and
sustainable development, whereas environmental harm impedes the enjoyment of those
rights.
Environmental preservation and human rights are intertwined. The full enjoyment of human
rights, which are acknowledged in regional agreements and the majority of national
constitutions, depends on a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. These rights
include the right to life, the highest possible standard of physical and mental health, an
adequate standard of living, adequate food, safe drinking water and sanitation, housing,
participation in cultural life, and development, as well as the right to a healthy environment
itself. One At the same time, environmental preservation depends on the exercise of human
rights, such as the freedom of assembly and expression, the right to knowledge and
education, the right to participation, and the right to effective remedies. The environmental
context is relevant to states' duties to uphold human rights, safeguard their enjoyment from
detrimental interference, and to fulfill those rights by striving for their complete realization.
Therefore, states should not violate human rights by causing or permitting environmental
harm; safeguard against detrimental environmental interference from other sources, such as
private actors, businesses, and natural causes; and take decisive action to guarantee the
preservation and sustainable use of the ecosystems and biological diversity that are essential
to the full enjoyment of human rights

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Development of Environmental protection as human rights
The environmental right refers to the entitlement to access pristine natural resources essential
for survival, which include land, shelter, food, water, and air. This concept also encompasses
more specific ecological rights, such as the right to a certain degree of survival or the right for
an individual to experience an untouched landscape. The initial environmental movements
emerged as a direct result of the industrial revolution during the late 18th and early 19th
centuries; the escalating use of fossil fuels and chemicals, urban sprawl, deforestation, and
heightened human consumption resulted in significant environmental transformations,
substantially increasing pollution levels, harming biodiversity, and exhausting natural
resources. However, the early environmental movements focused mostly on protecting
wildlife and conserving nature, giving little consideration to the detrimental impacts of
human habitation and trade.
Only after the Second World War have environmental movements gained significant traction.
The new phenomena of globalization, which has changed the structure of the international
system, is strongly related to the growth of the environmental movement. A globalized world
is one where political, economic, cultural, and social events are increasingly intertwined and
have a wider, more profound impact, and state borders are becoming less and less obvious.
Governments and citizens are now aware of the transboundary and international nature of
environmental challenges as a result of the globalization phenomenon. Ultimately, since the
1972 Stockholm, Sweden, UN Conference on the Human Environment, there has been a
growing push for the use of international instruments as environmental protection
mechanisms. The need for a shared perspective and set of values to motivate and direct
individuals worldwide in the preservation and improvement of the human environment was
discussed at this conference. According to the statement, "Humans have a solemn
responsibility to protect and improve the environment for present and future generations, as
well as a fundamental right to freedom, equality, and adequate conditions of life, in an
environment of quality that permits a life of dignity and well-being."
No particular clause pertaining to environmental preservation or nature conservation was
included in the Indian constitution. It is likely that the founders of the constitution did not
envision the severe environmental issues currently plaguing the nation. Part IV of the
constitution and List III (also known as the Concurrent List of the Seventh schedule of the
constitution) both contain specific provisions pertaining to certain aspects of the environment
that were adopted in the mid-1970s with the passage of the 42 Amendment 1976, particularly
for the protection of the nation's forests and wildlife. Consequently, the constitution currently
contains the following clauses that are especially related to nature conservation and
environmental protection.

Recent years have seen a number of noteworthy court rulings, particularly those pertaining to
Article 21 of the constitution and "the right to life." The right to life and the right to the
environment have been intimately related. "The right to life includes the right to live with
human dignity and all that goes along with it, namely the bare necessities of life such as
adequate nutrition, clothing, and shelter," the Supreme Court ruled in Francis Coralie Mullin
v. Union Territory. The Supreme Court ruled in Subhash Kumar VS State of Bihar that the
right of life, as guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution, includes the right to breathe
clear air and water in order to enjoy full life. A citizen may use Article 32 of that infringe the

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Constitution to remove any pollution of air or water that could be harmful to life if anything
and endangers or degrades their quality of life.

