A Critique on the Construction of Environmental Rights as a Human Right in Pakistan: A New Dimension in the 21st Century

Abstract

Access to a clean, safe and healthy environment is an inalienable human right. The expansion of human rights paves the way for environmental perspectives of humanity and developed distinctively regarding planetary ecology and human liberty. The ‘right to life’ is envisaged in the international and domestic legal framework and later on developed through judicial interpretations have recognized the environmental right as a fundamental human right. For decades, international institutes and organizations have been working for the protection of the environment through diverse legal regimes and have been successful in declaring them interconnected fields. However, the lack of implementation mechanisms concerning a healthy environment is the colossal impediment that has adversely impacted the communities who seek out redress, through the judicial or non-judicial machinery. This paper examines the correlation between human rights and the environment and its interpretation by the courts. It argues that due to the importance of environmental laws there is a dire need for the effective implementation of the existing legal regime. Furthermore, this paper highlights the lacunas in the international and domestic legal framework of environmental laws and dwells upon a few strategies to counter the negative impacts of environmental degradation on human beings while discussing jurisprudential development in Pakistan. Keywords: Environmental Rights, Human Rights, UDHR, Precautionary Principle, Pakistan