Human Rights and the Environment: In Search of a New Relationship. Synergies and Common Themes

• Main Authors: Evadne Grant, Louis J. Kotzé, Karen Morrow
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law 2013-12-01
• Series: Oñati Socio-Legal Series
• Subjects: Vulnerability; limits of law; limits of rights; responsibility; interconnection; ecological reorientation; ecological thinking; Vulnerabilidad; límites de la ley; limites de los derechos; responsabilidad; interconexión; reorientación ecológica; pensamient
• Online Access: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2221302

<p>The 2012 O&ntilde;ati Workshop on Human Rights and the Environment sought to begin the important task of developing a new framework that could contribute to re-imagining the relationship between human rights and the environment. Doing full justice to the vibrant and sustained discussion that took place in response to the papers delivered in the Workshop is near impossible in an ex post facto account that can only convey the merest flavour of the richness and complexity of what took place. Nonetheless, the following sections briefly recollect common themes and valuable insights that emerged during the workshop discussions and attempt to reflect the energy and creativity that accompanied them, with a view to setting out the general context within which the various individual papers in this volume should be considered. We have arranged the subsequent discussion to centre on the core discrete yet interrelated themes that emerged and developed during our workshop deliberations, namely: vulnerability; the limits of the law; the limits of rights; responsibility; interconnection; and thinking ecologically.</p> <hr /><p>El seminario sobre Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente celebrado en O&ntilde;ati en 2012, busc&oacute; iniciar la importante tarea de desarrollar un nuevo marco que podr&iacute;a contribuir a re-imaginar la relaci&oacute;n entre los derechos humanos y el medio ambiente. Haciendo justicia a la discusi&oacute;n vibrante y prolongada que tuvo lugar en respuesta a las ponencias presentadas en el taller, es casi imposible en un recuento ex post facto que s&oacute;lo puede transmitir una m&iacute;nima parte de la riqueza y complejidad de lo acontecido en O&ntilde;ati. No obstante, las siguientes secciones recogen brevemente temas comunes y valiosas ideas que surgieron durante las discusiones del taller y tratan de reflejar la energ&iacute;a y creatividad que los acompa&ntilde;aba, con el fin de establecer el marco general dentro del cual las diversas ponencias individuales de este volumen deber&iacute;an ser consideradas. Hemos organizado el debate posterior para centrarnos en el discreto n&uacute;cleo a&uacute;n interrelacionado con temas que surgieron y se desarrollaron durante nuestras deliberaciones de los talleres, a saber: la vulnerabilidad, los l&iacute;mites de la ley, los l&iacute;mites de los derechos, la responsabilidad, la interconexi&oacute;n, y el pensamiento ecol&oacute;gico.