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Acroecology and the right to food 2011, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- In the past, Green Revolution approaches have focused primarily on boosting cereal crops. However, rice, wheat and maize are mainly sources of carbohydrates: they contain relatively little protein, and few of the other nutrients essential for adequate diets. The shift from diversified cropping systems to simplified cereal-based systems thus contributed to micronutrient malnutrition in many developing countries. Indeed, of the over 80,000 plant species available to humans, rice, wheat and maize supply the bulk of our protein and energy needs. Nutritionists now increasingly insist on the need for more diverse agro-ecosystems, in order to ensure a more diversified nutrient output of the farming systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Fisheries and the right to food 2012, para. 63e
- Paragraph text
- [To preserve the long-term sustainability of fishing and the availability of local fish as food, in particular by combating overfishing, all States should:] Reduce the proportion of fish used for fishmeal purposes, including by promoting direct human consumption of some small and nutritious fish, curbing demand for fish proteins from fish higher up the food chain (such as tuna and salmon or farmed carnivorous species such as prawns) by affluent consumers, which leads to overexploitation of marine resources worldwide, and considering imposing restrictions on the proportion of fish that can be used for reduction purposes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Climate change and internal displacement 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Other actors have also enriched the discussion by focusing on specific rights or the impact of climate change on particular groups. In addition to posing a direct threat to the right to life, the effects of climate change are expected to have negative implications for basic rights relating to food (A/HRC/7/5), housing (A/64/255), water and health, and affect the overall right to an adequate standard of living (A/HRC/10/61, paras. 21-38). Some of these analyses have highlighted the link between the lack of access to these rights and displacement. In the context of climate change, internally displaced persons are also a growing category of persons considered to be especially at risk, given the adverse material, social and psychological consequences commonly associated with displacement. These risks are heightened by the fact that the most serious effects of climate change, including displacement, are predicted to disproportionately affect poor regions and countries and populations already in a vulnerable situation owing to poverty and other factors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Taxation and human rightss 2014, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Natural resources can be a vital source of revenue that the State can use to comply with its human rights obligations. The financial and social benefits of natural resource exploitation are, however, increasingly bypassing people in producing countries. In most countries, extractive industries generate few jobs directly and have only weak links to local markets. Far from bringing benefits, the exploitation of natural resources has been frequently linked to human rights abuse and encroachment on lands and livelihoods of communities, mass evictions, pollution and environmental degradation, which may result in violations of rights to health, food, housing and water. The right of people to participate in decisions regarding natural resources is often violated, especially where the land, territory and resources of indigenous peoples is concerned.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Sustainable development as a means to ensure human well-being, equitably shared by all people today and in the future, requires that the interrelationships between population, resources, the environment and development should be fully recognized, properly managed and brought into harmonious, dynamic balance. To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate policies, including population-related policies, in order to meet the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The right to development is a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of fundamental human rights, and the human person is the central subject of development. While development facilitates the enjoyment of all human rights, the lack of development may not be invoked to justify the abridgement of internationally recognized human rights. The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet the population, development and environment needs of present and future generations.The right to development is a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of fundamental human rights, and the human person is the central subject of development. While development facilitates the enjoyment of all human rights, the lack of development may not be invoked to justify the abridgement of internationally recognized human rights. The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet the population, development and environment needs of present and future generations.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 1.11
- Paragraph text
- Intensified efforts are needed in the coming 5, 10 and 20 years, in a range of population and development activities, bearing in mind the crucial contribution that early stabilization of the world population would make towards the achievement of sustainable development. The present Programme of Action addresses all those issues, and more, in a comprehensive and integrated framework designed to improve the quality of life of the current world population and its future generations. The recommendations for action are made in a spirit of consensus and international cooperation, recognizing that the formulation and implementation of population-related policies is the responsibility of each country and should take into account the economic, social and environmental diversity of conditions in each country, with full respect for the various religious and ethical values, cultural backgrounds and philosophical convictions of its people, as well as the shared but differentiated responsibilities of all the world's people for a common future.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 3.14
- Paragraph text
- Efforts to slow down population growth, to reduce poverty, to achieve economic progress, to improve environmental protection, and to reduce unsustainable consumption and production patterns are mutually reinforcing. Slower population growth has in many countries bought more time to adjust to future population increases. This has increased those countries' ability to attack poverty, protect and repair the environment, and build the base for future sustainable development. Even the difference of a single decade in the transition to stabilization levels of fertility can have a considerable positive impact on quality of life.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 6.3
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that the ultimate goal is the improvement of the quality of life of present and future generations, the objective is to facilitate the demographic transition as soon as possible in countries where there is an imbalance between demographic rates and social, economic and environmental goals, while fully respecting human rights. This process will contribute to the stabilization of the world population, and, together with changes in unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, to sustainable development and economic growth.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 9.8
- Paragraph text
- Governments should strengthen their capacities to respond to the pressures caused by rapid urbanization by revising and reorienting the agencies and mechanisms for urban management as necessary and ensuring the wide participation of all population groups in planning and decision-making on local development. Particular attention should be paid to land management in order to ensure economical land use, protect fragile ecosystems and facilitate the access of the poor to land in both urban and rural areas.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 12.23
- Paragraph text
- Policy-oriented research, at the national and international levels, should be undertaken on areas beset by population pressures, poverty, over-consumption patterns, destruction of ecosystems and degradation of resources, giving particular attention to the interactions between those factors. Research should also be done on the development and improvement of methods with regard to sustainable food production and crop and livestock systems in both developed and developing countries.
