Using International Law 567
Human rights agreements of the United Nations
According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, human rights belong
to every person and cannot be taken away. Today there are 9 international
agreements that protect human rights, which include the right to health and
dignity. To find the text of the agreements and information about how they
are used, visit the United Nations human rights website, www.ohchr.org, and
click on “Human rights bodies.”
• International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR)
• International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
(CESCR)
• International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination (CERD)
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women (CEDAW)
• Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment (CAT)
• Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
• International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families (CMW)
• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
• International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearance (CED)
Until recently, the only human rights agreement that mentioned the
environment was the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which says that all
children have the right to a safe and healthy environment. (All governments
except for the United States and Somalia have signed the Convention on the
Rights of the Child.)
In 2010, the United Nations also declared that the right to safe and clean
drinking water and sanitation is a human right. This declaration could be very
important for the protection of the environment. Even though the environment
itself does not have rights, when governments violate people’s right to water
and sanitation, we can now hold them accountable.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012