During the last six years as the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, Professor David R. Boyd has supported countless people across the world to implement and use their right to a healthy environment – which is now legally recognised in 164 countries.
In 90 seconds, what is his message to Scotland? Watch the video.
Last year, Professor Boyd spoke at our Environmental Rights Summit on how enshrining the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment can make a tangible difference to people’s lives in Scotland. Over 60 environmental, human rights and health organisations are urging the First Minister to lead through this vision, for which a clear path must be laid out in the Human Rights Bill.
As we continue campaigning, we are deeply grateful for Professor Boyd’s support and international perspective, which allows Scotland to take lessons from other countries as we go forward. Many of them are included in his new User’s Guide on the right to a healthy environment.
Perhaps the most topical takeaway from Professor Boyd is how critical the right to a healthy environment is for children and young people. Realising children’s rights, which were just passed into Scots law last week, can only happen in an environment that nourishes their growth with clean water, air and all the other natural systems that protect everyone’s human right to life itself.
Read this blog from children’s Rights Detectives Safiya and Oscar to hear what young people in Scotland think about the right to a healthy environment.
