In commemoration of the adoption of the Agenda 21 Programme for the Promotion of Sustainable Development at the 1992 UN Conference and the beginnings of the modern environmental protection movement, 22 April is celebrated as International Earth Day. It highlights the need to protect the ecosystems of the entire planet Earth and safeguard the recently recognised universal human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, as well as to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and halt the destruction of biodiversity.
It also points to the shared responsibility for promoting and achieving a balance between economic, social and environmental needs of present and future generations, as set out in the UN Rio de Janeiro Declaration of 1992.
This year’s theme, “Planet vs. Plastics”, particularly seeks to emphasise the harmful effects of plastic pollution on human health, the environment and biodiversity as a whole, and to encourage a global reduction in plastic production by 60% by 2040.
The issue of the harmful effects of plastics on the environment and human health was also a focus during the major fire at the Drava International plastic recycling plant, which broke out in October 2023 in Osijek and in connection with which the Ombudswoman took action. Although analyses carried out by accredited institutes and laboratories showed that, fortunately, the fire did not have a significant short-term impact on the citizens’ health, several water samples and one sample of cabbage showed microplastic particle levels exceeding the permitted limits, while three pepper samples revealed cadmium concentrations above acceptable levels, and one egg sample contained excessive amounts of the sum of dioxins and DL-PCBs.
Accordingly, the Ombudswoman recommended to the City of Osijek and the Teaching Institute of Public Health of Osijek-Baranja County that they monitor the health status of citizens over the long term, including workers who were located within the plant area during the fire. Furthermore, the Ombudswoman recommended to the State Inspectorate, the City of Osijek and the Teaching Institute of Public Health of Osijek-Baranja County to continue soil, food and water sampling to identify the long-term effects of the plastic fire.
The right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, that is, the constitutional right to a healthy life and a healthy environment, is a key area of work for the Ombudswoman’s institution, which during the past year handled 293 cases related to the exercise of this right, opened based on citizens’ complaints, civic initiatives or at her own initiative, concerning environmental and nature pollution, improper waste management, excessive noise, light pollution and non-ionising radiation from mobile operators’ base stations.
In her 2023 Report, the Ombudswoman warned that in November 2023, the European Commission referred a case to the Court of Justice of the EU against the Republic of Croatia (INFR(2020)0437) for failing to notify measures transposing Directive (EU) 2018/852 amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste into national law. She also issued recommendations, among other things, for further legislative elaboration of the constitutional right to a healthy life and environment, as well as the implementation of concrete measures such as the identification and securing of hot spots from the Waste Management Plan; the need to evaluate and consolidate data on the health of the citizens of Slavonski Brod due to air pollution; continued biological monitoring of the inhabitants of that city; and to develop health protection programmes for citizens living near waste management centres, industrial plants, hot spots and other polluted areas.
As a member of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI), the Ombudswoman also advocates for the adoption of a legally binding instrument at the level of the Council of Europe that would recognise the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
The growing awareness of the negative impacts of climate change is also reflected in the cases before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), including the recent judgment in KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland. The ECtHR confirmed a violation of the right to respect for private and family life and the right of access to court for elderly women living in Switzerland, because the state had failed to take sufficient measures to combat climate change. In doing so, the Court clearly emphasised the obligation of states to take effective action against climate change in order to protect human rights, primarily those enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.
You can find out more about the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment here.