Linking Global Warming to Inuit Human Rights

• Main Author: Middaugh, Marguerite E.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Digital USD 2006
• Subjects: Global warming; Human rights; Inuit; Arctic regions; Climate Change; Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; Environmental Law; Human Rights Law; International Law; Law; Arctic; Climate change; inuit
• Online Access: https://digital.sandiego.edu/ilj/vol8/iss1/8; https://digital.sandiego.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1170&context=ilj

Under international law, the United States government has violated the Inuit's human rights by failing to take action against climate change. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights should find that the allegations of human rights violations by the Inuit are justified and rule in their favor. This Article first explores the impacts of climate change on the Inuit and each of the Inuit's basic human rights, which are implicated by the environmental changes. Next, the role and responsibility of the U.S. with respect to climate change is examined. This section discusses the current attitude and actions of the U.S. government, issues of causation and the role of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights as the appropriate forum in which to pursue the claims. Finally, the article discusses the applicable international law and the protection of the Inuit's human rights within the Inter-American System.