HRC53: States Urged to Treat Climate Change as a Human Rights Issue
The 53rd Session of the Human Rights Council
19th June– 14th July 2023
Item 3: Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change
Report of the Secretary-General on the adverse impact of climate change on the full realisation of the right to food
Annual panel discussion on the adverse impacts of climate change on human rights
27th June, 3rd July and 4th July 2023
By Isabel García Aguilar / GICJ
Executive summary
As established by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volker Türk, climate change is a human rights issue which must be addressed by the international community. As part of this fight, three different meetings were held during the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council consisting of an annual panel discussion and two interactive dialogues with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change and with the Secretary-General, respectively. Although these meetings focused on the fight against climate change, this topic was examined from two different points of view. The first, people displaced across international borders due to climate change, and the second which examined the impact of the climate crisis on the right to food.
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) welcomes the importance given to climate change during the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council through two interactive dialogues and an annual panel. GICJ commends the efforts of many states to implement measures tackling climate change. However, more must be done by every state and international cooperation is needed to fight the long-term impact of the climate crisis.
We are extremely concerned by the rising number of people displaced across borders and of people not being able to enjoy their right to food, with women, children, and indigenous peoples the most affected.
We join the Special Rapporteur in his denunciation of the highest carbon-polluting countries spending more money on securing their borders to keep migrants out than on trying to alleviate climate change. Furthermore, we call on States to implement measures that promote sustainable agriculture and a change in the food system in order to ensure the right to food is fulfilled.
Background
The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change was established at the 48th session of the Human Rights Council through resolution 48/14 (A/HRC/RES/48/14). Currently, the mandate is held by Mr. Ian Fry.
The number of people displaced across international borders is rapidly increasing due to the severe effects of climate change. Along with displacements, violations of human rights have also increased, especially for women and children. The Special Rapporteur uses the term “persons displaced across international borders due to climate change”, but its definition is not yet established. For example, popular media outlets use “climate change refugees” or “climate refugees”, the OIM uses “environmental migrant” or “displaced person” and some countries such as Poland even distinguish between “climate change migrants” and “people displaced by climate change”.
Furthermore, Human Rights Council resolution 50/9 on human rights and climate change established a panel discussion on the adverse impacts of climate change on the full realisation of the right to food for all people during the 53rd session. This panel aims to help the OHCHR to identify the necessary measures for minimising the adverse impact of climate change on the full realisation of the right to food to present a full report to the Human Rights Council at its 55th session. Panellists included Mr. Benyam Dawit Mezmur, member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Ms. Ana Maria Suarez Franco, Geneva Representative of FIAN International, Mr. Gian Carlo Cirri, Director of the Geneva Global Office of the World Food Programme and Pasang Dolma Sherpa, Executive Director of the Center for Indigenous Peoples' Research and Development.
For the OHCHR to further complete its report, the Human Right Council requested the Secretary-General to hold an interactive dialogue during the 53rd session where his report on the adverse impact of climate change on the full realisation of the right to food (A/HRC/53/47) would be discussed.
Interactive Dialogues and Annual Panel
Climate change is considered to be a threat to human rights, as it may deprive people of their right to food, water, housing, and health, among others. Even though it is a global crisis, industrialised countries are mainly responsible and people in vulnerable situations, especially women and children, are the most affected. For instance, more than half of the 41 million people internally displaced in 2018 were women. Furthermore, the right to life is also threatened by climate change, as more than 50,000 people lost their lives during migratory movements between 2014 and 2022.
Climate change is without question one of the most important concerns and challenges of today’s world. As an indication of this, 64 states requested to speak during the Annual Panel, 67 states requested to speak during the ID with the Secretary-General and 71 states requested to speak during the ID with the Special Rapporteur.
Intervention of the Special Rapporteur
3.3 billion people are highly vulnerable to climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2021, 38 million people were displaced from their homes, and 22.3 million people were displaced by “weather-related” events, with droughts being one of the main causes of displacement. For example, 75 percent of displacements from Somalia to Kenya were due to climate change in 2020 and more than 50,000 people died during displacements between 2014 and 2022, including in the Mediterranean Sea. Numbers are not expected to improve, as the IPCC expects the number of displacements due to climate change to grow from 31 million to 143 million by 2050.
One of the main issues related to people being forced to move due to climate change is how to define them. For example, they do not fit under the definition of a refugee according to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951. Because of this, they do not have the same level of legal protection as the concept of non-refoulement. In order to establish a definition and a legal framework, the Special Rapporteur recommended that the General Assembly adopt an optional protocol to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which would provide protection to people displaced as a whole. This would provide responses to different vulnerable groups, such as indigenous people or women.
Furthermore, greenhouse gas emissions from major emitting countries are the main cause of climate change. In his report and during the Interactive Dialogue, the Special Rapporteur critically denounced that countries most responsible for the climate crisis are spending more money on securing their borders to keep migrants out than on trying to fix this crisis.
The Special Rapporteur denounced the lack of uniformity of policies on an international and national level and called on the international community to provide a coordinated response to help persons displaced by funding and providing technical and humanitarian support. These measures would not only provide legal protection, but would also help to avoid the violation of displaced persons’ rights.
Being that vulnerable groups are the ones more affected by climate change, Mr. Ian Fray stated that the recognition of women’s work would help to protect the ones displaced across international borders. Furthermore, he stressed that the rights and concerns of farmers and rural workers need to be recognised.
During the interactive dialogue held on the 27th of June 2023, the Special Rapporteur highlighted the situation in Bangladesh, as he visited the country in September 2022. Because of this, he stated that the country is highly vulnerable to climate change, though the government of Bangladesh is making serious efforts to protect its people, through the distribution of special funding and the formulation of climate-related policies. Greenhouse gas emissions are likely to rapidly grow. Because of this, he called on the country to develop strategies to assist people with the challenges of climate change and to develop renewable and efficient energy sources.
The country concerned, Bangladesh, stated that the report did not focus on issues relevant to the severity of climate change displacements, so they denied the lack of help to achieve gender equality or helping indigenous people, for example.
During this interactive dialogue, multiple countries presented the measures they have taken in order to tackle this problem. Some of them, such as the creation of visa wager categories for people affected by climate change, were welcomed by the Special Rapporteur.
Special Rapporteur Ian Fray emphasised the need to cooperate not only internationally, but also regionally. In this sense, he spotlighted the work of the African Union and the global summit on migration that will take place in France. Furthermore, in order to continue this discussion, he suggested there be a dialogue with civil society groups to address this issue with council members.
He finished his intervention by recalling that the work that is being done right now is not sufficient to tackle climate change. Because of this, he reproached the many cheap excuses, such as not having enough data, that countries are using, and the need to stop the number of people that are dying crossing borders because of climate change.
Annual panel on the right to food and intervention from panellists
Human Rights Council Resolution 50/09 establishes the relationship between climate change and the right to food. Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, started his speech by stating that “our environment is dying” because it is burning, melting, flooding, depleting, and drying. Furthermore, he explained that “climate change is a human rights issue”. Similar to Mr. Ian Fray, the High Commissioner also emphasised the need to take action now, and he called on today’s leaders to tackle climate change.
He condemned the fact that the average temperature increase by the end of this century would be 3° Celsius if nothing changes, which means that our ecosystem would be unrecognisable. For example, territories will disappear and the right to food would be threatened. In this sense, he noted that temperatures of 52.6º Celsius were registered in Basra (Iraq).
Since these events are repeating, people cannot recover from them. Further, more than 828 million people faced hunger in 2021, and this number is expected to grow up to 80 million more by the middle of this century.
All of this has a negative impact on people’s lives and food security, but the world is not acting with the urgency needed. In the long run, food insecurity will spread to every corner of the world. Multiple countries are already facing it, and some are not ready to quickly respond to it. For example, the international community must be extremely careful about states in Africa below the Sahara, across Asia, in small island States, and in Central and South America.
Mr. Türk explained that there is still hope to change this since we are the generation with the most powerful technological tools in history. Because of this, he called on the international community to end fossil fuel dependency and make financing available to support a greater number of people. International cooperation is essential, as COP28 needs to serve as the “decisive game-changer” and fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) can lead to upholding the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
All panellists agreed on the need to take urgent global action to respond to climate change. Mr. Benyam Dawit Mezmur, condemned how children’s right to food is being violated. He explained that it is expected that children born in 2020 would face nearly three times more droughts and crop failures than their grandparents. In this sense, climate change is especially harming indigenous children, children of minority groups, children with disabilities, children living in disaster-prone or climate-vulnerable environments, and girls.
