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Symposium: New Frontiers in Global Environmental Constitutionalism

Implementing Human and Environmental Rights in Global Contexts

This symposium will examine whether and the extent to which constitutional and other rights-based approaches, including international and regional human rights, promote environmental protection.

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Advancing the work of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment, this practical and academic programme will congregate leading voices in environmental governance and advance understanding of global good practices with the aim of informing conversations about implementing rights-based approaches and advancing training in this critical area of environmental governance.

In tandem with the development of environmental law at the international, regional, national, and subnational levels, the rights-based approach has emerged as a basis for enhancing environmental protection across the globe. But despite the growing codification of environment-related rights, the challenges inherent in environmental governance are increasingly pronounced and produce several queries:

● What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of a rights-based approach to environmental protection? What are the underlying economic, socio-political, cultural and/or ecological reasons for the attendant outcomes of these approaches?

● How do rights-based approaches to environmental protection complement or

supplement other legal norms?

● How can rights based approaches to environmental protection be more

effectively operationalized?

How can rights-based approaches contribute to addressing global environmental challenges like climate change, or framework governance

modalities like sustainable development and environmental justice? The symposium has three principal objectives. First, to examine good practices in the implementation of rights-based approaches to environmental protection. Second, to provide a high-level platform for engaging the global conversation about comparative environmental rights-based approaches among policy-makers and governments, practitioners, non-governmental organizations, civil society, scholars, educators, and post-graduate students. And, third, to propel the development of training materials to advance rights-based approaches to environmental governance.

Host and Co-Sponsors

The symposium will be held at North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa, which will serve as host to the programme. The programme will be co-sponsored by the Widener University Delaware Law School (USA), and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment.

Anticipated Deliverables

■ Improving capacities among international organizations, governments and global civil society partners to implement rights-based approaches to environmental governance.

■ Contributing to the research and activities of the Special Rapporteur.

■ Developing training materials to advance the implementation of good practices in global environmental rights-based approaches and/or a plain spoken and freely available good practices manual.

■ Publishing a collection of original essays.

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Venue

Potchefstroom University, Faculty of Law
11 Hoffman Street,
2531 Potchefstroom
Republic of South Africa
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Speakers

  • UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and the Environment
    • Mr. John Knox und UNEP-Head of Environmental Law
      • Mr. Arnold Kreilhuber

        Publication

        Symposium: New Frontiers in Global Environmental Constitutionalism: Implementing Human and Environmental Rights in Global Contexts
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        Contact

        Dr. Holger Dix

        Dr. Holger Dix

        Head of the Regional Programme Political Dialogue Sub-Saharan Africa, Interim Head of the Foundation Office South Africa

        holger.dix@kas.de +27 11 214 2900 +27 11 214 2914
        Potch University www.nwu.ac.za

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        Faculty of Law at the North West University