A hard hitting report commissioned by the Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation was delivered this week to David Cameron and called on the government to investigate the impact of fracking on the rights ofย individuals.
The report cites human rights liabilities for the British government if fracking is to commence commercially across the UK. It was co-authored by the Global Network for the Study of Human Rights and the Environment as well as the Environment and Human Rights Advisory and the Human Rights Consortium at the University ofย London.
It focuses primarily on the health implications of people living by frack sites, where the government is โlegally bound to respect and protect human rights, both under the auspices of its own Human Rights Act 1998 and of the European Convention on Humanย Rights.โ
Under these acts, the UK is obligated to consider the environmental impacts of industry on its citizens by allowing for public participation as well as the โright to lifeโ, which protects citizens from living near dangerous and contaminated areas, including poisonous waterย supplies.
The report also highlights the governmentโs concentrated efforts to sell the positives of fracking over a steady informative review, with consistent claims that burning shale gas produces fewer greenhouse emissions than burningย coal.
This claim is disputed by the report, which was personally delivered to the Prime Ministerโs home in Westminster by Bianca Jagger, the human rights advocate and Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador, who believes renewable technologies offer greater rewards to the environment than fossilย fuels.
โFrackingย agendaโ
The report particularly cites a 2011 submission to the UN Human Rights Council which argued: โThe environmental damage caused by hydraulic fracturing for natural gas poses โa new threat to humanย rightsโ.โ
Speaking about the report, Jagger stated: โThe UK Government is promoting a fracking agenda despite the well-documented health and environmental impacts. The Government has disregarded the Human Rights of ordinaryย citizens.
โThey are rushing through changes to the law of trespass to speed up the ability of shale gas companies to frack under peopleโs homes without their consent. The re-writing of the law is being introduced despite widespread public concern about the health and environmental impact of fracking and in the face of overwhelming public resistance from ordinaryย people.โ
โThe Infrastructure Bill [which covers shale gas development] is a violation of our basic Human Rights and of our democraticย process.โ
The government recently came under increasing criticism over a proposed amendment to the Infrastructure Bill which would allow fracking companies to use โany substanceโ under peopleโs homes in the extraction of shaleย gas.
As the Foundationโs report concludes: โThere has been virtually no consideration at the policy level of the human rights dimensions ofย fracking.โ
The full report will be launched on 30th November at the University ofย London.
Photo: Re:Publica viaย Flickr
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