50th Session of the Human Rights Council
13 June - 8 July 2022
ITEM 3 - Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development
23 June 2022
By Amie Sillito / GICJ
Executive Summary
State obligations regarding the protection and promotion of human rights from the impact of climate change in accordance with international human rights treaties are increasingly becoming a common topic of discussion in the international community. The most recent mandate of the Special Rapporteur set out the agenda regarding climate action for the period of 2022-2025. The report summarised the current challenges the international community faces in its fight against climate change and provided suggestions and set goals for the period of his mandate. The key areas which international focus will shift towards include mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage and finance.
During the interactive dialogue, the overall sentiment of the international community was positive, and the Special Rapporteur was commended on his goals and suggestions outlined in the mandate. The majority of the delegates underlined that climate change is one of the gravest issues we face in the 21st century and that this topic deserves urgent attention. Vulnerable communities, including indigenous communities reliant on natural resources, were discussed at length and it was emphasised that these groups continue to disproportionately suffer from the effects of climate change. NGOs pledged their support to the mandate and emphasised that developed nations are some of the largest polluters in the climate crisis. It was stated that first world countries are not contributing enough on a financial and resource-based level to the fight against global warming. Given their historic contribution to the problem, they must take their obligations under international treaties more seriously.
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) commended the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and commended climate activists for their work carried out. GICJ reiterated the fact that the climate crisis will not affect everyone equally and that vulnerable communities in developing countries will suffer disproportionately from the effects of global warming and natural disasters. The international community was encouraged to invest in the fight against this crisis and to include young people in discussions regarding redressing victims of this crisis.
Background
Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 48/14 the Council appointed a Special Rapporteur on the promotion of human rights in the context of climate change. At the Council’s 49th session, Mr Ian Fry was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change and commenced his position on the 1st May 2022.
Since 2008, the Human Rights Council has expressed its concern regarding the impact of climate change on the exercise and enjoyment of human rights, particularly vulnerable communities who are most likely to experience the effects of climate change. Accordingly, the Human Rights Council has organised several panels during its sessions and the OHCHR has published several studies at the request of the Human Rights Council. In recent years, the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council has overseen studies on the impact of new technologies for climate protection on the enjoyment of human rights. International human rights treaty monitoring bodies have also explored State obligations regarding the protection and promotion of human rights from the impact of climate change in accordance with such treaties.
Several special procedures mandate-holders have addressed and affirmed the impact that climate change has had on human rights in their thematic and country visit reports. The Human Rights Council requested the Special Rapporteur on the most recent report, I, to produce findings on the current situation regarding vulnerable communities and the impact of climate change.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on Climate Change
Report A/HRC/50/39 on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change: Initial Planning and Vision for the Mandate.
The Special Rapporteur presented the current report to the fiftieth session of the Human Rights Council after one month following the commencement of his position. The report outlines the Special Rapporteur’s initial ideas and plans for the first three years of his mandate from 2022-2025 with the view to engage in meaningful dialogue and discussion with various States and other stakeholders. The report indicated that the Special Rapporteur will, through his mandate, explore the functional agreements of the Paris agreement including mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage, finance, reporting, technology transfer, capacity building and education, stocktaking and compliance and then find entry points for the inclusion of human rights perspectives within these arrangements. The Special Rapporteur has chosen to focus on four main elements that are consistent with the mandate provided by the Council, namely, mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage and finance.
Under mitigation, the Special Rapporteur’s report noted that the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Technical Summary of the Working Group III, (the report) states that effective and equitable climate policies are largely compatible with the broader goal of sustainable development. Moreover, all efforts to eradicate poverty as enshrined in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, also appear well matched. The report states that the projected global emissions from NDC’s place limiting global warming to 1.5°C beyond reach, and make it more difficult after 2030 to limit warming to 2°C. Consequently, unless mitigation actions are drastically enhanced there will be significant human rights implications through the impact of climate change. The report also noted that the extraction of fossil fuels is already creating significant impacts on communities. For example, the burning of fossil fuels and the extraction of oil in sensitive communities is contributing to air pollution. This in turn is impeding people’s human right to live in a clean and safe environment. The Special Rapporteur’s report noted engagements relating to the thematic priority, including that the SR will engage in dialogue on how to enhance mitigation action that supports sustainable development goals, whilst limiting the human rights impacts arising from a warming atmosphere. The SR will also engage in processes to review and enhance NDC’s as well as ensure human rights implications are understood and inscribed in NDC’s assessment mechanisms.
