The Last Frontier of the International Protection of Human Rights at the Outermost Bounds of the Earth: Polar Activities between Cultural and Biological Diversity

The complexities inherent in biological and cultural diversity have surfaced - with unusual urgency - in the international legal order. The fragilities of the polar regions' equilibrium can turn into a good starting point for developing innovative - internationally conceived or guaranteed - sustainable development solutions, in the general framework of the protection of common interests. The recent international cooperation practice of the Arctic region is an interesting example of formulation and implementation of sustainable development policies through structured - though soft law - participatory procedures, guaranteeing the protection and promotion of human rights in a biologically and culturally diverse, really democratic environment.