Collective Statement by UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies Demands Global Climate Action
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 17, 2019
Geneva — In a rare collective statement issued yesterday, five UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies called upon States to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to a level reflecting their highest possible ambition in order to comply with their human rights obligations. Issued five days before a crucial UN Climate Action Summit, the joint statement confirms that States have legally binding obligations under international human rights treaties to prevent foreseeable harm resulting from climate change and to regulate private actors accordingly.
The five bodies are mandated by States under key international human rights treaties to monitor the human rights obligations of 196 States – their mandates addressing the elimination of discrimination against women, economic, social and cultural rights, the rights of children, the rights of all migrant workers and their families, and the rights of persons with disabilities.
In their statement, these bodies note that climate change poses significant risks for a broad range of rights protected under international human rights law, including the right to life, the right to adequate food, the right to adequate housing, the right to health, the right to water, and cultural rights. “The risk of harm is particularly high for those segments of the population already marginalised or in vulnerable situations or that, due to discrimination and pre-existing inequalities, have limited access to decision-making or resources, such as women, children, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and persons living in rural areas,” the statement underlines.
“Whilst emphasising the disproportionate impacts on disadvantaged and marginalised groups, the Committees stressed that such groups should be recognised as agents of change and key partners in the search for responses and solutions to climate change,” said Lucy McKernan, Geneva Representative for the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. “The Committees have made it clear that States’ obligations to protect human rights require them to take preventive action to mitigate climate change and regulate the activities that contribute to it. These legal obligations should be taken into consideration as States prepare their updated commitments under the Paris Agreement.”
“The Committees made it clear that States must phase out fossil fuels, hold corporate actors accountable, and regulate financial investments in order to fulfill their climate goals and commitments,” commented Sébastien Duyck, senior attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law. “As national governments are increasingly being called to account for failing to take adequate action on climate change, this statement provides authoritative guidance regarding steps that governments must take to fulfil their international human rights obligations in the context of climate change.”
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Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GIESCR)