Regarding adaptation, the report underscored that the next Conference of Parties to UNFCCC and Paris Agreement (COP27 and CMA4) will be a key date for progressing work on adaptation. COP26 established the Glasgow-Sharm el-Sheikh Work Programme on the Global Goal on Adaptation to assess progress toward the adaptation goal and enable its implementation. It will be important to ensure that obligations to promote and protect human rights in the context of climate change are included in the Global Goal on Adaptation. Furthermore, parties of the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement will need to be encouraged to ensure that obligations to promote and protect human rights in the context of climate change in their National Adaptation Plans and Adaptation Communications. The Special Rapporteur promises to set guiding principles to assist states when implementing their human rights obligations and incorporate a human rights-based approach into their adaptation plans. The report emphasised that such plans should include a gender-responsive, age-sensitive, disability inclusive and social inclusion perspective consistent with element 2(k) of the mandate resolution.
Under loss and damage, the IPCC AR6 WG II Technical Summary states that widespread loss and damage to human and natural systems are being driven by human-induced climate changes increasing the frequency and/or intensity and/or duration of extreme weather events, including droughts, wildfires, terrestrial and marine heatwaves, cyclones, and flood. Extremes are surpassing the resilience of some ecological and human systems and challenging the adaptation capacities of others, including impacts with irreversible consequences. It was noted that vulnerable people and climate- sensitive species and ecosystems are most at risk. The report highlighted that over 20 million people have been internally displaced on an annual basis by weather related extreme events since 2008 with storms and floods remaining the most common cause of displacement. These events have had a negative impact on mental health, wellbeing, life satisfaction, happiness, cognitive performance, and aggression in exposed populations. The Glasgow Climate Pact adopted at UNFCCC COP26 acknowledged that climate change has already caused and will increasingly cause loss and damage. As temperatures increase, so will its impacts on climate change related weather extremes and storm events will worsen and create significant human rights impacts for millions of people around the globe. Such impacts will lead to increasing loss of life, land, homes and income. The Glasgow Climate Pact reiterates the urgency of scaling up action and support, including finance, technology transfer and capacity-building for implementing approaches to address loss and damage in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to these effects. The SR will appropriately engage financing options to increase financial support to find redress and compensation for those adversely affected by the impacts of climate change. The Special Rapporteur will consult with States, civil society organisations, business enterprises and intergovernmental organisations to find the best options to enhance funding for loss and damage.
The report indicated that the Special Rapporteur has reached out to some highly vulnerable Least Developed Countries to request a country visit. This was done in order to develop an understanding and report on the losses and damages these countries have suffered from the adverse impacts of climate change. It will also explore better practices where said losses and damages can be averted. The Special Rapporteur will also explore actions to address the human rights aspects of loss and damage that are experienced by individuals and communities in vulnerable situations, namely: women, children, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, local communities, peasants and other people working in rural areas.
Lastly, climate change finance will be a key focal point of the mandate as climate change action remains drastically underfunded. At the UNFCCC COP26, this topic was discussed, and the COP urged developed countries to urgently and significantly scale up their provision of climate finance, technology transfer and capacity-building for adaptation. This would be done so as to respond to the needs of developing countries as part of a global effort, including for the formulation and implementation of national adaptation plans and adaptation communications. The SR will engage in consultation on a new collective quantified goal initiated by COP on climate finance to ensure that human rights considerations are incorporated within these financial considerations.
Interactive Dialogue on the Special Rapporteur’s Report
Geneva, 23 June 2022. At the 19th meeting of the 50th Regular session of the Human Rights Council, the High Commissioner for Human Rights held an interactive dialogue regarding the state of human rights in the context of climate change under item 3 of the Agenda.
The President of the United Nations Human Rights Council opened the 19th meeting by inviting the Special Rapporteur
on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, Mr Ian Fry, to present his report to the Council. Following the deliverance of Mr Fry’s report, the President of the Human Rights Council proceeded with the interactive dialogue and opened the floor to interested delegations.
The first speaker, the representative of the European Union, Ms Lotte Knudsen, affirmed the EU’s commitment to tackling climate change and its role as a global leader in the fight. Ms Knudsen indicated that the EU was proud to have played a significant role in the establishment of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and the representative stated that they look forward to continuing to support it.
