The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David R. Boyd, called on States to recognise the right to a healthy environment, in order to fight the scourges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution that kill over 8 million people each year. In a report to the UN General Assembly in New York presented on 25 October 2018, the UN Special Rapporteur said the time had come for the United Nations to formally recognise the human right to a healthy environment. In more than 100 countries, the right to a healthy environment enjoys constitutional status — the strongest form of legal protection available, and at least 130 States have ratified regional human rights treaties that explicitly include the right to a healthy environment — treaties covering Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, parts of Asia, and Europe.
Document A/73/188 A C E F R S
Statement: 73rd session of the GA (Video for the interactive dialogue)
Press Release: Environmental hazards kill 8 million a year: UN expert urges global recognition of the human right to a healthy environment
