A/HRC/19/34 I. Introduction 1. In its resolution 16/11 on human rights and the environment, the Human Rights Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights “in consultation with and taking into account the views of States Members of the United Nations, relevant international organizations and intergovernmental bodies, including the United Nations Environment Programme and relevant multilateral environment agreements, special procedures, treaty bodies and other stakeholders, to conduct, within existing resources, a detailed analytical study on the relationship between human rights and the environment, to be submitted to the Human Rights Council prior to its nineteenth session”. 2. The resolution identified several key components of the interaction between human rights and the environment, including the following: (a) Sustainable development and the protection of the environment can contribute to human well-being and the enjoyment of human rights; (b) Environmental damage can have negative implications, both direct and indirect, for the effective enjoyment of human rights; (c) While these implications affect individuals and communities around the world, environmental damage is felt most acutely by those segments of the population already in vulnerable situations; (d) Many forms of environmental damage are transnational in character and that effective international cooperation to address such damage is important in order to support national efforts for the realization of human rights; (e) Human rights obligations and commitments have the potential to inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of environmental protection and promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes. 3. Pursuant to the resolution 16/11, this analytical study examines the key components of the relationship between human rights and the environment, with emphasis on the themes identified by the Council in its abovementioned resolution. 4. Submissions were received from the following Member States: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras (three submissions), Iraq, Macedonia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. Regarding other United Nations agencies and programmes, contributions were submitted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Lastly, a number of contributions were made by non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and national human rights institutions: Åbo Akademi University, Institute for Human Rights (Finland); Asociación Interamericana para la Defensa del Ambiente (AIDA) (Mexico); ADET (Amis des Etrangers au Togo) (Togo); Caritas (Slovenia); Centro de Estudios Ambientales (CEDEA) (Argentina); Earthjustice (United States of America), in joint submission with AIDA (Mexico) and Human Rights Advocates International, Inc. (United States); Espoir pour Tous (Democratic Republic of Congo); Forum for Indigenous Perspectives and Action (India) and Citizens’ Concern for Dams and Development (India); the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Itschee) (Canada), in a joint submission with 75 indigenous organizations; Inuit Circumpolar Council (Greenland); International Commission of Jurists, Dutch Section (Netherlands); International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) – Environmental Law Center (Germany); Oregon Toxics Alliance (United States); Pace University (United States); 3