50 YEARS AFTER: APPRAISING THE IMPACT OF THE STOCKHOLM CONFERENCE ON THE ADVANCEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS
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Abstract
The journey through the development of the right to clean, safe and sustainable environment has not been an easy ride. Since the first attempt to link human right and the environment began in 1972 at Stockholm, the United Nations has tried to sustain the temple of the agitations through various soft laws and treaties aimed at encouraging states in the domestication and implementation of national laws protective of the right to the environment. This journey came to a successful climax when the United Nations General Assembly in 28 July 2022 resolved officially recognising the right to clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a universal human right. This paper is an analytical survey of the progressive development of environmental rights at international law through the 5 decades (1972 -2022) and the impact it has made at regional and domestic levels as well as how it has inspired the world into greener human rights.
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