On behalf of ASEAN, Ms Le Thi Tuyet Mai, the representative of Vietnam, indicated that in the context of the
interactive dialogue, ASEAN countries are especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The representative indicated that climate change mitigation was a high priority of the governments of these states and that they are working to incorporate COP26 policies at a regional level. Most recently Vietnam agreed in principle to establish the ASEAN Centre for Climate Change for the realisation of a climate resilient and low carbon ASEAN region. In response to COVID-19, ASEAN states, after recognising that finance, technology, development and capacity building are key drivers to lower global greenhouse gas emissions, have financially aligned to facilitate recovery plans and stimulus packages on the basis of the Paris Agreement 2030 Agenda. Additionally, Ms Mai called on developed nations and parties to the UNCCC and the Paris Agreement to enhance international cooperation and assistance for mitigation and adaptation measures with particular emphasis on laws and damage experienced disproportionately by developing countries. In her concluding remarks, she stated that ASEAN will continue to work with stakeholders towards the COP27 initiative and reaffirms their support for the Special Rapporteur on his mandate and this issue.
The Representative of Brazil, Ms Luciana Melchert Saguas Presas, called attention to reports which indicate climate change may exacerbate current patterns of inequality and marginalisation, impacting the realisation of human rights for all. She posed the question to the Council on why all past generations in developing countries account for the majority of the greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. Ms Presas brought to the foreground that vulnerable groups and natural resource dependent communities in developing nations feel the consequences of climate change on a disproportionate level. In her concluding remarks, she asked Mr Fry how he intends to consider financial redress to communities affected by climate change in light of the financial commitments suggested in his mandate to the international community to combat the climate crisis.
Intersectionality was a topic highlighted by the representative of UN Women, Ms Adriana Quinones, who stated that women and girls are disproportionately affected by the negative effects of climate change. The representative emphasised that UN Women welcomed the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and emphasised including a gender perspective in all work carried out under the mandate. She also emphasised promoting and exchanging views, lessons learned, and best practices related to the adoption of gender responsive approaches to climate change adaptation and mitigation policies. Ms Quinones welcomed the Special Rapporteur’s vision for the mandate with special emphasis on the commitment to integrating a gender approach to all thematic priorities.
NGOs then provided statements in response to the Special Rapporteur’s report on the mandate. Most NGO’s provided parallel responses, highlighting vulnerable groups and cultural rights as a concern in respect of the climate crisis and commending the Special Rapporteur on his agenda outlined in the mandate. Human Rights were emphasised, and it was stated that they need to be considered at all levels and aspects of climate action regarding adaptation, mitigation, loss and damage and climate finance. One NGO, in particular, called on the Special Rapporteur to ensure the protection of environmental defenders and facilitate access to legal redress under his mandate. Business and human rights norms were underlined, and special emphasis was placed on the prevention of profit seeking practices over the preservation of human rights.
Criticism was levelled against governments and businesses who use the rhetoric of green transition, whilst at the same time, continue to encroach onto indigenous land for the sake of red plus projects, so called clean energy such as wind farms and minerals used in electric vehicle batteries. The lack of human rights to challenge the injustice of the climate crisis was also highlighted and Tibet was identified as a state which lacks appropriate rights and legislation to protect their access to health and the ability to live in a clean and healthy environment.
Position of Geneva International Centre for Justice
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) commends the Special Rapporteur on the mandate and encourages all states to take urgent and appropriate action to combat global warming and protect vulnerable communities. The climate crisis will not affect everyone equally, and children will suffer disproportionately, with the poorest communities facing the largest burden. Governments must increase investments into climate adaptation and include the youth in discussions. The younger generation must be prepared and provided with climate education and green skills to prepare for the consequences of climate change. Inflated prices for oil and gas are a clear indication that the world needs to move away from its reliance on Russian natural resources following its invasion of Ukraine and pursue other avenues which include green technologies to power our nations. Efforts to combat global warming must be taken seriously as the livelihoods of future generations depend on it.
Furthermore, we encourage climate activists advocating for the protection of the right to a clean environment however we oppose property destruction and recent events including protestors from Just Stop Oil, who have taken extreme measures and glued themselves to historic paintings in art galleries. It is imperative that the right to protest is protected, and environmental activists are protected against different forms of litigation aimed at constraining these rights. We encourage all climate activists to exercise their human rights in a peaceful manner and avoid resorting to extreme measures in order to communicate the urgency of the climate crisis and the need for a solution.
Climate Crisis, Intersectionality, Vulnerable groups, United Nations, Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice
