Search results

International environmental law-making (IEL) now increasingly highlights the importance of ensuring that women are enabled to play a key role in environmental management and decision-making at all scales, including in relation to the marine environment. This article examines narratives of women in international environmental law, with a focus on the marine environment and human rights intersections. This study reveals that there is a tendency to treat women both as victims in need of saving from ecological devastation, and as saviours whose empowerment will save the world. Recent developments at the intersection of human rights and the environment point clearly to the necessity of embracing an intersectional approach. Beyond this, it is necessary to reflect on what is meant by 'women' in international law to answer the question of whether greater inclusion of women in legal processes will make a difference to solving global and local ecological challenges. Ultimately, the article argues that meaningful action will not happen until affluent and powerful men and women learn how to embody the idea of woman themselves, rather than placing the burden to save the world on those whose vulnerability is worsened if not created by affluent overconsumption.

On associe les exploitations du secteur minier aux injustices environnementales et climatiques, à l'échelle locale et mondiale, allant fréquemment de pair avec des violations des droits fondamentaux des femmes et des filles. Dans le présent article, j'utilise plusieurs approches d'analyse juridique, y compris les travaux portant sur la vulnérabilité écologique et les approches de théoriciennes féministes autochtones, pour affirmer qu'un des éléments clés de la quête de justice environnementale, climatique et genrée face aux préjudices causés par le secteur minier est de repenser les cadres et les outils juridiques dans une perspective relationnelle. Les diverses approches relationnelles dans l'analyse juridique partagent la volonté de porter notre attention non plus sur l'individu autonome, comme le conçoit la pensée libérale, mais plutôt sur les relations d'interdépendance qui se tissent entre les personnes et le monde matériel, y compris les relations existant dans la sphère internationale. En nous intéressant au droit relationnel, nous pourrions davantage affirmer nos préoccupations concernant la justice environnementale locale et mondiale ainsi que la justice climatique, y compris la justice entre les sexes, à l'égard des lois et institutions autochtones de même que la mise en œuvre de la Déclaration des Nations Unies sur les droits des peuples autochtones. Ultimement, nous devons éviter d'accepter inconsciemment les structures juridiques qui font appel à l'individu autonome et plutôt rechercher activement les lois et les pratiques relationnelles présentes dans les domaines de droit international, de la personne, des affaires et même de l'environnement.

AbstractLabour and environmental law operate in silos. This is equally true in the transnational sphere, despite the 2011 endorsement of UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Labour rights as human rights appear easier to grasp than environmental human rights, and the UNGPs specifically highlight the work of the ILO. Due to egregious events such as the Bangladesh Rana Plaza factory collapse, transnational governance regimes have emerged to better ensure building safety and respect for labour rights. Yet the process of production of "fast fashion" is not only a problem for workers whose health and safety are put at risk, but also for children and families who live in the vicinity of polluting factories and experience "slow death" as a result of contaminated air and water. This paper will explore how a reconceptualization of the worker as a relational being and corporeal citizen might bridge the silos.

SummaryBetween 2005 and 2011, there was much debate, both within Canada and at the United Nations (UN), over what role home states should play in the regulation and adjudication of human rights harms associated with transnational corporate conduct. In Canada, this debate focused upon concerns related to global mining that led to a series of government, opposition and multi-stakeholder reports and proposals. These culminated in 2010 with the appointment of an Extractive Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Counsellor and the defeat of Bill C-300, An Act Respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas in Developing Countries. Meanwhile, at the UN Human Rights Commission/Council, John G. Ruggie was appointed Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General on Business and Human Rights (SRSG). Ruggie's work led to the 2008Protect, Respect and Remedy: A Framework for Business and Human Rightsand the 2011Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights(the latter designed to "operationalize" the former). While both documents highlight state duties to protect against human rights violations by businesses and the need for access to remedies by victims, the role of home states in this regard was contested. This article compares the developments in Canada between 2005 and 2011 with the work of the SRSG in relation to the home state duty to protect human rights in the transnational corporate context. It also offers reflections on the implications of the inevitability of industry and industry lawyer participation for the development of home state legal obligations.

SummaryThis article addresses the responsibility of Canada for ensuring that Canadian transnational mining corporations do not cause environmental harm in other countries. The author discusses the liability of parent companies under Canadian law for the actions of their subsidiaries abroad and considers the jurisdictional and choice of law problems in bringing a tort action in Canadian courts. The author also considers the implications under international law of any extraterritorial application of Canadian law.