ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the environmental damage caused by transnational corporations (TNCs) in the course of oil exploitation activities in Ogoniland and other parts of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It analyses the creation of effective mechanisms for the adjudication and enforcement of the right to a healthy environment against both states and TNCs. The chapter summarizes the tragic events which occurred in Nigeria, and details past and current efforts, both international and national, to regulate the environmental practices of TNCs. It demonstrates why existing environmental controls failed to prevent the tragedy in Nigeria, and surveys recent interactions between international human rights law and the protection of the environment. The chapter suggests that the time has come for an international treaty formally recognizing the human right to a healthy environment. It discusses mechanisms for international adjudication and enforcement of international environmental law and the right to a healthy environment against TNCs and states.