Inter-relationship between Environment and Human Rights

In the age of globalization, the fight for human rights has grown increasingly intricate and
difficult as environmental concerns have taken centre stage in contemporary economic
policy. Even if governments and international organizations like the UN have been protecting
human rights more and more, there are still serious risks to and egregious abuses of these
rights. Every human being and every people has the inalienable right to growth, which
entitles them to take part in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural, and political
advancement that fully realizes their fundamental freedoms and all of their human rights. It is
difficult to integrate the sociocultural, economic, and environmental elements. The idea of
sustainability is actually rather straightforward: current efforts to better the human situation
and the environment in which we live must be long-lasting and advantageous to future
generations.
Human rights and development have a long history together, both conceptually and
practically. The Second World War, the bloodiest and most devastating battle in human
history, came to an end. It is not surprising that the United Nations' founding fathers made a
firm commitment to upholding and advancing human rights. Actually, the three primary
pillars of development, human rights, and peace and security form the foundation of the UN's
structure, as stipulated in its Charter. These three pillars were conceptually interconnected,
interdependent, and related to each other to such an extent that development could not exist
without human rights, peace and security could not exist without development, and human
rights could not exist without peace and security. The fundamental mandate and conceptual
foundation of the United Nations was and still is this trilogy. The link between human rights,
development, and peace and security has not always been clear in practice across time.
However, in order to accomplish the goals of environmental justice, the legal protection of
human rights is currently being used more and more. Equitable resource use, procedural
fairness, and a safe and healthy environment are all aspects of environmental justice.
International human rights have become increasingly important in the age of globalization
and the move toward non-state entities. One could argue that human rights address the
contradiction between trade and the environment and offer solutions to resolve it. However,
in order to accomplish the goals of environmental justice, the legal protection of human rights
is currently being used more and more. Equitable resource use, procedural fairness, and a safe
and healthy environment are all aspects of environmental justice. International human rights
have become increasingly important in the age of globalization and the move toward non-
state entities. One could argue that human rights address the contradiction between trade and
the environment and offer solutions to resolve it.

 Universal Declaration of Human Rights

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Through case law, laws, and international agreements, the relationship between human rights
and the environment has evolved in a disjointed way at the national, regional, and global
levels. As a result, national courts' and regional human rights authorities' rulings have
emphasized the connection between environmental law and human rights. Although law has
developed quickly as a result, there hasn't been a thorough framework connecting human
rights and the environment.

Obligation of States in regard to Protection of Environment

The exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly in
connection with environmental issues is covered by states' duties to uphold and defend those
rights. States must guarantee the protection of these rights regardless of whether they are
being used in opposition to state-favoured policies or initiatives, within formal decision-
making processes, or in alternative contexts like the news or social media. Limitations on the
enjoyment of these rights are only allowed if they are mandated by law and required in a
democracy to safeguard other people's rights, as well as to preserve public safety, order,
health, or morals. These limitations must be carefully crafted to prevent violating the rights.
For instance, it is not acceptable to outright forbid protests about the activities of forestry,
mining, or other resource extraction businesses.
States are never allowed to use excessive or indiscriminate force, make arbitrary arrests or
detain people, torture or any other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment,
enforce disappearances, abuse criminal laws, stigmatize people, or threaten to do so in
response to the exercise of these rights. States should never obstruct people's or organizations'
access to international organizations or their ability to look for, obtain, and utilize resources
from both domestic and foreign sources.10. States have an obligation to differentiate between
peaceful and non-peaceful protestors, take action to reduce tensions, and hold the violent
individuals not the organizers responsible for their acts when violence breaks out during an
otherwise peaceful gathering or demonstration.
States must also prevent corporations and other private entities from interfering with the
exercise of fundamental rights. States are required to make sure that civil laws pertaining to
libel and defamation are not abused to prevent people from exercising their rights. States
must take precautions against private security firms suppressing lawful advocacy, and they
cannot give up their own law enforcement duties to these or other private actors. States have
agreed that a child's education should focus on fostering respect for the environment and
human rights, among other things. Early childhood education should be followed by ongoing
environmental education. It should improve students' comprehension of the intimate
connection between people and the natural world, foster their appreciation and enjoyment of
it, and fortify their ability to address environmental issues.
Growing public consciousness of environmental issues ought to continue throughout
maturity. States should educate the population about the unique environmental dangers that
they face and how they can safeguard themselves from those risks in order to guarantee that
both adults and children are aware of how the environment affects their health and well-
being. States should improve the public's understanding of environmental issues and policies

