HR2W celebrates two women, including one from the Global South, that were selected as Special Rapporteurs. On April 5th, the United Nations Human Rights Council held its 55th session and appointed two new special rapporteurs: Astrid Puentes Riaño was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment and Elisa Morgera was selected as Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change.

“Both mandates are essential to ensure that the international community understands and responds adequately to the triple interconnected environmental crises of pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change. “ , Francesca Mingrone, Staff Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)

Astris Puentes, from Mexico, is an expert in Human Rights, Climate Change and the Environment. She graduated from the University of Los Andes, Colombia, as a Lawyer and has since then worked for several entities such as the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) and Greenpeace.

Elisa Morgera specializes in international, EU and comparative environmental law. She has researched specifically in the areas of biodiversity, environmental governance, corporate environmental accountability, and the EU external environmental policy. She currently works as the director of the One Ocean Hub as well as a professor of Global Environmental Law at the University of Strathclyde.

HR2W has completed a signficant study on the connections between the human rights to water and sanitation and the human right to a clean, safe, healthy and sustainable environment, we look forward to seeing Astrid’s work and support on her role. Check out our work here: HRHE and HRWS Country Assessments