Non-state actors cannot breach international human rights law. Actions by an organisation, group or individual that is not a state, irrespective of the severe impact that those actions may have on the human rights of others, cannot cause a violation of international human rights law. This...

This article examines the principles of accountability applied by the European Investment Bank in comparison with the practices of other Multilateral Lending Institutions. After a brief description of the EIB and its activities, the substantive and procedural principles governing the EIB's...

These recommendations are addressed to the European Union, and particularly in regards to its multifaceted actions in the international plane. The EU is a key player in international relations and a guardian of international peace and security. Yet, the EU is also and potentially a violator of...

We often fail to see important dimensions of international human rights (HR) protection because we use lenses that do not reveal them. This short article suggests a way of looking at HR protection that I believe has value in many contexts and for many – those who make decisions about human...

While there is widespread agreement that climate change has negative implications for the enjoyment of human rights, it remains unclear in what circumstances State action associated with climate change amounts to a human rights violation. To unpack this question, this chapter analyses how the...

This chapter discusses the provisions in the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) on the protection of labour and environmental standards and human rights. It first outlines the obligations of the parties to protect labour and environmental standards, human rights and...

Communities disparately burdened by environmental degradation are increasingly framing their demands for environmental justice in the language of environmental human rights. However, some scholars have expressed skepticism about the environmental human rights project. First, they remind us that...

The adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ('DRIP') by the UN General Assembly in September 2007 was a momentous occasion. Indigenous representatives and scholars have consistently claimed the DRIP on behalf of the international legal project (and participating States...

The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights has been in transition for several years now. The locus of this transition has been an attempt to merge the Court with the African Court of Justice, created in 2003, into a single judicial institution. Established slightly over a decade ago by a...

The operations of multilateral development banks (MDBs) can have both positive and negative environmental, social and human rights impacts. Since negative impacts can have profound and irreversible consequences, they should be avoided or mitigated. The MDBs also need to provide those adversely...