Ademhalen is een mensenrecht (maar niet voor iedereen)

Justien

Van Strydonck

Bedrijven tonen zich steeds vaker en vaker met groene logo's, gooien met woorden als 'klimaatneutraal', en beloven duurzaamheid in elke advertentie die ze uitsturen. De werkelijke cijfers tonen echter een heel andere realiteit. Volgens het Carbon Majors Report van 2024 zijn slechts 57 bedrijven verantwoordelijk voor meer dan 80% van de wereldwijde uitstoot van fossiele brandstoffen in de periode 2016–2022. En dat is nog maar het begin: tussen 2002 en 2017 werden er meer dan 270 mensenrechtenschendingen vastgesteld bij multinationals.

De juridische gevolgen van deze schendingen? Vaak onbestaand. De huidige internationale verdragen en Europese richtlijnen zijn grotendeels vrijblijvend. Ze verplichten staten wel tot actie, maar bieden burgers zelden een directe en afdwingbare manier om bedrijven aansprakelijk te stellen.

Een recht dat nog altijd ontbreekt

Het idee van een recht op een gezonde leefomgeving klinkt bijna vanzelfsprekend. Toch bestaat dat recht in Europa nog niet. Terwijl meer dan 160 landen het al erkend hebben, blijft Europa achter. Nochtans zou de juridische erkenning van zo’n recht een belangrijk instrument kunnen zijn in de strijd tegen milieuvervuiling, klimaatverandering en sociale ongelijkheid.

Want milieuschade treft niet iedereen even hard. Het zijn vaak kwetsbare groepen, zoals kinderen, mensen in armoede en inheemse gemeenschappen, die het zwaarst getroffen worden, terwijl zij net het minst beschikken over middelen om zich te verdedigen. Een expliciet mensenrecht op een gezond leefmilieu zou voor deze groepen een belangrijk juridisch houvast betekenen.

De moeilijkheid om bedrijven aansprakelijk te stellen

Bedrijven effectief aansprakelijk stellen voor hun milieuschade blijft een groot obstakel. Mensenrechtenlijke verplichtingen zijn traditioneel gericht op staten, niet op private actoren (zoals bedrijven). Maar daar komt stilaan verandering in. In de Nederlandse zaak Milieudefensie v. Shell oordeelde de rechter dat Shell zijn zorgplicht had geschonden door onvoldoende klimaatmaatregelen te nemen. Daarmee werd een belangrijk precedent geschapen: bedrijven kunnen indirect verantwoordelijk worden gehouden voor mensenrechtenschendingen door milieuschade.

Toch blijven zulke uitspraken uitzonderlijk. Zonder een juridische erkenning van het recht op een gezonde leefomgeving, blijft het moeilijk om bedrijven structureel tot verantwoording te dwingen.

Het Globale Zuiden

In het kader van het onderzoek naar de voor- en nadelen van een expliciet mensenrecht op gezond milieu, werd Cuba onder de loep genomen. Sinds 2019 bestaat in Cuba het grondrecht op een gezond milieu. In de praktijk is de handhaving en de uitvoering ervan nog een uitdaging, onder meer door economische beperkingen. Maar de erkenning op zich is al een belangrijke stap, omdat het druk zet op de lokale overheid én bedrijven om rekening te houden met de leefomgeving van de Cubanen.

De Cubaanse casus toont dat politieke wil een verschil kan maken. Het contrast met Europa is opvallend. Terwijl de EU zich voordoet als wereldleider in duurzaamheid, bestaat er nog steeds geen mensenrecht op een gezond leefmilieu.

A call to action

Europa beschikt over voldoende middelen, instellingen en kennis om het verschil te maken. Door het mensenrecht op een gezonde leefomgeving expliciet te erkennen, zou het niet alleen slachtoffers sterker kunnen maken, maar ook bedrijven verplichten om hun verantwoordelijkheid ten opzichte van de huidige en toekomstige generaties op te nemen.

Het gaat daarbij niet enkel om milieubescherming, maar ook rechtvaardigheid voor de mensen die geen middelen hebben om op te komen voor zichzelf binnen het huidige rechtstakder. Fundamentele rechten, zoals een gezond milieu, zouden niet mogen afhangen van waar je woont, hoeveel je verdient, of wie de schade veroorzaakt.

Bibliografie

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1. Blogposts & Newspapers
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B. Katan, ‘Een ritselende revolutie’, Transformation Forums Magazine June 2024.

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C. Carlson, ‘The Responsibility of Corporations to Mitigate Water

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E. D. Gras, ‘The Global South: What’s in a name?’, BIG-Europe 3 October 2024, https://big-europe.eu/publications/2024-10-03-the-global-south-what-s-in-a- name.

Eubelius, ‘Het Shell-arrest: moeten ondernemingen voor het klimaat zorgen?’, Eubelius News 22 November 2024,

https://www.eubelius.com/nl/nieuws/het-shell-arrest-moeten-ondernemingen- voor-het-klimaat-zorgen.

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J. Sommardal, ‘A landmark judgment: Three crucial aspects of Cannavacciuolo and Others v Italy’, ECHR Blog 11 February 2025, https://www.echrblog.com/2025/02/by-dr.html.
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