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as part of raising public awareness. Everyone has the human right to look for, obtain, and
disseminate information, including environmental information. Access to environmental
information by the general public helps people exercise their other rights, such as the rights to
expression, association, participation, and recourse, and helps them comprehend how
environmental harm may jeopardize their rights, particularly the rights to life and health.
There are two aspects to environmental information accessibility. The quality of the
environment, including the air and water; pollution, waste, chemicals, and other potentially
hazardous substances introduced into the environment; actual and threatened environmental
impacts on human health and well-being; and pertinent laws and policies are all examples of
the environmental data that states should routinely gather, update, and disseminate.
Regardless of whether the threats are caused by natural or man-made factors, states must
make sure that all information necessary for the public to take preventative action is promptly
shared with all impacted parties, especially when there is an immediate threat to human
health or the environment. Upon request from any individual or organization, states should
make environmental data maintained by public bodies accessible, efficient, and timely
without requiring proof of legal or other interest. The public interest in disclosure should
guide the precise and limited interpretation of the grounds for denial of a request. The public
should be given instructions by states on how to get environmental information.
It is typically necessary to evaluate the potential environmental effects of planned projects
and policies beforehand by national regulations, and the components of a successful
environmental assessment are generally known to be: Any proposal that is likely to have a
significant impact on the environment should have an assessment conducted as early in the
decision-making process as possible. The assessment should address all potential
environmental impacts, including transboundary effects and cumulative effects that may arise
from the interaction of the proposal with other activities; it should consider alternatives to the
proposal; it should give the public meaningful opportunities to participate; it should produce
a written report that clearly describes the impacts; and both the assessment and the final
decision should be subject to an independent body. States are required to collaborate in order
to address transboundary and international threats to human rights as part of their duty to
promote universal respect for and observance of human rights23. International collaboration
is required to combat transboundary and global environmental harm, which can have serious
consequences for the full enjoyment of human rights. On a wide range of global
environmental issues, such as climate change, ozone depletion, transboundary air pollution,
marine pollution, desertification, and biodiversity conservation, states have reached accords.

 MC Mehta VS Union of India 1987 SCC 819

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Requirements to Evaluate Environmental Effects

Human rights organizations have said unequivocally that states must grant access to
environmental information in order to safeguard the enjoyment of human rights from
environmental harm. States are required by affirmative action to provide for the evaluation of
the possible effects of suggested initiatives and laws that might impede the exercise of human
rights. Strong legislation granting access to environmental information has been enacted in
numerous states. Some countries, like Norway and South Africa, have even enacted
constitutional clauses pertaining to information access. At the level of statutes,a thorough
system for obtaining environmental information is established under Chile's environmental
framework law. The World Bank and other international financial organizations nearly
always demand environmental assessments for all projects they fund, with regard to
environmental assessment in particular.
Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 25 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights both acknowledge the general right to public
participation. Furthermore, this right is intimately related to the freedoms of association and
expression. This right, in its broadest sense, encompasses the right to vote and the right to
have elected representatives represent you. It encompasses the right to take part in
environmental decision-making in the environmental context. The Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification, and the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change are just a few of the international environmental instruments that
acknowledge the significance of public involvement in environmental decision-making. At
the regional level, "each individual shall have...the opportunity to participate in decision-
making processes" and "environmental issues are best handled with participation of all
concerned citizens, at the relevant level," according to Principle 10 of the 1992 Rio
Declaration of the Aarhus Convention.
States are required to protect the lives, liberty, and security of people exercising their rights to
free expression and association as well as to abstain from direct violations of those rights.
Human rights advocates who focus on land rights and natural resources are the second-largest
group of defenders at risk of being assassinated, according to the United Nations Special
Rapporteur on the status of human rights defenders, and their circumstances are becoming
worse. The public affected or likely to be affected by, or having an interest in, the
environmental decision-making process is what the Bali Guidelines define as "the public
concerned." Additionally, they state that "non-governmental organizations that support
environmental protection and adhere to all applicable national legal requirements should be
deemed to have an interest."

