#1Planet1Right Petition
For Nature. For People. We’re demanding that the UN make it a universal human right to live on a healthy planet.
And it’s no secret – our natural world is in terrible shape. Our unsustainable system is causing climate chaos, mass extinction of species, pollution and human suffering. To add to it, Covid-19 has reminded us all, the destruction of nature harms people directly.
Society must build back better after the crisis. Governments cannot continue business as normal. We need to kick-start an ambitious decade of systemic change that builds resilient economies, healthy communities and a thriving natural world.
That is why – we call on the UN to add the right to a healthy natural environment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It’s an ambitious goal so let’s join hands. Let’s achieve it together.
Here’s How…
What we want to do.
To initiate the following policy: a universal human right to a healthy natural environment, guaranteed by public policies and determined by sustainability, science, and traditional indigenous knowledge.
How we will achieve it.
We call on the UN to:
- Vote to include the right to a healthy natural environment, at the UN Human Rights Council, in the UN General Assembly and as an urgent topic at the UN Summit on Biodiversity in September 2020.
- Ultimately include the right to a healthy natural environment in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by December 2023 to mark the 75thanniversary of the United Declaration by the UN General Assembly.
The difference we will make.
A new human right is far from just a symbolic gesture. Once a human right is ratified through the UN policy machinery, it’s an immense catalyst for international and national legal change.
- Member states must improve their environmental policies to fulfill the right, which would see sweeping improvements to wildlife, ecosystems, and the lives of people.
- It would also make additional resources available to assist developing countries in protecting the environment and support environmental human rights defenders.
Each opinion counts globally.
Sign and share the petition to make it an UN-recognized human right to live on a healthy planet.
Spread the word, quickly! It may seem overwhelming, but it’s true: to emerge from these crises, to ensure our future and that of the planet, we need to entirely transform humanity’s relationship with nature. This human right helps make that happen.
What is The Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
From the ashes of World War II, humanity’s last global crisis was forged the United Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is a milestone document drafted on the 10th of December, 1948, by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world. The UDHR sets out, for the first time in history, fundamental human rights to be universally protected.
Why a Human Right?
Rights-based approaches have a strong history of catalyzing change. Consider the campaign to abolish slavery, the women’s rights movement and the recognition of the rights of indigenous people.
Michele Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, referring to climate change, recently warned that, “the world has never seen a human rights threat of this scope.” Due to environmental harms, over nine million people die prematurely every year and hundreds of millions of people suffer illnesses. Climate change impacts – more frequent and intense storms, droughts, wildfires, and rising sea levels – threatens the health, well-being, and dignity of billions of people.
Consider- Air pollution, Waste Management, Deforestation, Contaminated Ground Water – The List is endless. It’s high time the world’s governments woke up to the gravity of the environmental situation and acted accordingly.
What should I do next?
Sign and share the petition lead to petition to make it an UN-recognized human right to live on a healthy planet.
And spread the word, quickly! It may seem overwhelming, but it’s true: to emerge from these crises, to ensure our future and that of the planet, we need to entirely transform humanity’s relationship with nature. This human right helps make that happen.
BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organizations (NGOs) that strives to conserve birds, their habitats, and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources.
BirdLife is widely recognized as the world leader in bird conservation. Rigorous science informed by practical feedback from projects on the ground in important sites and habitats enables successful conservation programs for birds and all nature. BirdLife International provides both practical and sustainable solutions significantly benefiting nature and people.
To lend it’s no secret – our natural world is in terrible shape. Our unsustainable system is causing climate chaos, mass extinction of species, pollution, and human suffering. To add to it, Covid-19 has reminded us all, the destruction of nature harms people directly.
Society must build back better after the crisis. Governments cannot continue business as normal. We need to kick-start an ambitious decade of systemic change that builds resilient economies, healthy communities, and a thriving natural world.
That is why – we call on the UN to add the right to a healthy natural environment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It’s an ambitious goal so let’s join hands. Let’s achieve it together.
