Living and Dying in 'Cancer Alley': Using Human Rights Law and Environmental Justice to Create a Litigation Framework for Marginalized Communities

Authors

Neeharika SistuFollow

Date of Completion

Spring 5-1-2023

Thesis Advisor(s)

Audrey R Chapman

Honors Major

Individualized Major

Disciplines

Demography, Population, and Ecology | Environmental Policy | Health Policy | Inequality and Stratification | Place and Environment | Policy History, Theory, and Methods | Race and Ethnicity | Regional Sociology | Social Justice

Abstract

Cancer Alley, Louisiana is a poignant example of the intersection between environmental justice, legal harm, and human rights abuses. This thesis dissects the laws and policies underpinning the creation of Cancer Alley with special attention to how they constitute human rights abuses under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Then, by performing a comprehensive analysis of litigation surrounding environmental justice in Louisiana, this thesis scrutinizes the efficacy of environmental law in creating environmental justice and suggests the integration of international human rights law and environmental law as a path forward.

Drawing upon this analysis, the thesis proposes a litigation framework grounded in human rights law to empower marginalized communities in seeking accountability. It advocates for a 'bottom-up' approach and emphasizes the importance of centering marginalized voices in the environmental justice movement.

Recommended Citation

Sistu, Neeharika, "Living and Dying in 'Cancer Alley': Using Human Rights Law and Environmental Justice to Create a Litigation Framework for Marginalized Communities" (2023). Honors Scholar Theses. 1035.
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/srhonors_theses/1035