He justified that the right to food should be a priority when it comes to vulnerable groups, especially children. Mr. Mezmur explained that since families cannot cope with this situation, it is becoming widespread. One of the solutions he found is to introduce information on how to handle the impacts of climate change in the education system.
He was especially critical when denouncing the tendency to portray combating hunger and malnutrition as a moral duty or a policy choice because it needs to be also regarded as a legally binding human rights obligation. Furthermore, climate change has exacerbated food insecurity, and increased the risk of children experiencing violence, abuse and exploitation. The panellist called on states to fulfil their international obligations to tackle direct and indirect environmental discrimination, and to implement the right to social protection. Furthermore, he also encouraged increasing climate financing to address loss and damage and agro-food systems.He expressed support for a further increase in the involvement of vulnerable groups.
This very last idea was shared by the following panellist, Ms. Ana María Suárez Franco, who stated that subsidies and trade rules would ensure that small food producers were not discriminated against. She also confirmed that the industrial food system was the biggest contributor to climate change and environmental degradation, as between 21 and 37 per cent of all greenhouse gases come from it. She also explained that the right to food had been affected by fisheries threatened by climate phenomena, as, for example, fishing had been displaced by marine intrusion.
Among the measures suggested by the expert, agro-ecology, as well as including mechanisms for rural populations and indigenous peoples, are seen as a useful way to transform the industrial food system. The panellist also stated that global issues, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, show that food systems based on global value chains are very fragile, so there is a need to design and implement systems that would ensure supporting regional and local markets. Furthermore, transparency should promote science in tackling climate change, and measures should have an intersectional approach.
Mr. Gian Carlo Cirriexplained that 3.6 billion people live in highly vulnerable areas susceptible to climate extremes, which is over 40 per cent of the global population. Since the 1990s, the number of extreme weather events has more than doubled in developing countries and is expected to rise by 30 percent by 2030. For example, during the drought in the Horn of Africa in the summer of 2022, 43,000 people died in Somalia. Even if the World Food Programme had reached 158 million people in 2022, it is not enough. If no additional investment is made in climate adaptation, there will be starvation and migration. Because of this, he called for taking anticipatory actions, for strengthening social protection systems and for building resilience.
Ms. Pasang Dolma Sherpa, commended the resilience of indigenous peoples affected by climate change. They represent 6.2 per cent of the total global population and approximately 70 percent are located in Asia. This strength comes from the fact that they have contributed to safeguarding 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity through their knowledge, experience, and practices. However, this is not enough, as this resilience is not being supported by relevant measures, such as policies or programmes.
She underlined the need to create a new model of development, education, and climate justice. In order to establish it, it is important to recognise indigenous people's customary institutions and their self-governance systems, so their knowledge and values can be preserved.
Intervention of the Secretary-General
Ms. Peggy Hicks, Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, spoke on behalf of the Secretary-General to denounce the extreme weather events, rising sea levels and industrial food systems that were preventing the right to food. To her mind, the only way to address this issue would be to transition to sustainable food systems.
Climate change also affects the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, and countries experiencing food insecurity are the ones that do not have the capacity to respond to it. In fact, it is expected that climate change will put another 80 million people at risk of hunger by the middle of the century. Moreover, food system emissions are projected to grow from 60 per cent to 90 per cent, and the production of meat stands at 54 percent of all green gas production and is expected to grow. Without a change, the expectations established with the Paris Agreement will not be achieved, and that is why Ms. Hicks explained the need to transition to sustainable food systems that would have an agro-ecological approach. She relies on a new model based on a circular economy, where locally produced food is accessible to all. This transition would require a transformation of trade regimes and fiscal policies as well as subsidies that would aim to promote sustainable food. In this sense, she supported the idea of every state holding each company accountable for its actions.
Furthermore, it needs to be followed by measures which tackle hunger and malnutrition, and the response needs to be global, solidary, and coordinated. Because of this, she called on the international community to implement measures such as the promotion of healthy diets, funding, and technology transfer; that is to say, adequate, effective and non-discriminatory policies.
Ms. Hicks explained that a healthy environment includes healthy and adequate food and a safe climate. Moreover, she expressed that access to information is essential for climate action, and she stressed that the Human Rights Council needs to treat the climate crisis as the threat to human rights that it is.
