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The Indivisibility of Human Dignity and Sustainability

The right to human dignity embodies the fundamental notion that all individuals in present and future generations are entitled to equal respect from others, to live life well, with choices, and free from arbitrary action by those in positions of power. This can only be done in conditions of environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Dignity is not simply an aspiration or a wish; it is an actionable right that is being recognized by courts in thousands of cases around the world. Indeed, courts have applied the right and the value of human dignity in a wide variety of factual and legal settings that span the catalogues of both civil and political rights and socio-economic and cultural rights, that now include environmental rights. This chapter has four parts. Part I provides an introduction to the right to human dignity under law, a concept nearly as old as humanity and as fresh as the most recent cases. Part II then pivots to environmental rights, including domestic, regional, and emerging international means for recognition as a way of advancing environmental and social sustainability. Part III demonstrates the indivisibility of sustainability and the right to dignity as reflected in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Part IV samples judicial decisions from around the globe that bridge these concepts. We conclude that it is instructive to recognize that advancing human dignity is sustainability’s core function.