Assessing the contribution of human rights actors to environmental peacebuilding

Instrumental in environmental peacebuilding is a focus on enhancing environmental protection, as well as integrating natural resource management and environmental remediation in settlement processes and instruments. With the growing recognition of environmental human rights around the globe, there is clear scope to use human rights law to help achieve environmental peacebuilding. As a body of law, international human rights law undoubtedly brings with it a very strong moral and normative force, which is engaged at every level of governance, as well as a wealth of human rights machinery and enforcement. Environmental human rights emphasize community participation and, in decision-making, environmental impact assessments and planning. It may also help to address any long-standing inequalities in post-conflict societies, and so help build the conditions necessary to attain positive peace. As this contribution will demonstrate, therefore, environmental human rights could indeed provide invaluable avenues for creating a multi-pronged approach to progressing environmental peacebuilding.