GENEVA, April 3, 2025 –  The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) warmly welcomes today’s United Nations Human Rights Council adoption of a resolution on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment focused on ocean protection and plastic pollution.

The resolution, adopted by consensus, is the first time that the Human Rights Council explicitly recognizes the link between plastic pollution and human rights. It strongly reaffirms the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, which was already recognized by the Council in 2021 and the UN General Assembly in 2022. The resolution addresses directly two ongoing negotiation processes, one on ocean protection and the other on the plastics crisis. The resolution provides a strong mandate for States to consider the human rights dimensions of ocean governance in the proceedings and outcomes of the upcoming Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) to be held in June 2025 in Nice, France. It also addresses in a very timely manner the need for States to address human rights harms caused by plastic pollution across the full life cycle of plastic just months before governments are expected to reconvene in Geneva to conclude the negotiations of a potentially historic global treaty to end plastic pollution (INC-5.2).

CIEL’s Climate & Energy Senior Attorney, Francesca Mingrone says: 

“This resolution powerfully reaffirms the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment and underscores that States must uphold this right on par with other fundamental human rights.

“With this resolution, the Human Rights Council strengthens its role as a bridge-builder, urging States to embed human rights, including the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, in the ongoing plastic treaty negotiations and the upcoming UN Ocean Conference (UNOC).

“It also builds on key international principles, such as the precautionary principle, and aligns with the recent advisory opinion on climate change by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea with regard to ocean governance. This is particularly timely as the world awaits a landmark advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on States’ climate obligations. The ICJ advisory opinion is expected to address the scope of States’ obligations with regard to the enjoyment of the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment in the context of climate change.

The Human Rights Council must continue addressing the triple planetary crisis and be explicit on fossil fuels as one of its root causes. As several Special Procedures and, more recently, more than 20 countries have underscored at the Council, effective action cannot be taken without tackling fossil fuels and their human rights impacts.”

CIEL’s Senior Attorney, Environmental Health, Andrés Del Castillo says:

“This is the first time that the Human Rights Council has recognized the specific and severe consequences of the plastic crisis and its threat to human rights. Crucially, it calls on States to take decisive action across the full lifecycle of plastics, underscores the transboundary nature of the crisis, and acknowledges that microplastic pollution undermines the conditions necessary for a healthy environment, including clean water. 

“Governments worldwide must take decisive action to protect human rights, mitigate and minimize the effects of pollution, and ensure the environmentally sound management and disposal of chemicals. This is critical in the upcoming plastics treaty negotiations in Geneva in August. We expect ambitious countries to maintain strong commitments on key provisions at these negotiations, including the urgent need to regulate harmful chemicals, control production and the overcapacity of the plastic industry, and protect the most vulnerable communities affected by this crisis.”

“The resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council is a landmark step, marking the first time that States, across traditional negotiating blocks, have collectively acknowledged the need to consider human rights obligations when developing global responses to the harms caused throughout the plastics life cycle.”Media ContactNiccolò Sarno, CIEL Media Relations Specialist: [email protected]