May 17, 2023
STRASBOURG (FR) – This week, Council of Europe (CoE) nations gathered for a once-in-a-generation summit in Reykjavik, Iceland. To demonstrate their unity in the face of the devastating Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, European governments met to reaffirm their commitment to core European values, including the rule of law, democracy, and human rights.
States finally moved to close a yawning gap in the European human rights framework and took decisive steps toward the effective protection of the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
Sébastien Duyck, CIEL’s Senior Attorney & Campaign Manager Human Rights & Climate, issued the following statement.
The Reykjavik Summit was a litmus test for the Council Of Europe to recognize and protect the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. We welcome the greater priority that leaders have afforded to the future protection of this right through the institutions of the CoE following the UN recognition of this right. But now, Europe must move from political talks to legal action.
The credibility and legacy of this Summit will depend on whether States move quickly to develop a dedicated protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights. This is the only necessary step to guarantee effective legal protection of the right to a healthy environment in Europe and help catalyze much-needed environmental protection and more ambitious climate action across the continent.
The world is in a race against time to avoid the worst outcomes of the triple planetary crisis, and it is high time for European governments to live up to their responsibility. The CoE must urgently turn international principles into tangible impacts and effective protection of the right to a healthy environment for the sake of people and the planet.
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Note for the editors:
For more information, read the joint blog on the importance of a protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights to effectively protect the right to a healthy environment across the continent, published by CIEL, Amnesty International, Greenpeace International, and Human Rights Watch.
Civil society organizations have also reacted to the Council of Europe Summit decision on the right to a healthy environment, read the reaction.
Media contact: Rossella Recupero, press@ciel.org
Picture: John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images