UN: “Children have the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment”

I am excited about this news from the United Nations, an excerpt of which is hereunder. Of course we know that within traditional institutions like this, with slow heavy politically-engineered routes to actions, big steps like this on paper are only baby steps on the ground, and we have no time to spare. Yet it gives me courage to read this vision from this global bureaucratic body. And hopefully this will encourage states to adopt new laws in that respect.

This immediately gives credit to the work of countless NPOs working with children on the one hand and with environment on the other, and can possibly also fuel more synergy between both those areas of focus. I think this can also create a much needed bridge between the field of education and environmental and ecospiritual awareness. With conventions like this isn’t it time to reform the curriculum so that we are not teaching our children how to destroy their future?

The Rights of the Planet also need urgent recognition on a global scale. These rights are essential to support the work of other activists working on the front line today, defending what is left of wilderness and regenerative life. Together with the rights of our children and the future generations, rights for the Earth herself leave no space for more plundering. – Joanna Tomkins

See hereunder an extract from the UN press release:

GENEVA (28 August 2023) – The UN Child Rights Committee today published authoritative guidance on children’s rights and the environment with a special focus on climate change. The guidance specifies the legislative and administrative measures States should urgently implement to address the adverse effects of environmental degradation and climate change on the enjoyment of children’s rights, and to ensure a clean, healthy, and sustainable world now and to preserve it for future generations.
The Committee has adopted its guidance, formally known as General Comment No. 26, after two rounds of consultation with States, national human rights institutions, international organizations, civil society, thematic experts and children. The Committee received 16,331 contributions from children in 121 countries; children shared and reported on the negative effects of environmental degradation and climate change on their lives and communities and asserted their right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
“Children are architects, leaders, thinkers and changemakers of today’s world. Our voices matter, and they deserve to be listened to,” said 17-year-old Kartik, a climate and child rights activist from India and one of the Committee’s child advisers. “General Comment No. 26 is the instrument that will help us understand and exercise our rights in the face of environmental and climate crises,” he added.

“This general comment is of great and far-reaching legal significance,” said Ann Skelton, Chair of the Committee, emphasising, “as it details States’ obligations under the Child Rights Convention to address environmental harms and guarantee that children are able to exercise their rights. This encompasses their rights to information, participation, and access to justice to ensure that they will be protected from and receive remedies for the harms caused by environmental degradation and climate change.”
The general comment clarifies how children’s rights apply to environmental protection and underscores that children have the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

This right is implicit in the Convention and directly linked to, in particular, the rights to life, survival and development, the highest attainable standard of health, an adequate living standard, and education. This right is also necessary for the full enjoyment of children’s rights.
The general comment further asserts that States shall protect children against environmental damage from commercial activities. It specifies that States are obliged to provide legislative, regulative and enforcement frameworks to ensure that businesses respect children’s rights, and should require businesses to undertake due diligence regarding children’s rights and the environment. Immediate steps should be taken when children are identified as victims to prevent further harm to their health and development and to repair the damage done.