PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES
COMMITTEE ON JURIDICAL AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS
OAS/Ser.G
CP/CAJP-1999/02
18 November 2002
Original: Spanish
PRESENTATION OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE
CENTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT (CEDHA)
ON THE SUBJECT OF RESOLUTION AG/RES. 1896 (XXXII-O/02)
“HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE AMERICAS”

PRESENTATION BY JORGE DANIEL TAILLANT
OF THE CENTER ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT (CEDHA)
TO THE COMMITTEE ON JURIDICAL AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS
NOVEMBER 21, 2002
Representatives of the American States, the OAS General Secretariat, the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, the Unit for Sustainable Development and the Environment, and other OAS entities present, and members of civil society attending this important meeting:
I would like to begin by thanking the members of the Committee on Juridical and Political
Affairs for this excellent opportunity to speak at this session and share with you our views on the relationship between human rights and the environment in this region and in the world.
The Center on Human Rights and the Environment, the organization I represent, studies the impact of environmental deterioration on persons. More specifically, we advocate the strengthening of mechanisms to protect human rights affected by environmental degradation. We have been working with the OAS for several years to promote this link. At this same forum last year, we presented a series of recommendations to the OAS, stemming from a meeting of experts in the areas of human rights and the environment. These recommendations had to do with ways that the OAS could strengthen its knowledge, agenda, and activities to reinforce this link. Since then, with the cooperation of the countries of the Hemisphere, and through a number of General Assembly resolutions, we have managed to strengthen our commitment to delve further into this subject.
As examples of this effort we could cite the following:

Resolutions 1819 and 1896, which specifically deal with the relationship between human rights and the environment.
There are other resolutions we should also mention, that have to do with the dynamics of development intrinsically related to the link between human rights and the environment. They include the following, among others:
Resolution 1774, on discrimination and racism;
Resolution 1775, on problems of migrant workers;
Resolution 1780, on the rights of indigenous peoples;
Resolution 1791, on nuclear testing;
Resolution 1803, on natural disasters;
Resolution 1807, on science and technology;
Resolution 1808, on sustainable development;
Resolution 1818, on human rights defenders;
Resolution 1821, on the socioeconomic effects of climate change; and
Resolution 1828, on human rights protection.
And I would say that “we have achieved these resolutions,” because in my view this process of hemispheric recognition of the link between human rights and the environment has been a process of close cooperation between civil society and governments, and reflects the important harmonization and coordination we are bringing about between the civil society agenda and the political will of

- 2 - governments. In this context, I would like to thank you for inviting me to this forum and for the opportunity that you, the states, and our representatives in the Hemisphere, have provided us.
The United Nations has also been making efforts along these lines, and we are working with the High Commissioner and the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) to prepare recommendations on institutional ways to strengthen the link between human rights and the environment on a global level. We have arranged for the United Nations also to approach the OAS to study this issue. Just a few days ago, the UN Special Rapporteur on Cross-Border Movements of
Toxic Substances, at our invitation, was at the OAS to talk about the impact of environmental degradation on persons in the Americas. Prior to that meeting, there were a number of studies and publications on the status of human rights and the environment that you can consult for further information. They are available on: www.cedha.org.ar/hr-env-hearing-oas.htm
The Status of the Environment and Human Rights in the Hemisphere
Human rights violations based on environmental problems have taken on great importance, because they have an impact on entire communities and groups of people. Their effects tend to continue over time and multiply, affecting the rights of present and future generations.
It is the most impoverished sectors that bear the burden of the consequences of environmental degradation, which is known as environmental racism or discrimination. Contamination and degradation occur on a systematic basis, and the effects of environmental damage on the lives, health, and other human rights are systematically hidden. It is estimated that over four million people in
Central America have been exposed to dangerous pesticides.
The defenselessness of victims of environmental degradation is virtually absolute. They suffer the fate of being invisible, they are not perceived as such, and so they do not receive any protection from the human rights system. However, reality has made the dimensions and seriousness of the problem all too apparent: in poor regions of the world, one out of every five children will not live to see their fifth birthday, because of environmental problems that could have been corrected.
These 11 million dead children are not regarded as victims, so as a result they do not receive any protection from the human rights system. Every day, in our public and private hospitals, both rich and poor people die of various kinds of cancer, infections, and diseases, for reasons which are frequently unknown, but which in many cases have to do with environmental degradation and contamination of our water, land, and air.
Environmental degradation has no borders and affects millions of inhabitants in our
Hemisphere. The adverse effects of environmental risks and disasters, and the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, our wealth, increasingly influence the life of women and children from poor and rich families. The problem is not confined to certain marginalized communities or certain nations that are more vulnerable than others, such as the Caribbean countries, which are in danger of even disappearing because of global warming and the rise of the oceans. It is everybody’s problem. We need only think of the respiratory problems in our large cities, such as Santiago and
Mexico City, or the contaminated ports of Buenos Aires and Rio, or our indigenous communities in
Central America and the Amazon region, whose inhabitants see the constant defacement and deterioration of their habitats.

