Environmental Rights

Primary tabs

Portillo Cáceres and Others v. Paraguay, CCPR/C/126/D/2751/2016, Communication 2751/2016

UN Human Rights Committee Finds Right to Life Violation Due to Massive Crop Fumigation in Paraguay

On January 6, 2011, farmer Ruben Portillo died in transit from a hospital after experiencing severe nausea and fever, allegedly because of his intake of agrochemicals (pesticides and insecticides). Twenty-two other members of Colonia Yeruticreadaen (“Colonia”), in the Curuguaty District of Paraguay, were affected by similar symptoms at the same time.

Members expose impact of mining on the environment and defenders in Mongolia

A recent joint report by ESCR-Net members, Centre for Human Rights and Development - Mongolia...

Vedanta Resources PLC and Another v. Lungowe and Others

UK Supreme Court Upholds Jurisdiction over UK Parent Company in Connection with Zambian Subsidiary Misconduct

The claimants in this action are 1,826 citizens of Zambia from four different communities in the Chingola District. The claimants allege harms to their health and ability to farm due to pollution of their sole water source from activities at the Nchanga Copper Mine. The defendants are Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), owner and operator of the mine, and Vedanta Resources PLC (Vedanta), ultimate UK parent company of KCM.

Budha Ismail Jam et al. v. International Finance Corporation

Landmark Ruling Restricts Immunity of the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group

At the founding of international organizations like the IFC, United Nations, and International Monetary Fund at the close of World War II, the U.S. Congress passed the International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945 that granted these international organizations the "same immunity from suit . . . as is enjoyed by foreign governments,” although organizations could limit or expand immunity in their charters. From 1945-1952, courts followed the Department of State view that because foreign governments had absolute immunity, so should the international organizations.

Colombia: Protect rights defenders and respect popular consultation

On 30 May 2019, ESCR-Net sent a collective letter to the President of Colombia expressing concern regarding threats directed against ESCR-Net member Comité Ambiental en Defensa de la Vida and allied organizations...

Municipal Council, Ratlam v. Shri Vardhichand & Others, 1980 AIR 1622, 1981 SCR (1) 97

This case concerns the Ratlam municipality’s obligations to its people under Section 123 M. P. Municipalities Act of 1961. These obligations include the provision of sanitary facilities and the prevention of street contamination from a nearby alcohol plant. The residents of the Ratlam municipality, frustrated at the lack of sanitary facilities and the contamination in the streets, brought suit against the municipality under Section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code for public nuisance.

Amicus presented in indigenous rights case before Inter-American Court

This past March, eight members—Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia, Amnesty International,...

Webinar: What is Corporate Capture?

On 3 April, we hosted the first of a series of public webinars that will be held throughout the year as part of our global campaign on corporate capture.

In this first webinar, ESCR-Net’s Corporate Accountability Working Group introduced ...

Advisory Opinion OC-23/17

Inter-American Court of Human Rights Upholds the Human Right to a Healthy Environment

Amidst rising international concern about the human rights implications of a trans-oceanic canal in Nicaragua and concerned with implications for the people residing within the Colombian island of San Andrés, Colombia had requested an advisory opinion from the IACtHR in 2016 concerning state obligations in relation to the environment in the context of the protection and guarantee of the rights to life and to personal integrity.

Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua), Compensation owed by the Republic of Nicaragua to the Republic of Costa Rica, ICJ Gen. List No. 150, 2018

International Court of Justice Advances Progressive Environmental Jurisprudence

This case is preceded by the 2015 ICJ decision which found that disputed territory between Costa Rica and Nicaragua belonged to Costa Rica, and that, by excavating three caños (channels) and establishing a military presence, Nicaragua violated Costa Rica’s territorial sovereignty. This finding rendered Nicaragua’s activities unlawful under international law, which gave rise to an obligation of reparation by Nicaragua.