General Debate under Item 3:

Item 3 - Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development

11 March 2019

Oral Statement by: International-Lawyers.Org and Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ)

Mr. President,

International-Lawyers and Geneva International Centre for Justice regret that States have still failed to take adequate action on climate change in this Council and in the international forums.  

The report of the Special Rapporteur on Environment that focuses on air pollution recognizes that climate change and air pollution are linked. We welcome that recognition, but regret the failure to go further and call on the Council as well as UN member states to take adequate action to ensure that the adverse effects of climate change are addressed.

Climate change has an impact on basic human rights such as the right to food, water and shelter, the right to life, and even the vital right to self-determination. Moreover, the consequences of climate change have affected communities within the developing world, including Indigenous populations.

It is already too late to prevent much damage to life and property according to climate change experts, and that is why, we need action to ensure compensation to injured people. We need an International Court of Climate Justice, to hold the states, that have failed to take adequate action, responsible for all their internationally wrongful acts. And we need the international institutions that exist to take up their responsibilities.

This situation needs urgent address. All stakeholders must be included in the solution to tackle the challenges of climate change.

We renew our call, for this Council to create a mandate of a Special Rapporteur on climate change.

Thank you.

Climate change, environemnt, Human Rights Council, Justice, Human rights, Geneva, geneva4justice, GICJ, Geneva International Centre For Justice