Children's rights argument to bolster environmental case

This Legalbrief article reports: "The rights of children to cultural identity is one of the arguments that will be used in an expanded legal battle to save the Mapungubwe region from mining.

This marks the first time an environmental case seeks to protect the rights of children under Section 24 of the Constitution, says a report in The Citizen. The University of Pretoria's Centre for Child Law (CCL) has made an application to intervene as amicus curiae in the interdict application which has resulted from the granting of mining rights to Limpopo Coal in Mapungubwe. The CCL is arguing the coal mining operations in Mapungubwe, with the resulting environmental impacts, would infringe on future generations' rights to experience the region's cultural and natural wealth. They are arguing that the right to preservation of the environment is inextricably linked with children's rights to cultural identity, the protection and preservation of African culture and respect for the natural environment - both in international and regional law." Source: Legalbrief/The Citizen