Human Rights to the Environment and Water

The UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy & Science will host this event presented by Professor Sarah Hendry.

Location: Dalhousie 1G05 and online 

Please contact water@dundee.ac.uk if you wish to join online. 

Abstract

The human right to a clean and healthy environment, and the human rights to water and sanitation, have been developing over time internationally, and within domestic constitutions and domestic law. However they are often conflated, leading to conceptual confusion and increasing the challenges of implementation. 

This talk will distinguish them as belonging to different categories of rights, and will also look at proposals to enshrine them both in domestic law in Scotland, where a very different approach is being taken to implementing these compared to the UK. It will argue that human rights are not necessarily a panacea for our environmental problems.