In October 2021, at its 48th session, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council adopted a landmark resolution recognizing for the first time the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a separate human right. In addition, a number of regional human rights judicial and quasi-judicial bodies, including the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, have been dealing with environment-related cases, applying concepts such as the right to life, right to respect for private life or right to property, to a wide range of issues including pollution, man-made or natural disasters, access to environmental information and climate change. These recent developments illustrate the growing understanding that the protection of the environment and the protection of human rights are deeply interconnected.
This training course will explore the major international and regional instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as with their implementation and enforcement mechanisms; and provide practical insights into the different UN human rights mechanisms pertinent to advancing environmental issues and protecting environmental human rights defenders. It will also address the synergies and tensions between international human rights law and international environmental law, and address the procedural dimension of environmental rights, with specific regard to access to justice and information. Furthermore, the training course will assess the use of environmental oversight mechanisms to support human rights claims and the currently growing wealth of climate change litigation before different regional and international bodies.
PROGRAMME
The course will:
- Explore the major international (both universal and regional) instruments for the promotion of human rights, as well as their implementation and enforcement mechanisms
- Provide full knowledge of UN human rights treaty bodies and their role in guaranteeing effective protection of human rights and environmental standards
- Provide practical insight into the different mechanisms of the UN Human Rights Council pertinent to further environmental issues and the protection of defenders
- Explore the major international environmental principles and multilateral environmental agreements, with the relevant compliance mechanisms
- Understand the synergies and tensions between international human rights law and international environmental law
- Address the procedural dimension of environmental rights, with specific regard to access to justice and information
- Identify particularly vulnerable categories of rights holders, such as indigenous people, women and migrants
- Examine the role and responsibilities of businesses vis-à-vis the protection of human rights and the environment
- Assess environmental litigation paths and procedural hurdles before human rights courts.
OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion, the participants will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Grasp the key norms, principles and enforcement mechanisms of international human rights law and environmental law
- Understand how to resort to UN treaty bodies for human rights and environmental concerns
- Understand how to engage with the UN Human Rights Council mechanisms on environmental issues and the situation of defenders
- Assess the legal and policy issues relating to human rights norms that may be employed to protect the environment
- Identify and analyze how basic international and regional human rights systems can be used to provide a measure of environmental protection
- Apply human rights norms to an array of contemporary international and domestic environmental problems
- Assess the litigation options for environment-related human rights cases, as well as the role of amici curiae.
METHODOLOGY
The training course will be interactive and participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences and perspectives on the issues covered. The training sessions will include lectures and discussions with a wide range of experts as well as practical examples and case studies. Sessions will be designed to enhance substantive and practical knowledge exchange with peers and facilitators.
ACCESS TO A DEDICATED COMMUNITY PLATFORM
All participants in our training course have access – ahead, during and following their course – to a dedicated community platform (on Mighty Network). This community brings together all the participants to our courses who have unlimited access to the training materials and resources shared during their course and can exchange with all the alumni of the Geneva Human Rights Platform Training Hub.
AUDIENCE
This training course is designed for staff of NGOs, development and human rights institutions, UN bodies and other international organizations, as well as representatives of governments and members of academia.
CERTIFICATION
Participants who successfully complete the training course receive a certificate of participation from the Geneva Academy.
How to register
Applications must be submitted via this online application form.
If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact us: hrsandenvironment[at]geneva-academy.ch