A/HRC/31/53 • Developing model constitutional provisions, including with respect to the right to a healthy environment • Drafting model legislation, including in areas such as climate change and migration and human rights defenders • Producing handbooks clarifying the application of human rights norms to specific environmental issues, such as the regulation of toxic substances • Organizing training sessions for national human rights institutions and the judiciary on the application of human rights to the environment • Developing a database of jurisprudence related to human rights and the environment • Publishing information on how different countries are implementing human rights related to the environment 44. In addition to inter-agency cooperation, some interlocutors proposed the creation of new international mechanisms. Three examples are: • The establishment of a special fund for the protection of environmental human rights defenders at risk, which could enable organizations to support human rights defenders under pressure or threat by providing emergency assistance for temporary relocation and legal fees • A mechanism that could provide technical assistance to States on implementing obligations relating to human rights and the environment, and that could emphasize South-South dialogue and cooperation • A new judicial body to hear international claims for violations of human rights relating to the environment that could supplement existing national and regional tribunals B. Regional bodies 1. Regional human rights bodies 45. Regional human rights bodies continue to provide crucial methods of implementing human rights relating to the environment. Regional bodies in Africa, the Americas and Europe have done a great deal to clarify the application of human rights norms to environmental issues, including through their decisions on complaints and their publication of resolutions and reports. Those contributions have been described in earlier reports of the Special Rapporteur, which were summarized in the mapping report (A/HRC/25/53).11 46. The regional commissions also establish special mechanisms, some of which can address environmental issues. For example, in 2009 the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights established a Working Group on Extractive Industries, Environment and Human Rights Violations, whose mandate includes examining the impact of extractive industries in Africa and researching violations of article 24 of the African Charter, which recognizes the right of peoples to a satisfactory environment. The Working Group has conducted a number of research projects, including through a mission to Zambia in 2014. It was suggested that the Commission could consider creating another mandate with a focus on environmental issues generally, or requesting the Working Group to broaden its focus beyond extractive industries to address a wider variety of environmental issues. 11 10 The reports are available from http://srenvironment.org/mapping-report-2014-2/ and www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Environment/SREnvironment/Pages/MappingReport.aspx.

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