UN declares environmental health a non-negotiable human right.

The United Nations has issued a decisive statement: environmental health is now a fundamental and autonomous human right. On 26 September 2025, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) published General Comment No. 27 (GC No. 27), an authoritative interpretation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).

General Comments, though not treaties, are official interpretations issued by UN treaty bodies, offering detailed guidance on how States should respect, protect, and fulfil the rights guaranteed under the Covenant. GC No. 27 declares that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is an autonomous human right and a precondition for all other rights (paras. 1, 6), turning environmental protection into a binding obligation rather than a policy preference.

The Committee warns that converging crises, including climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, risk triggering irreversible ecological tipping points that undermine life-supporting systems. These threats primarily stem from unsustainable production and consumption, especially in developed countries bearing historical responsibility, linked to colonial-era domination over nature and people. Without urgent change, equal enjoyment of Covenant rights will be impossible (para. 2).

The Committee identifies structural factors of environmental degradation, such as unsustainable consumption, extractive economic models, and historical exploitation, and emphasizes that developed countries have a greater burden (paras. 2–3). The least responsible, including Indigenous Peoples, peasants, and victims of colonialism and apartheid, are disproportionately affected and less equipped to cope.

To respond to these systemic injustices, the CESCR articulates three basic duties for States (para. 11):

The duty to respect, which requires avoiding actions that directly harm the environment.
The duty to protect, which involves the regulation of companies and private actors and the application of the precautionary principle to prevent foreseeable damage.
The duty to fulfil, which means taking legislative, policy and budgetary measures to ensure that environmental rights are effectively realized.

These duties carry significant financial and extraterritorial implications. States must use the maximum available resources and prevent harm caused by companies under their jurisdiction abroad (para. 30). The UN guidance makes it clear that international cooperation is essential to address the transboundary and global nature of environmental crises.

GC No. 27 strengthens remedies and accountability mechanisms. States must prevent, mitigate, and remedy violations of Covenant rights caused by climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, including damage caused by non-State actors (paras. 87–88). Victims must have access to prompt, affordable, and effective judicial and non-judicial remedies, such as restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition. The Comment introduces collective legal standing, allowing civil society, youth representatives, and public-interest organizations to act in the interests of future generations with flexible procedural rules to reduce obstacles to justice (para. 87).

States, particularly the countries of origin of responsible actors, must ensure effective redress mechanisms for transboundary environmental harms (para. 88). Cooperation and adequate funding for loss and damage mechanisms are essential to provide equitable access to remedies (para. 89).

The CESCR stresses the importance of inclusive, participatory monitoring by institutions to prevent negative impacts on marginalized groups, supported by qualitative and quantitative data (para. 90).

GC No. 27 therefore transforms environmental principles into enforceable rights, while innovating tools for climate litigation and accountability.

Official Sources:

Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) (2025) General Comment No. 27 on economic, social and cultural rights and the environmental dimension of sustainable development, E/C.12/GC/27, 26 September 2025. United Nations. https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=E%2FC.12%2FGC%2F27&Lang=en (Accessed: 17 October 2025).
CESR – Statement on GC No. 27. https://www.cesr.org/cesr-welcomes-the-latest-general-comment-of-the-un-committee-on-economic-social-and-cultural-rights/
Mirage News – UN Panel on Environmental Degradation. https://www.miragenews.com/un-panel-no-progress-on-degrading-planet-1543502/

written by Silvia Cuccia