engleski

The child's right to a clean environment

Although the Convention on the Rights of the Child does not explicitly guarantee the child's right to a clean environment, it contains several provisions closely related to the issue of environmental protection, above all the child’s right to life, survival and development, the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and the right to an adequate standard of living. A clean and healthy environment is a necessary precondition for the realisation of the said rights as well as the key determinant in the effective implementation of the Convention as a whole. The Convention is in force for nearly three decades now and it has been almost 25 years since the World Bank has expressly stated that investing in children’s health is essential for ensuring human and economic development. Nevertheless, despite the global awareness of the destructive impact of environmental degradation on the children's lives and, by default, on the future of the humanity, we are facing the estimated 1.7 million children under five years of age dying each year due to environmental hazards. It seems both appropriate to reconsider the demands and challenges regarding the child's right to a clean environment that can be found in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as their implications for governments. In the author's opinion, explicit recognition of the child's right to a clean environment should be made on a global level.

child ; child’s right ; clean environment ; health

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