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🗞️ Driving the news: On 14 May, the Council of Europe adopted a new international treaty to criminalise serious environmental harm, marking a major step forward in environmental governance
• However, legal experts argue that the Committee missed a crucial opportunity to formally recognise the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a fundamental human right in Europe — something now acknowledged in most other regions globally
🔭 The context: The Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law is a legally binding treaty enabling countries to prosecute acts that severely damage ecosystems — such as cross-border pollution or crimes akin to ecocide
• Developed over two years with input from 46 member states, the EU, UN, and civil society, it reflects growing momentum for legal accountability in environmental harm
• Yet, experts note that Europe remains the only continent without formal recognition of environmental rights in its regional human rights system
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Without legal recognition of environmental rights, individuals and communities lack direct legal recourse against environmental harm, weakening the broader push for environmental justice and accountability
• As Europe faces intensifying effects from pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change, the absence of this right undermines protections for vulnerable populations and environmental defenders, and lags behind emerging global legal norms
⏭️ What's next: Pressure is building for the Council of Europe to negotiate a new protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights that explicitly guarantees the right to a healthy environment
Countries like France, Slovenia, and Portugal are leading calls for action, despite resistance from others such as Switzerland and Norway
A formal negotiation process could be initiated within the next ministerial cycle, with growing civil society advocacy expected to play a central role
💬 One quote: “It’s outrageous that in 2025, Europe still hasn’t legally recognised the right to a healthy environment as a basic human right.” — Sebastien Duyck, Senior Attorney, Center for International Environmental Law
📈 One stat: Europe remains the only continent whose regional human rights system does not formally recognise the right to a healthy environment
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