Human rights and the cost-of-living crisis
| Author | Aoife Nolan |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/09240519231156060 |
| Published date | 01 March 2023 |
| Date | 01 March 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Column |
Human rights and the cost-of-
living crisis
Aoife Nolan*
University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Abstract
This column explores the intersection between human rights and the ongoing cost-of-living cri-
sis. It opens with an overview of the crisis before turning to the current global state of affairs’
impact on human rights enjoyment. Having addressed key issues that arise in terms of State
obligations and how international human rights law as it stands might be deployed to address
them, it focuses on how the crisis constitutes an opportunity to advance new horizons in
human rights, particularly those related to energy and the implications of responses to crises
for the right to a safe, clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. The piece makes clear
that if they are to remain effective and relevant, human rights, and those responsible for apply-
ing and enforcing them, need to engage with the cost-of-living crisis head-on.
Keywords
Human rights, cost of living, poverty, inflation, economic policy, tax, energy, right to a safe, clean,
healthy and sustainable environment, retrogression, equality
1. INTRODUCTION
On 24 February 2022, Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine. In July 2022, a United Nations
Development Programme report flagged that the world was being pushed towards a precarious
inflationary surge, caused by, amongst other things, supply chain disruptions and price spikes in
key commodities resulting from the ripple effects of the conflict, particularly in terms of disrupted
* Professor of International Human Rights Law and Co-Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, University of
Nottingham. The author is very grateful to Jamie Burton and Conor Gearty for their valuable comments on an earlier
draft of this column.
Corresponding author:
Aoife Nolan, Professor of International Human Rights Law and Co-Directorof the HumanRights Law Centre, University of
Nottingham, Nottingham, UK.
Email: Aoife.Nolan@nottingham.ac.uk
Column
Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights
2023, Vol. 41(1) 3–12
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/09240519231156060
journals.sagepub.com/home/nqh
To continue reading
Request your trial