Faith groups are calling on the United Nations to designate the right to a clean, safe and healthy environment as a global human right, and to create a special rapporteur for climate and human rights.
Such joint campaigns acknowledge how dependent humans are on natural ecosystems.
“You cannot have human rights on a dead planet,” Epal-Ratjen from Franciscan International said, “and you cannot enjoy human rights in an environment that is polluted, that is threatening your survival each and every day.”
Brigidine Sisters are aware of the “cries of our hurting planet and those of our brother and sisters in distress”; we hear the groans of ecological and human exploitation and are impelled to take action in small and large ways. (2016 Congregational Forum)
We pray for all involved at the UN on these issues and take whatever action we can in our own communities and work places.