 http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/esd/ Environmental-Movement.html.
 https://globalpact.informea.org

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Environmentally Related Substantive Obligations

Numerous human rights, such as the rights to life and health, may be at danger due to
environmental damage. States' special duties for the rights that are at risk from environmental
harm thereby determine the content of their duty to prevent such harm. These obligations can
differ from one right to another. States' general obligations pertaining to the right (such as to
respect and ensure it or to take steps towards its full realization) apply when environmental
harm threatens or interferes with the enjoyment of a right protected by one or more of these
agreements. According to the European Court of Human Rights, states have a primary
responsibility to establish a legislative and administrative framework that guards against and
addresses violations of the right to life caused by hazardous activities, such as the operation
of chemical factories and waste collection sites, as well as by natural disasters. States have
been advised by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to enact environmental
protection measures in order to fulfill their duties to uphold rights, such as the rights to health
and life.
States must, among other things, "protect against human rights abuse within their territory
and/or jurisdiction by third parties, including business enterprises," according to the Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights, which were adopted by the Human Rights Council
in 2011. This includes "taking appropriate steps to prevent, investigate, punish, and redress
such abuse through effective policies, legislation, regulations, and adjudication." Numerous
other human rights organizations have made a clear connection between pollution and other
environmental harm and states' obligations to defend against non-state actors' violations of
human rights. The Committee has said unequivocally that the duty to protect in relation to the
right to water includes implementing and upholding practical steps to prevent third parties
from violating the right by contaminating water sources. The Guiding Principles also make it
abundantly evident that both corporations and states have a duty to uphold human rights and
to provide remedies for violations of those rights committed by corporations.

Constitutional guarantees of environmental health

More than 90 national constitutions currently acknowledge some version of the right to a
healthy environment, despite the fact that no international agreement has specifically
acknowledged this right. A quarter of these constitutional rights are related to the right to an
ecologically balanced environment, and almost two thirds are related to health; other
formulations include the rights to a safe, clean, a healthy or beneficial setting. There are two
main ways that the constitutional right to a healthy environment can be established: either it
is stated clearly in a country's constitution, or courts have inferred it from other constitutional
rights like the rights to life and health. The term "derivative" or "implied" environmental
rights might be used to describe the second type. Furthermore, a lot of constitutions contain
procedural rights that are specifically related to the environment, including the right to
information.
"The right to life is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution and it includes
the right of enjoyment of pollution free water and air for full enjoyment of life," the Supreme
Court of India said in Subhash Kumar v. State of Bihar. "The right to life: encompasses

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within its ambit the protection and preservation of the environment, ecological balance,
freedom from pollution of air and water, and sanitation, without which life cannot be
enjoyed," the Supreme Court of India said in 1995, building on its previous articulation of the
right.

Conclusion
The complex challenge of protecting the natural environment while fostering development to
meet human needs is a significant issue facing policy makers today. As globalization gained
traction, trade policies were liberalized, leading to additional environmental damage. This led
to a number of issues, including the complex relationships between environmental
degradation and human rights. Despite the conflict between environmental protection and
human rights, it is obvious that humans are a part of nature, and it is difficult to separate
human interests from those of the environment because humans need food, water, and air to
survive, but contamination, pollution, or destruction of these resources directly endangers
human health, shelter, food, and well-being. Since environmental degradation breaches
several widely acknowledged human rights, human rights and the environment actually go
hand in hand. This is the basic idea that without a certain degree of a healthy environment,
life is impossible. For this reason alone, it may be claimed that the right to the environment is
both the foundation for the right to a healthy environment and a prerequisite to all other
human rights.

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