Strengthening the Rights to Culture and Mental Health in the Face of Environmental Violence

Abstract

Connections between the rights to culture and mental health are under-developed in international human rights law. This article interrogates the international legal framework relevant to these rights in the context of environmental violence against Indigenous Peoples and other land-dependent communities. It argues these rights can be strengthened by (1) accommodating alternative conceptions of mental health, (2) recognizing the rights to spiritual and cultural health, (3) treating cultural rights as underlying determinants of mental health, (4) evading a narrow focus on culturally appropriate treatment, and (5) framing the rights to culture and mental health as interrelated, interdependent, and mutually enforceable rights.