Human Rights

Human rights are rights we have simply because we exist as human beings. They are not granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range from the most fundamental - the right to life - to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.

Human rights are one of the pillars of the United Nations since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and their implementation today through the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Council. This body established a mandate on human rights and the environment in 2012, and named an Independent Expert on Human Rights and the Environment. In 2021, it adopted a Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, and this was formally approved by the UN General Assembly in 2022.

The IEF has long been concerned by this issue, reviewed in Human Rights and the Environment in 2019. A number of papers are available on this topic.

More recently, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has extended this in 2025 to the right to a stable Climate, and recognised the Rights of Nature.

United Nations. UN General Assembly declares access to a clean and healthy environment a universal human right.
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. What are Human Rights

Inter-American Court of Human Rights climate change ruling affirms the right to a stable climate in July 2025.

Rights of Nature recognised by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in July 2025.

What are rights worth?, blog by Arthur Dahl, March 2025

A Human Rights Economy, UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, July 2024