환경재난과 인권의 법적 문제

Disasters are usually described as a result of the combination of conditions of vulnerability; insufficient capacity or measures to reduce or cope with the potential negative consequences; and exposure to a natural hazard. Losses from environmental disasters, which are disasters to the natural environment due to human activity, are especially on the increase. In these circumstances the protection from environmental disaster could be recognized as a kind of human right, as well as a part of the environmental law. The role of the state here is special. The state ist the chief duty bearer and has legal obligation to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to protection from environmental disaster. What must not be forgotten is that appropriate legal and institutional arrangements are necessary to cope with the environmental disasters. The rights to environmental disaster mitigation and relief are elaborated not only in substantive rights, which are recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but also prodedural rights, which include access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. The aim of this paper is to show legal frameworks to prepare and implement effective disaster risk management and the current legal status on the environmental disaster. For this purpose, the paper discusses the legal issues related to the environmental disasters and human rights.