Recognizing the Intersections between Human Rights and the Environment in Legal Education and Training
| DOI | 10.1177/2322005814530328 |
| Date | 01 July 2014 |
| Published date | 01 July 2014 |
| Subject Matter | Essays |
Military-Madrasa-Mullah Complex 103
India Quarterly, 66, 2 (2010): 133–149
A Global Threat 103
Essay
Recognizing the Intersections
between Human Rights and the
Environment in Legal Education
and Training
Damilola S. Olawuyi
Abstract
Ever since the 1972 Stockholm Declaration proclaimed that man’s natural and man-made environment
are essential to his well-being and to the enjoyment of his basic human rights—especially the right to
life itself—there has been a consensus amongst scholars that there is a link between the environment
and human rights; that a clean environment is a sine qua non for the enjoyment of other human rights;
and that without a clean environment, humankind may not live to enjoy the other recognized forms
of rights such as the right to life and the right to education.
Despite this consensus, however, the human rights and environmental epistemic communities
continue to operate largely as strange bedfellows. This is largely due to the perception, and most times
the reality, that environmental administrators may lack the required training and skills to interpret,
apply and mainstream human rights instruments and vice versa. This article discusses the reasons for
this dichotomy. Principally, this persisting gap between both epistemic communities can be traced to
a lack of a holistic education and training that introduces administrators on both sides of the divide
to key instruments, resources, materials and training needed to holistically apply both instruments.
This article discusses the need to reflect the synergies between both divergent and convergent
areas of law in teaching and research. As the world becomes ever more aware of how lack of environ-
mental protection could threaten the enjoyment of human rights, there is a need to provide adequate
education and training to law students in order to adequately prepare them to mainstream and apply
environmental rights in their future careers. This article proposes and describes a specialized ‘human
rights and environment seminar’ as an example of a course that could be introduced into the legal
curriculum to further identify the cross-cutting linkages between environmental law, international law
and human rights law. A draft curriculum on the content and nature of this seminar is proposed and
discussed.
Introduction
The aim of this article is to analyze and discuss practical approaches for recognizing the cross-cutting
intersections between human rights and the environment in legal education and training. The United
Damilola S. Olawuyi is the Director (Research, Training and International Development), Institute for Oil, Gas,
Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development, AfeBabalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria.
Asian Journal of Legal Education
1(2) 103–113
© 2014 The West Bengal National
University of Juridical Sciences
SAGE Publications
Los Angeles, London,
New Delhi, Singapore,
Washington DC
DOI: 10.1177/2322005814530328
http://ale.sagepub.com
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