Protecting, Promoting & Respecting Human Rights
Climate change threatens the realization of human rights as can the actions taken to address climate change. Climate impacts already endanger millions of people and their livelihoods and make it difficult for them to realize their rights to life, food, water, and a healthy environment, among others. Effective state action against climate change is necessary to uphold the human rights of millions of people. Further, actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change must also respect human rights and include necessary safeguards to avoid human rights abuses. The Paris Agreement and parties’ existing human rights obligations necessitate that action must be taken to limit global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and those actions must adhere to the existing obligations.
Key International Instruments:
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Adopted by the UN General Assembly, the UDHR sets out the fundamental human rights that must be universally protected and acknowledges that these human rights must be realized by all people. This includes the right to life, health, participation, and education, among others.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: The ICCPR is one of three treaties that makes up the International Bill of Human Rights along with the UDHR and ICESCR. The ICCPR has been adopted by 169 parties and lays out numerous rights including freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, and freedom of expression among others.
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: The ICESCR has 164 parties and is a fundamental human rights treaty. It includes the right to work, the right to health, and the right to an adequate standard of living including the right to food, water, and housing. It also includes the right to public participation, which includes stakeholder engagement in decision-making,
Convention on the Rights of the Child: The Convention on the Rights of the Child provides a comprehensive overview of the rights of the child including related to a healthy environment and education, among others and has been ratified by all UN states except for one. Article 29 guarantees every child the right to an education on matters related to the environment..
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities protects the human rights of people with disabilities and ensure their equality under law, as well as ensuring their right to participate in public affairs. It includes specific rights for people with disabilities including accessibility, inclusion in society, respect for differences and equality of opportunities, among others, as well as reiterating rights in the ICCPR and ICESCR.
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: The CERD condemns discrimination and calls on parties to eliminate racial discrimination in all forms while also promoting tolerance. Additionally, article 5(c) guarantees all people the right to participate in public life without discrimination.