Children's Access to Justice for Environmental Rights | Chile

This report looks at whether the laws and policies in Chile make it possible for children to access their environmental rights. 

In Chile, the Constitution provides for the right to live in an environment that is free of pollution, as well as the obligation of the State to protect this right and to ensure the conservation of nature. The Constitution also provides for future laws that can enact restrictions on actions that would endanger the environment. The Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court have concretised and developed the constitutional protections of environmental rights, and the Supreme Court has referred to the rights of future generations on a number of occasions.

Since 2022, there are also extra-constitutional protections with regards to children's right to a healthy environment set out in the Law 21,430. This law recognises the right of children to live and enjoy a healthy and sustainable environment and obliges the State to progressively adopt adequate measures for the protection and sustainability of the environment for the enjoyment of children. Further main legislation regulating environmental protections is in place, such as Law 19,300, which introduced a legislative framework for the regulation of environmental issues, with the aim of giving concrete content and adequate legal development to the constitutional guarantee that assures all individuals the right to live in a pollution-free environment.

The population in a number of areas in Chile, including children, have been affected by the harmful effects of toxics on several occasions. Although these cases have been brought to justice and the Supreme Court has ordered measures, they have still to be complied with by those responsible. In 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment stated that children in Chile are exposed to chemicals both at home and in schools and urged the state to act. 

Law 21,430 recognises children's rights to peaceful assembly, expression, association and information since 2022. In the past, both the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee against Torture have expressed concern about child rights violations by the Chilean authorities, particularly with regard to the rights to peaceful assembly, expression and association. These include the excessive use of force and excessive brutality used by the authorities to repress protests by children.

This report was published in March 2024 and developed with the support of Julio Cortés Morales, as well as finalised based on any feedback from the State. To learn more read the full report below, and please get in touch if this information was useful and you want to talk more.