Rights of future generations: from declarations to processes of metamorphosis of Human Rights systems
Theoretical Approaches–the need for transgenerational principles and rights
On Day 2 of the summer school, Prof. Emilie Gaillard and Prof. David Forman welcomed the participants and resumed the conversation on the importance of legal foundations supporting the rights of future generations.
«We can’t just rely on ethical practices but must ensure that there is a legal basis. »
We are honored to have the presence of Corinne Lepage, Former French Minister for the Environment and former EU Deputy, as part of our panel to share with our participants and students the unique opinion tribunal– International Monsanto Tribunal.
The tribunal was convened by civil society to highlight the legal implications of the activities of Monsanto Company. This marks a key event in support of the work on protecting the rights of future generations.
Legal Actions for Future Generations
Prof. David Forman, Chair of the Panel, shares context behind the formulation and evolution of NCP. He highlights the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach and framework behind NCP and encourages the importance of a dialectical process in addressing these complex issues.
He shared the elements of the book Legal Actions for Future Generations and provided a roadmap for our participants.
Implementing Rights of Future Generations–The Global Judicial Institute
Prof. Nicholas Robinson , Chairman Emeritus of NCP, talks about the role of the judiciary in providing remédies to violations of environmental rights.
He talks about needs assessments in various countries that highlighted the limitations of judiciaries. This led to the institutionalization of the practice of environmental law through the education of lawyers and judges, including workshops and symposia. This led to the creation of a global environmental institute – organized by and for judges.
The idea is to strengthen the court and afford them the power to provide remedy. This global activity has surfaced the challenges faced by our judiciary to provide remedy to violations of rights of future generations through environmental rights.
At this time, the global judicial institute does not have a global participation of judges, but progress is well on its way.
The One Health in response to the chaos of ethics and law
Bénédicte Boyer Beveviere, Lecturer at Université Paris 8, provides an interesting discussion on the convergence of Ethics, Health, and Law.
She shared the concept of #onehealth and encouraged the participants to evolve in their thinking amidst the chaos.
She reiterates, « Recognize the chaos of ethics, change our thinking and methods, and move towards the transformation of humanity. »
The session on the UN Human Rights Council and Universal Periodic Review
Alyn Ware, Member of the World Future Council, shared his insight on the significance of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) as a unique process which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. The UPR is a significant innovation of the Human Rights Council which is based on equal treatment for all countries.
Making Intergenerational Equity a Reality
We ended the day with an inspiring message from Prof. Edith Brown Weiss, Professor Émirita at Georgetown University. She gave a message on how to make intergenerational equity a reality and urged the participants to be the voices of equity and promote responsible digital innovation.
She expressed how we should regulate our use of technical products and maintain control of our own thoughts.
This is the very reason for the NCP summer school — to promote a healthy discourse across generations, understand and learn from each other, respect differing views, and work collaboratively in addressing complex environmental problems.
Ornella Seigneury – University of Antilles
“Beyond the quality of the conferences, I met wonderful people and made friends with whom I think I will collaborate on future publications. I will keep a memorable memory.”
Christopher Sudol – Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
“This topic challenged the mind. Focusing on systems of change, this segment provided important understandings for how to implement change and the rights of future generations.”