The Right to a Healthy Environment in the Democratic Republic of Congo: An Anthropocentric Conception

For several decades now, the destruction of the environment has been at the root of major human health problems. With the holding of two major United Nations conferences around the 1970s, the issue became alarming. It was realised that human beings could only live in a healthy environment. The inclusion of the environment of goods that can be protected has over time preoccupied States. The issue has been a success, and today there is no longer any controversy over the need to protect the environment. The intention of the decision-makers was not to protect the environment, but rather man through his environment. This policy is an anthropocentric emanation. As this was not enough, the United Nations went a step further by recognising that for the sake of human life man has the right to live in a healthy environment devoid of any risk to his health. The Democratic Republic of Congo has endorsed this option by constitutionalising this right. This constitutionalisation allows us to question its effects and its animus. It is around this question that we will focus on.