UN rapporteur praises Bangladesh's HC order halting Cox's Bazar sea beach road construction

UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment Astrid Puentes Riaño has praised Bangladesh's High Court's decision to halt construction of a road in the ecologically critical area of Cox's Bazar sea beach. In a LinkedIn post yesterday (7 September), Puentes Riaño congratulated the High Court for "aligning with their duties" and helping the state protect the beach and sea. "Good news from Bangladesh!" she wrote, adding that access to justice is an essential part of the right to a healthy environment. On 2 September, the High Court imposed an eight-week injunction on all activities related to the construction of a 1.6-kilometre road by Cox's Bazar municipality in the ecologically critical area, no-development zone and reserved tourism area of Cox's Bazar sea beach. Puentes Riaño said the court's decision was based on the potential environmental impact of the construction in an ecologically critical area, describing Cox's Bazar as home to what is often referred to as the world's longest natural unbroken beach. She also said projects of this nature require comprehensive, independent and adequate environmental, social and human rights impact assessments, including an assessment of climate impacts. "These obligations were among the issues she had analysed in her reports on oceans and human rights and on environmental, social and human rights impact assessments," Riaño added.