Human Rights and the Environment in Pakistan: Exploring the Nexus and Challenges

Abstract

This paper highlights the nexus between environmental destruction and human rights contravention in Pakistan, a country that is significantly at risk due to the impact of climate change, despite its relatively minor role in global emissions. The paper highlights how these legal frameworks, governance issues, and socio-economic vulnerabilities among marginalized communities, as discussed in the context of climate change, contribute to the erosion of fundamental rights to life, health, housing, and dignity due to climatic changes such as extreme weather, poor air quality, and water shortages. Notable legal developments, such as ground breaking decisions like Shehla Zia v. WAPDA and Leghari. The Federation of Pakistan has placed environmental protection in the scope of the constitutional right to life and dignity. Nonetheless, the application of this principle to all decisions made by the court is minimal, largely due to institutional inertia, executive opposition, and disjointed government and administrative structures. Disadvantaged populations, especially women, children, and those in rural areas, face additional challenges in gaining access to environmental justice due to the high cost, rigorous processes involved, and geographical isolation. Effective adjudication is also hindered by the lack of specialized environmental courts and the absence of technical expertise among judges. The study recommends overall reforms that include the constitutionalizing of environmental rights, the creation of new environmental courts, and the establishment of additional enforcement mechanisms to ensure fair access to justice for all people, including and especially vulnerable groups. It also suggests the relevance of participatory and gender-responsive models to cope with the various adversities of vulnerability, which have increased due to environmental stress factors. Through the convergence of human rights and environmental protection, Pakistan should be on the path to sustainable and inclusive climate resilience.