George Tsakraklides@99blackbaloons Dec 20, 2023:
Human rights and nature’s rights are the enemies of profit. As long as profit and growth are the focus of all investment, there will never be, and there has never been, any “good” capitalism.
Ireland could give nature constitutional rights
The Irish government is to consider a request to change the constitution to give nature protected status
The proposal would grant rights similar to human rights
An Irish parliamentary committee has recommended holding a referendum on the issue to update the constitution
Ireland could become the first country in the EU to enshrine the rights of nature into its national constitution.
The Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action has recommended the government advance a referendum on protecting biodiversity.
The move would see nature bestowed with rights comparable to those of people.
It came in response to a report from the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss.
The Rights of Nature movement has grown in recent years.
It seeks to have elements of nature, such as trees, mountains and rivers, recognised as entities with rights to exist and flourish, to be restored, regenerated and respected.
And it also recognises the right of any person or organisation to defend, protect and enforce those rights on behalf of nature.
For example, New Zealand has granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River.
Countries in South America have made similar declarations .
The Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights appeared before the Joint Committee in October to testify about why the rights of nature needed to be recognised.
The team was supported by Dr Peter Doran of the Queen’s University Belfast School of Law.
Executive director Mari Margil welcomed the committee’s recommendation.
“We congratulate chairperson Brian Leddin and the Joint Committee for its work and taking this important step forward toward enshrining the rights of nature within Ireland’s constitution,” she said.
“Further, we look forward to the government and parliament’s next steps to protect the rights of nature, and offer whatever assistance we can in this process.”
Senior Counsel Thomas Linzey added that direct citizen involvement was “essential” to protect the natural environment and the rights of nature.
If the Irish parliament does put forward a national referendum on the rights of nature and it is approved by the people, Ireland would be the first country within the European Union to enshrine such a right within a national constitution.
Other countries have enacted similar laws and amendments.
Republic of Ireland
Refer also to:
2012: New Zealand Grants a River the Rights of Personhood
2015: In comes Fracing, Out go Rights: Texas Governor guts community rights, signs bill making city frac bans and oil and gas regulations illegal. How fabulous that Albertans voted the Tories out!
2015: Invisible Hand, Out of the current struggle for democracy in an unfettered free market, Rights of Nature are born: Public Herald announces new film project
2015: Ecuador’s President Correa calls for creation of an International Court of Environmental Justice to punish crimes, oblige payment of environmental debts: “Greed is becoming our worst nightmare”
2016: Fracking Rights Decimation in Australia: Companies need not negotiate land access under WA Government reform, NSW Passed Laws That Can Get You Seven Years Jail For Protesting
2016: “A New Step Forward!” Quebec introduces draconian oil & gas bill to give companies more rights than property owners, Days later authorizes Petrolia Inc to frack Anticosti: “This resounding success on the regulatory front is essentially due to the work of Petrolia, accompanied by the experts at SNC-Lavalin….”
2017: Ponca Nation of Oklahoma to Recognize the Rights of Nature to Stop Fracking
2017: Pennsylvania “Environmental” Regulator Sues Communities for Trying to Protect Their Environment and Banning Frac Waste Injection Wells
2019: Overview of International Human Rights Court Recommending Worldwide Frac Ban
2019: Encana, one of the world’s 47 most polluting companies, named “morally responsible” for death & destruction; First time a human rights body stated fossil fuel companies can be found legally and morally liable for harms linked to climate change.
2020: Supreme Court of Canada to release ruling if corporations are protected against “cruel and unusual treatment/punishment” under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms like people are. The ruling took a long time (9 months, in a pandemic), but not as long as the court’s Charter-damaging ruling in Ernst vs AER (12 months, not in a pandemic).
2021: Thank you, Polly Higgins! Legal experts worldwide draw up ‘historic’ definition of ecocide.
2021: Invisible Hand, award-winning documentary, seven years in the making. “It’s about the water. It’s always been about the water.” Quebec’s Magpie River becomes first in Canada to be granted legal personhood
2021: The Last Breath of the Black Snake. Elder Casey Camp Horinek: “In my small Ponca tribe, we hold a funeral nearly every week from fossil fuel-related illnesses. All our families have multiple cases of asthma, cardiovascular disease and industry-specific cancers. **Our wells are so polluted our tribe must now buy water.** Our land is so toxic, organic food can’t be grown within 16 miles. They call it economic progress. We call it environmental genocide.”
2021: Must Watch Both: Bedrock Rights, film identifying how frac’ing harms and abrogates human rights and Conversation: Sandra Steingraber, biologist and Mary Wood, award-winning law prof
2021: World Premier of Bedrock Rights: A New Foundation for Global Action Against Fracking and Climate Change
2021: New Irish Study: Frac’ing not compatible with human rights law; “Must be banned worldwide” … “No amount of regulation can adequately address all the problems that fracking causes”
2021: Book Launch of Bearing Witness, The Human Rights Case Against Fracking and Climate Change. “Governments are in deep collusion with oil and gas companies, abdicating their responsibilities to protect the rights of their citizens.”
2021: Book Launch of Bearing Witness, The Human Rights Case Against Fracking and Climate Change. “Governments are in deep collusion with oil and gas companies, abdicating their responsibilities to protect the rights of their citizens.”
