THE COMPATIBILITY OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW AND INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW ON THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

The growing awareness of the inadequacy of international law as a means of addressing current environmental problems has led to calls for a new approach. In view of the links between the protection of the environment and the protection of human rights, according to the Stockholm Declaration of the United Nations Conference 1972, one such approach has been to focus on the development of international human rights law concepts and mechanisms to address environmental concerns. This article discusses the relationship between the international human rights law and the international environmental law. thereby giving an example of regime interaction. This is of strategic importance to understanding the meeting point of the two areas of law. The need for sustainable development and the challenge of climate change has come to the fore and they both give urgency to the need for a human rights approach for the protection of the environment. There are concerns about whether there is a need for the provision of the human rights to a healthy environment in the international human rights law as existing rights are considered robust in themselves to protect the environment. This article will investigate the compatibility of the two areas of law in the protection of the environment. It will conclude that while there are areas of divergence, they are largely compatible as they are both key in achieving sustainable development.