ABSTRACT
Environmental rights are composed of substantive rights and procedural rights, which are tools provided by law to achieve substantial rights. The 1981 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights states that “All peoples shall have the right to a general satisfactory environment favorable to their development.” The large and liberal interpretation of human rights by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in particular the right to a “dignified life” or the collective right to property of indigenous peoples, is likely to increase environmental justice for them despite certain limitations. The Escazu Agreement also contains provisions specific to the Latin American and Caribbean region on the protection of human rights defenders in connection with the environment and vulnerable persons and groups. Its entry into force requires ratification by at least eleven countries by September 2020. As of November 24, 2019, twenty-one countries have signed it and five have ratified it.