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Fertility, reproductive health and development 2011, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Recognizing that the ultimate goal is the improvement of the quality of life of present and future generations, that the objective is to facilitate the demographic transition, as soon as possible, in countries where there is an imbalance between demographic rates and social, economic and environmental goals, while fully respecting human rights, and that this process will contribute to the stabilization of the world population and, together with changes in unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, to sustainable development and economic growth,
- Body
- Commission on Population and Development
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Article 6: The right to life 1985, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The production, testing, possession, deployment and use of nuclear weapons should be prohibited and recognized as crimes against humanity.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1985
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Article 1: The right to self-determination of peoples 1984, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Paragraph 2 affirms a particular aspect of the economic content of the right of self determination, namely the right of peoples, for their own ends, freely to "dispose of their natural wealth and resources without prejudice to any obligations arising out of international economic cooperation, based upon the principle of mutual benefit, and international law. In no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence". This right entails corresponding duties for all States and the international community. States should indicate any factors or difficulties which prevent the free disposal of their natural wealth and resources contrary to the provisions of this paragraph and to what extent that affects the enjoyment of other rights set forth in the Covenant.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1984
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Article 6: The right to life 1985, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- While remaining deeply concerned by the toll of human life taken by conventional weapons in armed conflicts, the Committee has noted that, during successive sessions of the General Assembly, representatives from all geographical regions have expressed their growing concern at the development and proliferation of increasingly awesome weapons of mass destruction, which not only threaten human life but also absorb resources that could otherwise be used for vital economic and social purposes, particularly for the benefit of developing countries, and thereby for promoting and securing the enjoyment of human rights for all.
- Body
- Human Rights Committee
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1985
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to adequate food (Art. 11) 1999, para. 7
- Paragraph text
- The concept of adequacy is particularly significant in relation to the right to food since it serves to underline a number of factors which must be taken into account in determining whether particular foods or diets that are accessible can be considered the most appropriate under given circumstances for the purposes of article 11 of the Covenant. The notion of sustainability is intrinsically linked to the notion of adequate food or food security, implying food being accessible for both present and future generations. The precise meaning of "adequacy" is to a large extent determined by prevailing social, economic, cultural, climatic, ecological and other conditions, while "sustainability" incorporates the notion of long-term availability and accessibility.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1999
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- Where water services (such as piped water networks, water tankers, access to rivers and wells) are operated or controlled by third parties, States parties must prevent them from compromising equal, affordable, and physical access to sufficient, safe and acceptable water. To prevent such abuses an effective regulatory system must be established, in conformity with the Covenant and this General Comment, which includes independent monitoring, genuine public participation and imposition of penalties for non-compliance.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The national water strategy and plan of action should also be based on the principles of accountability, transparency and independence of the judiciary, since good governance is essential to the effective implementation of all human rights, including the realization of the right to water. In order to create a favourable climate for the realization of the right, States parties should take appropriate steps to ensure that the private business sector and civil society are aware of, and consider the importance of, the right to water in pursuing their activities.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- In determining which actions or omissions amount to a violation of the right to water, it is important to distinguish the inability from the unwillingness of a State party to comply with its obligations in relation to the right to water. This follows from articles 11, paragraph 1, and 12, which speak of the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to health, as well as from article 2, paragraph 1, of the Covenant, which obliges each State party to take the necessary steps to the maximum of its available resources. A State which is unwilling to use the maximum of its available resources for the realization of the right to water is in violation of its obligations under the Covenant. If resource constraints render it impossible for a State party to comply fully with its Covenant obligations, it has the burden of justifying that every effort has nevertheless been made to use all available resources at its disposal in order to satisfy, as a matter of priority, the obligations outlined above.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to respect requires that States parties refrain from interfering directly or indirectly with the enjoyment of the right to water. The obligation includes, inter alia, refraining from engaging in any practice or activity that denies or limits equal access to adequate water; arbitrarily interfering with customary or traditional arrangements for water allocation; unlawfully diminishing or polluting water, for example through waste from State-owned facilities or through use and testing of weapons; and limiting access to, or destroying, water services and infrastructure as a punitive measure, for example, during armed conflicts in violation of international humanitarian law
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2002
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Environmental hygiene, as an aspect of the right to health under article 12, paragraph 2 (b), of the Covenant, encompasses taking steps on a non-discriminatory basis to prevent threats to health from unsafe and toxic water conditions. For example, States parties should ensure that natural water resources are protected from contamination by harmful substances and pathogenic microbes. Likewise, States parties should monitor and combat situations where aquatic eco-systems serve as a habitat for vectors of diseases wherever they pose a risk to human living environments.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2002