Statements made by delegations during the interactive dialogues and the Annual Panel
There was a general denouncement of the huge consequences that climate change has had over the world. For example, the rise of sea levels has especially affected the Maldives, Jordan, and the Philippines. The Bahamas and Honduras have been affected by the growing intensity of hurricanes, and El Salvador, Iraq and Samoa detailed the extreme rains and droughts they have experienced. The increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events are jeopardising multiple aspects of vulnerable regions, such as their food security, access to safe drinking water or to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, as noted by Latin America countries and the Caribbean.
Climate change has dynamited cultural identity, creating an uncertain future for all. Furthermore, because of it, the amount of arable land has been reduced, and fisheries, infrastructure, access to water and food production have all been affected, resulting in the overexploitation of land or countries depending on imports, as is the case of Mauritius, among others. As food insecurity has existed for more than 50 years, some states stressed that work must be done to protect the right to food, as all people should have access to nutritious food, regardless of their situation.
Micronesia was especially critical during its intervention, stating “we do not need answers, we need help”.As it is a country specifically affected by climate change, especially by the rise of the ocean levels, it does not currently have the resources needed to tackle it. Furthermore, the representative also noted that “our people have the right to develop, and we need to be able to prove it”. Moreover, climate change was also seen as a challenge to peace and the right to self-determination. However, other delegations, such as Mexico, claimed that the link between the protection of human rights and climate change is artificial.
Some African delegates agreed with the Special Rapporteur on the need to make a clear distinction between refugees and migrants, and between internally displaced peoples and refugees. India advocated for safe and legal migration, and Chile denounced the situation of women and girls in their country, who increasingly struggle to meet their basic needs due to the difficulty of collecting water and food.
Most states were especially concerned about the rising number of displaced people, marginalised communities were especially affected, as they are excluded from private services, for example. This is affecting mostly women and children, as UNICEF explained that migration affects children as they have fewer options and there can be legal defects. The representative of Afghanistan stated that displacements can take place across international borders or internally, the latter being the case of this state. Indigenous peoples are another group particularly affected, as it was estimated in 2018 that 83,000 indigenous international migrants were present in Central America. Furthermore, some countries have also experienced a population increase due to an increase in displaced persons, such as Jordan and Syrian refugees, or Burundi.
Even if climate change is one of the main causes of displacements, the representative of Slovenia, on behalf of Austria and Croatia, named poverty and inequality as causes of displacements. In this sense, the representative of the Philippines called for the establishment of frameworks to reduce poverty. Furthermore, some countries, such as Brazil or Iran claimed that there are also social, economic, and political causes. For example, the pandemic of COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which have led to a rise in the cost of living. In this sense, Ukraine recalled that the war with Russia is not only leading to environmental problems, but it is also forcing people to leave the country. Furthermore, this war has also aggravated the current food crisis. For example, Georgia denounced the fact that Russia has occupied 20% of its territory which hinders its attempt to ensure food security in the country.
Additionally, displacement causes vulnerability, as gender-based violence, abuses and the disruption of education have increased. Because of this, Panama called for studying and mapping this issue to tackle it.
Delegations from Central America, such as El Salvador and Honduras, called for international communication. Moreover, most states, such as Iraq, Mexico, Mauritania, and Greece called on the international community to have a coordinated answer to climate change. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) denounced the lack of effective implementation, and the representative of Nepal criticised a lack of ambition.. The Gulf Cooperation Council and Mali expressed that international conferences are an invaluable opportunity to face climate change, and some states, such as Egypt, as the host country of COP27, showed their support for this conference. The representative of Lebanon urged states to actively participate in COP28, and the European Union and Emirates reminded all that the participation of vulnerable groups is essential to its success . Furthermore, international forums should be used to find measures to maintain biological diversity; and the international cooperation needs to be reflected through technological and financial assistance in developing countries and the implementation of SDGs or instruments such as the Paris Agreement or the optional protocol to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which was welcomed by Luxembourg.
