The United States has long recognized the relationship between human rights and environmental protection, and advancing environmental justice. We have a history of promoting environmental protection and believe that every person should live in a healthy environment. We also believe that a healthy environment supports the well-being and dignity of people around the world and the full enjoyment of all human rights. We support this resolution as it sets forth these moral and political aspirations. We do regret the loss of important human rights language throughout the process, including non-controversial accepted language on human rights defenders.
Together we must protect the environment, address the climate crisis, stop attacks on environmental defenders around the world and promote accountability for human rights violations and abuses affecting those defenders. This is a priority for the United States, as well as so many of our partners around the globe, and this has led us to vote YES on this resolution.
The United States supports the development of a right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment in a manner that is consistent with international human rights law.
It is important to establish a common understanding of the right so that States have clarity as to its scope, as there is not yet a shared view of the basis for the right or of its scope. The United States looks forward to working with other States to exchange views to further develop understanding in this regard. However, a right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment has not yet been established as a matter of customary international law; treaty law does not yet provide for such a right; and there is no legal relationship between such a right and existing international law. And, in voting “YES” on this resolution the United States does not recognize any change in the current state of conventional or customary international law. We note our concerns with operative paragraph 3 of this resolution, which creates confusion about such a right by conflating the contents of multilateral environmental agreements with human rights law and mischaracterizing aspects of the implementation of multilateral environmental agreements.
We hope this resolution will galvanize further action to protect the environment and to protect the human rights of all individuals affected by environmental degradation.
The United States will provide a more fulsome explanation to be published on the USUN website and published in the Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law.
Thank you.
###
Page Break
AS SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD [FULL TEXT]
The United States has long recognized the relationship between human rights and a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and that environmental degradation can negatively affect the enjoyment of human rights. We also emphasize that states must respect their human rights obligations, including when taking actions that have an environmental impact, and that they must protect the fundamental freedoms of environmental and human rights defenders.
The United States works tirelessly at home and internationally with our partners to address the climate crisis, including by taking ambitious action to keep a 1.5 degrees Celsius limit on average temperature rise within reach and to support vulnerable communities to increase their resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change. We are also collaborating actively with other UN Member state governments to prepare for the negotiation of an instrument to address plastic pollution, a major source of pollution globally. As one of our efforts to conserve biodiversity, the United States has set a goal to conserve 30 percent of U.S. land and water by 2030. We encourage other countries to adopt equally ambitious national goals and to set ambitious targets for biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of ecosystems as part of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework currently being negotiated under the Convention on Biodiversity. We reiterate our long-standing commitment to achieving environmental justice for vulnerable and underserved communities across the United States, and advocating for environmental justice at the national and sub-national levels with foreign partners.
In that context, the United States supports this resolution, which expresses the aspirations of those around the world seeking a clean and healthy environment for all. Taking into account our history and current efforts of environmental protection and our belief that every person should enjoy the benefits of a healthy environment, the United States supports the development of a right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment in a manner that is consistent with international human rights law and international environmental law.
We note that adoption of an UNGA resolution on the recognition of a human right is not legally binding or a statement of current international law. International law has yet to establish a right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as a matter of customary international law, nor does treaty law provide for such a right. As such, there is no legal relationship between a right as recognized under this resolution and existing international law. And, in voting “YES” on this resolution the United States does not recognize any change in the current state of conventional or customary international law. There is not yet a shared understanding of what the basis for the right would be and/or what its scope would entail. For our part, the United States looks forward to working with other states to exchange views to further develop understanding in this regard.
We also note concerns with operative paragraph 3 of this resolution, which creates confusion about such a right by conflating the contents of multilateral environmental agreements with human rights law. We do not agree with any suggestion that multilateral environmental agreements are implemented “under the principles of international environmental law” or have any bearing on any State’s international legal obligations. There is no single set of principles under which multilateral environmental agreements operate, and such agreements are each implemented in accordance with their own provisions and are applicable only to those States that have joined them. We emphasize that development and enforcement of strong domestic environmental laws and policies is what leads to a healthy environment.
U.S. support for the resolution’s statements regarding a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment does not establish or support legally binding requirements on the United States or a private right of action under U.S. law. Already, the United States has sought to achieve the aims set out in this resolution through domestic laws and policies in accordance with the U.S. Constitution and U.S. law, such as the Clean Water Act, the Justice40 Initiative on federal investments in climate and clean energy, the establishment of White House-level environmental justice councils, and Executive Orders addressing environmental justice.
We hope this resolution will galvanize further action to protect the environment and to protect the human rights of all individuals affected by environmental degradation.
Original source can be found here.