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It is everybody’s problem, and we all need to take responsibility to correct it. And it is not simply a problem of natural resources being spoiled for those of us who love forests and rivers. The problem is an economic one, since the wealth of the continent vis-à-vis the rest of the world is our natural wealth. Environmental degradation adversely affects our personal well-being and our economies, in addition to damaging our drinking water and our air, and it often has irreversible effects on our health and quality of life. And for those who say that we cannot disregard the pressure to develop, in the face of the technologically and economically advanced first world, we should be aware of the negotiating power we have as the principal suppliers of natural resources, and appreciate these resources without which we could not live or survive.
We hope that we have the means to protect our habitat and our people. We have important, advanced legislation, perhaps the most advanced in the world, which is good, and we have mechanisms for protecting our rights that could and should be used to handle this problem. It is important to increase our understanding of the effects of environmental degradation on persons and to cooperate on a hemispheric level to protect the delicate harmony that exists between our environment and ourselves.
OAS Activities
What progress have we made since the OAS decided in June 2001, by resolution 1819, to undertake a study in cooperation with entities in the inter-American system regarding the link between human rights and the environment, and to recognize “the need to promote environmental protection and the effective enjoyment of all human rights?”
Since resolutions 1819 and 1896, we have seen:

A clear and growing recognition of the undeniable link between the environment and human rights, and of the fact that environmental degradation has a direct adverse impact on the effective enjoyment of human rights;
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The inter-American human rights system (the Court and the Commission) have issued decisions recognizing this link on many occasions;

The different OAS institutions are seeking to harmonize their efforts. We had a general hearing recently in which representatives of the Inter-American Commission and the Unit for Sustainable Development and the Environment met to exchange information on the relationship between the environment and human rights;
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We have enhanced our knowledge of this link through recent studies on the status of environmental deterioration in the Americas and its impact on persons, which were received by OAS entities;
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The OAS has, for instance, recognized that there has been an alarming persecution and harassment of environmental defenders in this Hemisphere, involving violations of their human rights, as a result of their action to defend the environment;
There has been increased communication between human rights and environmental players in the OAS and those in other international organizations, such as the High-
Commissioner for Human Rights and UNEP;

Concrete steps have been taken by the OAS and member states to promote the participation of civil society and to begin to open space to ensure free access to information and process in the Hemisphere;

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There was a type II partnership agreement at the Earth Summit between Latin
American and European states, regarding promotion of human rights and the environment, which is still in the process of being finalized.
How can we pursue this process?
Clearly the OAS should continue to expand its knowledge on the link between human rights and the environment. It should also seek to establish greater coordination and harmonization between environmental protection mechanisms and mechanisms for protection of human rights.
We recommend the following action:
1.
Devise ways to ensure the continuous monitoring of the impact of environmental degradation on human rights;
2.
Strengthen mechanisms for interstate, regional, national, and civil society participation in the various OAS entities and in processes such as FTAA and the
3.
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5.
6.
7.
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Summits;
Study hemispheric security and how it is affected by the environment (and its impact on individuals);
Study how to enhance the economic value of natural resources adversely affected by environmental degradation;
Seek greater coordination and links between our programs and personnel and those of our counterparts in the United Nations (especially UNEP and the High Commissioner on Human Rights);
Seek greater coordination and harmonization among OAS entities, such as the
IACHR, the Inter-American Court, and the Unit for Sustainable Development and the
Environment;
States should give the OAS the mandate to formulate joint work programs and cooperation agendas;
Establish the terms specifying how the Commission and the Unit for Sustainable
Development should approach the issue of human rights and the environment;
States should reconfirm their determination to enhance their knowledge and take concrete action to strengthen the link between human rights and the environment in the Hemisphere.
CP10510E05