Statement on World Environment Day
The world celebrates World Environment Day on the 5th of June each year, and this year’s theme focuses on the issue of plastic pollution and the need to eliminate it.
In this context, the National Centre for Human Rights affirms that the right to a healthy environment is one of the human rights guaranteed by international standards. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, particularly Article (12) on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, highlights the need for state parties to adopt a range of measures, including those related to environmental health.
At the Arab level, Article (38) of the Arab Charter on Human Rights affirms every person’s right to a sound environment and obliges state parties to take the necessary measures, within their capabilities, to enforce this right. It is worth noting that Jordan is a party to both the Arab Charter on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
At the national level, the Environmental Protection Law No. (6) of 2017 serves as the legislative framework regulating this area, in addition to the issuance of several related bylaws and instructions addressing environmental rights.
Jordan has also adopted several public policies related to the right to a healthy environment, including the National Climate Change Policy (2022–2050). Moreover, the right to a sound environment is one of the main pillars of the National Comprehensive Plan for Human Rights.
The Centre stresses the interconnection between the right to a healthy environment and various other human rights. Enjoyment of these rights requires a clean and pollution-free environment, particularly with regard to the right to an adequate standard of living, which includes the right to food and water, as well as its direct relation to the right to health and other rights that are directly or indirectly affected by this right.
The Centre also notes that the right to a sound environment faces challenges at both the global and national levels. It reiterates the recommendations set forth in its successive annual reports regarding the need to integrate social, economic, and environmental dimensions when formulating environmental policies. It also stresses the importance of promoting waste recycling and safe disposal throughout the Kingdom, intensifying awareness campaigns on environmental issues and their relation to human rights, and establishing central stations for the treatment of industrial and domestic wastewater across all regions. This is in addition to addressing plastic pollution.
The Centre calls for continued efforts to implement the recommendations contained in the National Comprehensive Plan for Human Rights with regard to the right to a healthy environment. It also emphasizes the need to give increased attention to climate change and its connection to human rights, as well as exploring all means to mitigate its impacts, including the ongoing implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals—especially the goal related to climate action.
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