Environmental Racism, American Exceptionalism, And Cold War Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Dec 2016
Environmental Racism, American Exceptionalism, And Cold War Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Environmental justice scholars and activists coined the terms “environmental racism” to describe the disproportionate concentration of environmental hazards in neighborhoods populated by racial and ethnic minorities. Having exhausted domestic legal remedies (or having concluded that these remedies are unavailable), communities of color in the United States are increasingly turning to international human rights law and institutions to challenge environmental racism.
However, the United States has ratified only a handful of human rights treaties, and has limited the domestic application of these treaties through reservations and declarations that preclude judicial enforcement in the absence of implementing legislation. Indeed, …
Environmental Racism, American Exceptionalism, And Cold War Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Dec 2016
Environmental Racism, American Exceptionalism, And Cold War Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Environmental justice scholars and activists coined the terms “environmental racism” to describe the disproportionate concentration of environmental hazards in neighborhoods populated by racial and ethnic minorities. Having exhausted domestic legal remedies (or having concluded that these remedies are unavailable), communities of color in the United States are increasingly turning to international human rights law and institutions to challenge environmental racism.
However, the United States has ratified only a handful of human rights treaties, and has limited the domestic application of these treaties through reservations and declarations that preclude judicial enforcement in the absence of implementing legislation. Indeed, …
Environmental Racism, American Exceptionalism, And Cold War Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Dec 2016
Environmental Racism, American Exceptionalism, And Cold War Human Rights, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
Environmental justice scholars and activists coined the terms “environmental racism” to describe the disproportionate concentration of environmental hazards in neighborhoods populated by racial and ethnic minorities. Having exhausted domestic legal remedies (or having concluded that these remedies are unavailable), communities of color in the United States are increasingly turning to international human rights law and institutions to challenge environmental racism.
However, the United States has ratified only a handful of human rights treaties, and has limited the domestic application of these treaties through reservations and declarations that preclude judicial enforcement in the absence of implementing legislation. Indeed, …
Human Rights, Environmental Justice, And The North-South Divide, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Dec 2014
Human Rights, Environmental Justice, And The North-South Divide, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
From the Ogoni people devastated by oil drilling in Nigeria to the Inuit and other indigenous populations threatened by climate change, communities disparately burdened by environmental degradation are increasingly framing their demands for environmental justice in the language of environmental human rights. However, some scholars have expressed skepticism about the environmental human rights project. First, they remind us that the human rights governance capacity of many states in the global South has been compromised by the neoliberal economic reforms imposed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank as well as by trade and investment agreements. Second, they question …
Environmental Justice, Human Rights, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Dec 2014
Environmental Justice, Human Rights, And The Global South, Carmen G. Gonzalez
Carmen G. Gonzalez
From the Ogoni people devastated by oil drilling in Nigeria to the Inuit and other indigenous populations threatened by climate change, communities disparately burdened by environmental degradation are increasingly framing their demands for environmental justice in the language of environmental human rights. Domestic and international tribunals have concluded that failure to protect the environment violates a variety of human rights (including the rights to life, health, food, water, property, and privacy; the collective rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands and resources; and the right to a healthy environment).
Some scholars have questioned the utility of the human rights …
