Human rights are at the heart of the climate change debate, urged Türk |
A top rights activist has written an open letter calling for human rights to be at the heart of efforts to tackle climate change.
“The outcome of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference – COP27 – starting this weekend in Egypt, is important for the effective enjoyment of human rights around the world, not only in the coming years but now”, he said.
A world that cannot live
“People are losing their homes, their belongings, and their lives. Given the current trajectory of rising temperatures, many parts of the world will be uninhabitable within our children’s lifetimes, with unimaginable consequences.”
Mr. Türk said that the injustice of global warming has now become a disaster: “Look at Pakistan, where the recent floods have affected more than 30 million people. It will take years to rebuild and begin to understand this single disaster.”
He warned that such disasters could become “a recurring nightmare for people around the world if we do not take urgent, rights-based action to respond to climate change, mitigate its impacts, and address human suffering that has draw already.”
He said it is important that this year’s UN Climate Conference, COP27, hosted by Egypt in the Red Sea, is happening in a continent where the millions at the front of climate change are the only victims, not the a contributor to increased emissions.
“African people are among those who suffer the greatest consequences,” he said.
The Paris Process
The Paris Agreement makes the need for rights-based climate action clear, the High Commissioner said, calling on all States to respect, promote, and consider individual human rights obligations when they do so.
It highlights the recent findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that rights-based, participatory climate action leads to more effective, just, and sustainable outcomes for people and the planet.
“To face the biggest challenge of the century, you need to be in every way of society,” said Mr. Türk. “It is therefore important that everyone – including civil society representatives – is able to participate meaningfully in COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. Decisions about climate change, including at this meeting, need to be transparent, inclusive and accountable, especially for those most affected. “
Scope of rights to COP27
The High Commissioner has explained in his letter, some key steps that all countries should take, to reduce the risks to human rights from a warming world:
- Improve climate action to protect human rights
- Evidence of meaningful and effective participation
- Address the human rights harms caused by climate change
- Mobilize resources for rights-based climate action
- Ensure the centrality of human rights in climate decision-making