The most affected by climate change are small island developing states and the developing countries, which, as Latin American states emphasised,
are the ones that have contributed the least to climate change. Greenhouse gases are the main cause of food insecurity and malnutrition and, although small island developing states generate only 1 percent of them, they are most affected. Because of this, African countries called for solidarity, as their territory is especially vulnerable. Delegations mostly from countries affected by this issue critically agreed with the Special Rapporteur on the fact that the responsible countries are spending more resources in securing borders against migrants than in tackling climate change. On this basis, Cuba and Malaysia called on developed countries to provide adequate financing and technology to developing countries, especially to landlocked countries. Moreover, it was deplored that up to a third of the food produced is wasted every year, that 345 million people were projected to suffer from food insecurity in 79 countries, and that the IPCC estimates that 600 million more people will go hungry by 2080. Therefore, the representative of Pakistan stated that the causes of hunger should be discussed further.
The need to have better access to finance was also highlighted by the Maldives, while the Bahamas called for financial institutions to provide financing. The representative of Mauritania stated that the funding system should prioritise donations over loans, and France explained that the new financial system should be equitable, effective and should aim to help the most vulnerable. Furthermore, Portugal called on businesses to assess their impact.
Most of the states used their intervention to explain the different measures that they have implemented to fight climate change. Some are focused on helping groups affected by climate change in different ways, such as providing accommodation to persons displaced in the case of Georgia, or to enhancing fishers’ capacities, in the case of the Maldives. On this basis, the Special Rapporteur congratulated Mexico on their temporary permits. Furthermore, some states, such as Samoa, are working with other sectors, or are implementing measures to develop renewable energies, such as Namibia or Portugal, or to transit to sustainable food systems, such as Bangladesh. Moreover, since empowering women is essential to achieve ODS, some measures are also trying to promote gender equality by encouraging women to participate in decision-making processes, as is the case in Germany and Peru.
However, these actions are not enough. A change in decision-making, technical cooperation, ensuring food security and accelerated measures were demanded by the countries most affected by climate change. Some states, such as Ireland and Chile, called for financial assistance. Furthermore, Costa Rica is committed to continuing raising awareness on climate urgency, and China acknowledged that transitioning to carbon neutrality is a challenge, but it is committed to this.
Ensuring the right to food through a multi-dimensional approach is essential, so countries such as Mauritius and India expressed their support for climate-smart practices such as composting, organic farming, and developing new crops adapted to extreme weather conditions. Moreover, these measures must be sustainable and innovative. 
In addition, the adaptation of climate change resilience was also supported. The transformation of the agriculture sector and the food system through the adaptation of food chains, which should be sustainable, equitable and accessible, were proposed by Arab States and Switzerland. Although most of the delegations supported human rights-based climate action, especially for vulnerable groups or countries, Russia found this link to be artificial. In this regard, Mexico and Belgium advocated for the security and protection of human rights defenders, especially to guarantee women and young people’s human rights. To achieve this, some of the measures proposed included providing emergency assistance, working with local populations, and ensuring transparent and inclusive participation of civil societies.
Oman called for tourism which ensures the preservation of natural resources and food security, and which conserves wealth and diversity. In addition, several countries in the most affected areas, such as Algeria, Iran, and Cuba, supported the fight against climate change through the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR).
On the other hand, Iran condemned the existence of unilateral coercive measures, which affect the ability of countries to guarantee the right to food.
Resolution
Resolution A/HRC/53/L.9 was adopted without a vote during the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council. The Council emphasised the importance of continuing to address this issue urgently and it has decided to hold an annual panel discussion during the 56th session focused on ensuring livelihood resilience in the context of the risk of loss and damage because of climate change. It calls on States to ratify or accede to the Paris Agreement if they have not done it yet and to develop and effectively implement policies that promote sustainable agriculture. Furthermore, the Secretary-General was asked to study the impact of loss and damage from the adverse effects of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights.
Position of Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ)
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) welcomes the attention paid to climate change during the 53rd session of the Human Rights Council through two interactive dialogues and an annual panel. GICJ commends the efforts of many states to implement measures tackling climate change. However, further action by every state and international cooperation is needed. We are extremely concerned by the rising number of people displaced across borders and of people not being able to enjoy their right to food, with women, children, and indigenous peoples being the most affected.
We welcome the proposal made by the Special Rapporteur to create an optional protocol to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. We join the Special Rapporteur in his denunciation of countries that are the most responsible for the climate crisis spending more money on securing their borders to keep migrants out than on trying to tackle climate change. However, States are not the only ones that need to take responsibility, but also businesses.
Furthermore, we call on States to implement measures and policies that promote sustainable agriculture and a change in the food system, as the right to food needs to be ensured.
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