Elina Pirjatanniemi, ‘Pathways for Future Generations in Existing Legal Human Rights Provisions’ in Marcus Düwell, Gerhard Bos, Naomi van Steenbergen (eds.) Pathways for Future Generations in Existing Legal Human Rights Provisions (Routledge 2018)
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Abstract
Human rights comprise a powerful message for humankind. This chapter introduces the state of the art regarding the relationship between human rights and duties to protect the environment for the sake of future people. It develops some arguments in favour of the legal rights of future generations. In addition, the question of the operationalisation of the rights is examined. Environmental issues coincide with the general efforts to strengthen people’s participation already imbedded in human rights law. The chapter focuses on these two dimensions of the relationship between human rights and the environment. It concludes with a discussion on the limits and possibilities of law in protecting the rights of future generations. It embodies the basic status of a human being, which means that it is fully plausible to argue that generations to come will also have an intrinsic worth.