Summary
On April 21, 2023, Minister Ursell Arends submitted a draft law to amend the constitution of the Caribbean island Aruba to recognize the Rights of Nature. This would include a recognition that nature possesses inherent legal rights like the right to exist and regenerate, as well as the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
The draft amendment must clear a series of reviews and consultations, and then be approved by two-thirds of Aruba’s Parliament. While Aruba became a self-governing country in 1986, it remains part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (since 1815). If lawmakers are successful and the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands signs off, Aruba would become the world’s second country (after Ecuador) to constitutionally recognize the rights of nature.