The environmental rights of children and future generations in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: Advances and challenges

Digno Jose Montalván Zambrano

doi:10.35295/osls.iisl.2551

Authors

Digno Jose Montalván Zambrano Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6050-1777

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.2551

Keywords:

Intergenerational justice, chilren's environmental rights, future generations, Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Abstract

This article examines the evolving treatment of intergenerational environmental protection within the Inter-American Human Rights System, focusing on the relationship—and growing tension—between the well-established framework of children’s environmental rights and the emerging recognition of future generations as potential rights-holders. While the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has developed robust standards protecting children from environmental and climate-related harms—grounded in their heightened vulnerability, the principle of the best interests of the child, and the intergenerational scope of State obligations—the parallel move to recognize future generations as subjects of rights raises significant conceptual and procedural challenges. These include the indeterminacy of who qualifies as a “future generation,” difficulties identifying victims for admissibility purposes, and the Court’s own precedent requiring rights-holders to be “present” human beings. Through an analysis of key jurisprudence, including La Oroya v. Peru and Advisory Opinions 23/17, 32/25, and 35/25, the article argues that children’s rights offer a more coherent, operational, and normatively grounded pathway for advancing intergenerational justice.

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Author Biography

Digno Jose Montalván Zambrano, Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales

Email: dignojose.montalvan@cepc.es

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