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- The obligation to protect requires State parties to prevent third parties from interfering in any way with the enjoyment of the right to water. Third parties include individuals, groups, corporations and other entities as well as agents acting under their authority. The obligation includes, inter alia, adopting the necessary and effective legislative and other measures to restrain, for example, third parties from denying equal access to adequate water; and polluting and inequitably extracting from water resources, including natural sources, wells and other water distribution systems.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2002
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- Any persons or groups who have been denied their right to water should have access to effective judicial or other appropriate remedies at both national and international levels (see General Comment No. 9 (1998), para. 4, and Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development). The Committee notes that the right has been constitutionally entrenched by a number of States and has been subject to litigation before national courts. All victims of violations of the right to water should be entitled to adequate reparation, including restitution, compensation, satisfaction or guarantees of non-repetition. National ombudsmen, human rights commissions, and similar institutions should be permitted to address violations of the right.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2002
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right of everyone to benefit from the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he or she is the author (Art. 15, para. 1 (c)) 2005, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- Bearing in mind the different levels of development of States parties, it is essential that any system for the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from one's scientific, literary and artistic productions facilitates and promotes development cooperation, technology transfer, and scientific and cultural cooperation, while at the same time taking due account of the need to preserve biological diversity.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2005
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 50b
- Paragraph text
- [In many instances, the obligations to respect and to protect freedoms, cultural heritage and diversity are interconnected. Consequently, the obligation to protect is to be understood as requiring States to take measures to prevent third parties from interfering in the exercise of rights listed in paragraph 49 above. In addition, States parties are obliged to:] Respect and protect cultural heritage of all groups and communities, in particular the most disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups, in economic development and environmental policies and programmes; Particular attention should be paid to the adverse consequences of globalization, undue privatization of goods and services, and deregulation on the right to participate in cultural life.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2009
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Discussion on "Recognition through Education, Cultural Rights and Data Collection" 2013, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- Education provides a gateway to the full enjoyment of other rights, including rights to freedom of movement and expression, access to justice and remedies when human rights are violated, participation in the cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs. Lack of education has perpetuated the cycle of poverty, racism and segregation, from the time of the infamous transatlantic slave trade to the present date. Conversely, education provides a vital key to sustainable poverty alleviation.
- Body
- Working Group of experts on people of African descent
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Environment
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2013
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Development and people of African descent 2015, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The Working Group concludes that poverty is both a cause and a consequence of discrimination. Development should not be narrowly defined as economic development only, but must also include political, economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects, consistent with the Declaration on the Right to Development. The Working Group "recognizes that … historical injustices have undeniably contributed to the poverty, underdevelopment, marginalization, social exclusion, economic disparities, instability and insecurity that affect many people in different parts of the world, in particular in developing countries" and "recognizes the need to develop programmes for the social and economic development of these societies and the Diaspora, within the framework of a new partnership based on the spirit of solidarity and mutual respect" (Durban Programme of Action, para. 158), in areas such as debt relief, poverty eradication, market access and the promotion of foreign direct investment.
- Body
- Working Group of experts on people of African descent
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development 1994, para. 9.2a
- Paragraph text
- [The objectives are:] To foster a more balanced spatial distribution of the population by promoting in an integrated manner the equitable and ecologically sustainable development of major sending and receiving areas, with particular emphasis on the promotion of economic, social and gender equity based on respect for human rights, especially the right to development;
- Body
- International Conference on Population and Development
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 1994
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
The right to water (Art. 11 and 12) 2002, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- The right to water contains both freedoms and entitlements. The freedoms include the right to maintain access to existing water supplies necessary for the right to water, and the right to be free from interference, such as the right to be free from arbitrary disconnections or contamination of water supplies. By contrast, the entitlements include the right to a system of water supply and management that provides equality of opportunity for people to enjoy the right to water.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2002
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The link between land degradation and climate change requires attention and focus from the parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification was originally designed "to forge a global partnership to reverse and prevent desertification/land degradation and to mitigate the effects of drought in affected areas in order to support poverty reduction and environmental sustainability". With some 250 million people and a third of the Earth's land surface affected by desertification, the parties to the Convention have recently made significant strides towards addressing this challenge in the context of food security and climate change. Given that more than 75 per cent of the world's poorest people live in rural areas and that 2.5 billion people live on small farms and are entirely dependent on agriculture for their survival, the fact that 30 per cent of the Earth's surface is affected by the degradation of fragile drylands poses a significant problem. Poverty and food security should be addressed by adopting sustainable land management practices and the collaborative work by the parties to the two important international conventions is encouraging. The inclusion of a human rights approach to this work will introduce a climate-justice dimension that will be of benefit to people living in acute vulnerability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
Paragraph