Environmental Rule of Law and Human Rights in Asia Pacific Working Paper Launch

27 April 2023, Thursday, 15:00-16:30 hrs ICT (Bangkok) via Zoom

BACKGROUND 

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will introduce the Working Paper on Environmental Rule of Law and Human Rights in Asia Pacific in this webinar, in collaboration with the Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law (ARIEL) and the Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders (APNED).

The UNEP Working Paper on Environmental Rule of Law and Human Rights in Asia Pacific presents trends in the application of the environmental rule of law (EROL) and human rights in Asia Pacific, with special emphasis on the protection of environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs). The Working Paper establishes that the realisation of human rights and the EROL are necessary for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Achievement of the SDGs depends on governments upholding the rule of law, ensuring access to justice for all and developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions; ultimately leading to the realization of gender equality and human rights for all. The valuable role of EHRDs in advancing the EROL is recognised.

The Working Paper summarises common legal and policy issues that must be urgently addressed across the Asia Pacific region concerning threats to the environmental rule of law and EHRDs. Key threats identified for the environmental rule of law and which undermine the positive role of environmental defenders in the achievement of sustainable development, include: the shrinking of civic space: impunity for wrongful acts: land grabbing; violence against environmental activists; criminalization of environmental defenders; and various forms of judicial harassment, such as strategic lawsuits against public participation.  Other issues are barriers put in place to inhibit access to justice and lack of enforcement of environmental laws. The Paper sets out a series of good practices that  can promote the environmental rule of law for States, the private sector and civil society organizations to follow. The promotion of the  environmental rule of law can be achieved through bolstering national human rights institutions; expanding the protection mandate of regional human rights commissions; promoting regional human rights instruments relevant to the environment; drafting national laws and policies to support and protect EHRDs; drafting procedural environmental rights laws; drafting substantive environmental rights laws; drafting judicial rules of procedure for environmental cases; and promoting regional planning and cooperation to support environmental rule of law. The last section of the Working Paper sets out a series of recommendations for legal and policy reform in the Asia Pacific region relating to human rights and environmental law.

The webinar will:

• Provide an overview and background of environmental rule of law  from global, regional, and key national perspectives, with a focus on the Asia Pacific region;
• Discuss the status of of environmental rule of law, and the main issues and challenges in the region;
• Provide a platform for stakeholders to discuss issues and challenges, and to suggest ways forward to address gaps in the environmental rule of law framework.