Julian Assange, the controversial founder of WikiLeaks, is set to break his silence after years of legal battles and imprisonment, delivering a speech at the Council of Europe. While Assange’s supporters see it as a championing of free speech, critics warn of potential risks to his ongoing legal battles, including a possible presidential pardon bid.
The Council of Europe is the only regional human rights system that has not yet explicitly recognized the right to a healthy environment. However, significant progress has been made in recent years, including the unanimous adoption of a UN resolution recognizing the right in 2022. 42 of the Council’s 46 member states already protect the right to a healthy environment through their national constitutions or legislation, and the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the government’s lack of action on climate change violated the rights of a group of older Swiss women. Despite these advances, there is still a lack of political will to enshrine the right to a healthy environment in the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the growing number of climate cases and the recognition of the right by the UN and other international bodies is putting pressure on the Council of Europe to take action.
