Elements

R2HE includes access to information among its procedural elements. Often referred to as the right to information or freedom of information, is a legal principle that grants individuals the ability to obtain information held by public authorities or government institutions. This right enables individuals to access government records, documents, and data that are not classified or exempted from disclosure. Access to information is central in allowing individuals to make informed decisions.

R2HE includes access to justice and remedies among its procedural elements. A fundamental legal principle, it ensures individuals have effective means to seek redress when their rights have been violated or when they have been harmed by unlawful actions. It encompasses various procedural mechanisms and guarantees that enable individuals to access the legal system, assert their rights, and obtain remedies for grievances.

Clean air is a critical substantive element of R2HE, justified by the profound impact that poor air quality can have on the right to a healthy environment and a wide range of other human rights, including the rights to life, health, food, housing and an adequate standard of living.

R2HE includes the duty to implement environmental impact assessments among its procedural elements. This refers to the legal obligation of relevant authorities, project proponents, or decision-makers to ensure that the findings and recommendations of the EIA process are effectively integrated into decision-making and project implementation.

Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, while related to the R2HE element of public participation, is a standalone principle enshrined in domestic and international law and recognized by various international agreements, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). FPIC refers to the right of indigenous peoples and local communities to give or withhold consent to projects, policies, or activities that may affect their lands, territories, resources, or rights.

Healthy and sustainably produced food is a substantive element of R2HE because food is essential to life and implicates a host of other human rights, such as the rights to health, life and culture. Encompassed in R2HE is the right of access to food that is nutritious, culturally acceptable and safe. Additionally, R2HE protects sustainable agricultural practices that conserve natural resources, protect the environment, support social and economic equity and respect human health and labor. States are consequently bound to uphold the right to food when it is jeopardized by environmental issues within the food system.

R2HE includes healthy biodiversity and ecosystems among its substantive elements. This internationally recognized right encompasses the entitlement of individuals and communities to live in a balanced environment that supports diverse and thriving ecosystems. It necessitates safeguarding and preserving ecological diversity, ensuring the resilience and well-being of ecosystems and promoting the sustainability of natural habitats for present and future generations. Additionally, this right entails the protection of various species, habitats and ecological processes essential to the maintenance of a healthy and functional environment.

R2HE includes protection against toxic environments among its substantive elements, and recognizes the entitlement of individuals and communities to live in environments free from harmful pollutants, toxins and hazardous substances. The right provides that governments and businesses should apply a human rights approach to regulations, legislation, policies and actions related to the production, import, sale, use, release and disposal of substances that may harm the environment or human health. Toxic pollution may include contamination of the land, air and/or water.

Different international and regional agreements, in addition to domestic laws across jurisdictions, may define R2HE to include other substantive and/or procedural components.

R2HE encompasses protection against pollution through its substantive elements – particularly the elements of Non-Toxic Environments, Clean Air, Safe and Sufficient Water and Healthy Biodiversity and Ecosystems – because pollution in excess of a certain standard may compromise the “healthy environment” to which all individuals have a right. Individuals are entitled to live in environments that are devoid of various forms of harmful pollution, including harmful contaminants, emissions and pollutants. Consequently, R2HE emphasizes the need for clean air, water, soil and surroundings that are free from contaminants detrimental to human health and well-being. It stresses the obligation of states to take action to prevent pollution. ‘Pollution’ may refer to air, water, marine, noise and/or chemical pollution.

R2HE encompasses and guarantees a range of core procedural rights. Corresponding obligations include the duty to: (i) ensure access to environmental information, (ii) enable public participation in environmental decision-making, (iii) guarantee access to justice and effective remedies, and (iv) mandate the execution of Environmental Impact Assessments prior to the commencement of potentially impactful operations or activities.

R2HE includes public participation among its procedural elements. Public participation is a legal principle that grants individuals and communities the opportunity to be involved in decision-making processes that affect them directly or indirectly. It encompasses the right to engage in public consultation, provide input, and participate in the formulation, implementation, and review of policies, plans, projects, and laws.

R2HE includes access to safe and sufficient water among its substantive elements. This internationally recognized right provides that every person must have affordable access to a supply of safe water in quantities adequate for essential personal and domestic uses, including drinking, sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation and personal and household hygiene. When water is polluted, contaminated or overexploited, the right to adequate quantities of safe water is jeopardized.

R2HE includes a safe climate among its substantive elements. A safe climate is one where the adverse effects of climate change are mitigated to safeguard fundamental human rights, such as the rights to life, health, food, water, housing and R2HE. While there isn’t a universally recognized and legally binding "right to a safe climate," there is a growing movement advocating for the recognition of such a right.

The substantive element of a right refers to the core content and essential characteristics that define the right itself. It encompasses the fundamental entitlements, protections, and obligations associated with the right, which are enforceable and recognized under the law. The substantive elements of the R2HE consist of clean air, safe and sufficient water and adequate sanitation, healthy and sustainably produced food, non-toxic environments in which people can live, work, study and play, healthy ecosystems and biodiversity, as well as a safe and livable climate.