CONCEPT NOTE

CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE PACIFIC REGION

AND QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

“Climate change is a reality that now affects every region of the world. The human
implications of currently projected levels of global heating are catastrophic. Storms are
rising and tides could submerge entire island nations and coastal cities. Fires rage through
our forests, and the ice is melting. We are burning up our future – literally.”

“Many of you are from States that are already suffering from the worst impacts of
climate change, but no State should fool itself that it will be spared. Neither should we
forget that in all States, it will be the poor and the marginalised who will bear the worst
consequences. Addressing these disproportionate impacts is at the core of the movements
for climate and environmental justice.”

Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2019

I. Background information
There is a clear consensus regarding the urgency to take action to mitigate the drastic
consequences of climate change, including their impact on individuals’ enjoyment of their
human rights, as exemplified by the High Commissioner’s opening statement at the 42nd regular
session of the Human Rights Council in September of this year. This urgency goes hand in hand
with the need to create or strengthen links between relevant United Nations agencies and
mechanisms as well as with relevant regional organizations and other stakeholders, including
representatives of civil society, at the international, regional and domestic level, including in
the context of the SDGs. Various proposals of how to address climate change and its effects
within the UN human rights mechanisms are currently under discussion. These include
committing to address issues through States’ voluntary pledges for Human Rights Council
elections and through UPR recommendations, establishing a new Special Procedure or other
Council mandate and strengthening the role of environmental human rights defenders in the
work of the UN human rights mechanisms.

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 II. Human Rights Council resolutions and other activities dealing with climate
change in 2019
In 2019, the Human Rights Council focused on climate change in its resolutions, panel
discussions and reports on numerous occasions. Please find a brief overview of its actions in
this field below.

1. Resolution on human rights and climate change.1

Resolution 41/21 recalls the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its commitment to
leave no one behind, including, inter alia, its Goal 13 on taking urgent action to combat climate
change and its impacts. It also makes the explicit connection between poverty eradication and
climate change resilience and the promotion and protection of human rights, including the
rights of persons with disabilities who are disproportionately affected by the negative impacts
of climate change. In this regard, the resolution takes note of the interrelated reports of three
Special Procedures, including the Special Rapporteur on the right to a safe, clean, healthy and
sustainable environment and their report focusing on climate change and human rights, as well
as their report on air pollution and human rights; the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty
and their report on the interlinkages between the human rights relating to climate change and
poverty (more information about this report below); and the Special Rapporteur on the right
to food focusing and their report on the right to food in the context of natural disasters.

2. Panel discussion on the theme of “women’s rights and climate change: climate
action, best practices and lessons learned”.2
This panel discussion was held on 28 June 2019, during the Council’s 41st session, pursuant to
Council resolution 38/4. Entrenched gender discrimination intensifies the impact of climate
change on women, particularly when they are also subject to discrimination as members of
marginalized communities. Women’s rights to health, food and livelihoods are among the rights
affected. The consultation and full and equal participation and leadership of women and girls
in decision-making, planning and implementation of climate action is essential to protecting
women’s rights and ensuring effective climate action. Women’s unique knowledge and
experience, particularly at the local level, related to agriculture, conservation and the
management of natural resources makes inclusion of women in climate action and decision
making processes critical to effective and informed action. Identifying equality of opportunity
and treatment of women and men as a specific focus and goal from the outset, climate action
has the potential to spur low-carbon development and economies for both men and women,
build inclusive societies, transform gender norms, enhance women’s participation in economic

1 A/HRC/RES/41/21
2 A/HRC/42/26

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activities and contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 5, Goal
10, Goal 13), for which women are fundamental actors.

3. OHCHR analytical study on gender-responsive climate action for the full and
effective enjoyment of the rights of women.3
The report examines the impacts of climate change on women, identifies human rights
obligations and responsibilities of States and other actors to implement gender-responsive
approaches, shares illustrative practices, and issues conclusions and recommendations. In
particular, it recommends, inter alia, that States:
- take more ambitious climate change mitigation and adaptation action to limit the
impacts of climate change on all persons, particularly women;
- ensure the full, equal and meaningful participation of women with diverse backgrounds
in climate change mitigation and adaptation at all levels;
- support capacity-building for women from diverse backgrounds to maximize their voice,
confidence and negotiation skills;
- ensure that climate funds benefit countries and people most affected by climate change
and systematically integrate women’s human rights and gender equality into
governance structures, project approval, implementation processes, and public
participation mechanisms.

4. Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights “Climate
change and poverty”.4
In his report, presented at the 41st session of the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur
on extreme poverty stresses the devastating consequences that climate change will have for
people living in poverty. The Special Rapporteur claims that climate change is, among other
things, an unconscionable assault on the poor. Addressing climate change will require a
fundamental shift in the global economy, decoupling improvements in economic well-being
from fossil fuel emissions. It is imperative that this is done in a way that provides necessary
support, protects workers and creates decent work. Although climate change has been on the
human rights agenda for well over a decade, it remains a marginal concern for most actors.
However, it represents an emergency without precedent and requires bold and creative
thinking from the human rights community and a radically more robust, detailed and
coordinated approach.

3 A/HRC/41/26
4 A/HRC/41/39

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 5. Panel discussion on the environment, climate change and human rights during
the 2019 HRC retreat
This panel discussion took place during the Human Rights Council retreat in Dakar, Senegal on
21 – 22 October 2019. The President of the Human Rights Council moderated the discussion
and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights made a statement during the panel.
While welcoming the increased recognition of the right to a healthy and sustainable
environment as reflected by the inclusion of this right in national and regional legislation and
jurisprudence in over 150 countries, as well as the Human Rights Council resolutions referring
to the right to a healthy environment, panellists and participants also agreed on the necessity
and urgency of ensuring climate justice when taking concrete actions.
Panellists and participants discussed the following ideas:
 How to ensure that States address climate change issues through voluntary pledges for
HRC elections and through UPR recommendations;
 Whether a new Special Procedure mandate should be established or if existing mandate
holders and subsidiarity bodies of the Council could more efficiently and systematically
address climate change issues;
 Whether a Group of Friends on climate change could be established in connection to the
UPR process;
 Whether it would be practical to establish a specific focus of annual HRC resolutions on
climate change or to adopt resolutions on the human right to a healthy environment.
The High Commissioner supported these ideas and recommended the following concrete
actions in order to strengthen the contribution of the Council and its mechanisms to tackle
climate change and environmental degradation:

 Strengthening the annual Human Rights Council resolution on human rights and climate
change by drawing more explicit connections between the resolution and ongoing work
at the UNFCCC, calling on Special Procedures to address specific issues, and making
recommendations based on findings in the mandated studies;
 Establishing an annual forum on human rights and climate change to involve UNFCCC,
OHCHR and other relevant stakeholders;
 Including questions and recommendations relating to climate change in the Universal
Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council and in the periodic reviews of the human
rights treaty bodies;
 Calling upon the UPR and treaty bodies to function as a monitoring process for climate
commitments made by States in other relevant for a such as the High-Level Political
Forum;
 Requesting the HRC Advisory Committee to conduct a study on the human rights
impacts of climate change;
 Creating a commission of inquiry into the human rights impacts of climate change and
intergenerational equity.

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Finally, participants discussed threats to environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) and
their precarious situation. They agreed that EHRDs should be more protected and that the
Council should work with and empower activists as an ally to be included in its discussions.

Possible questions for discussion

1. What human rights are most affected by climate change? Suggest strategies to mitigate
the negative consequences of climate change for each of the human rights affected.
2. What strategies can you propose to ensure that climate action fully includes interests of
and benefits women and girls in a gender-sensitive manner?
3. How to include marginalized communities, such as persons with disabilities, indigenous
people, refugees and internally displaced persons in decision-making on climate change
issues?
4. How can the work of the Human Rights Council be more efficient in fighting climate
change and integrating a climate justice perspective in its discussions and output?
5. Do participants see benefits in replicating in the Pacific Region the approach of
stakeholders and States of Latin America to develop a regional treaty on the rights to a
healthy environment, the Escazu Agreement?

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