HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH CONSIDERED IN THE 2015 CLIMATE AGREEMEN

HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH CONSIDERED IN THE 2015 CLIMATE AGREEMENT

TWS||Nicholas Waigwa

A submission by civil society organizations on 7^th February 2015 that human rights protection be included in the 2015 climate agreement has been accepted.

A communication update on this development, by Jorge Mora Portuguez of ARCA quotes Alysa Johl, Senior Attoney, Climate & energy Program Center for international Environmental Law saying that he is pleased to share the current draft of the negating text which now includes a paragraph on human rights

 

In a letter signed by over 240 organizations, the civil society organizations expressed concern over the grave harm that climate change is already causing and is likely to continue causing to people & communities and the environment they depend on.

They noted that certain actions being taken to address climate change interfere with the enjoyment of human rights protected under international law and urged all parties to include human rights in the operational provisions of the 2015 climate agreement.

The organizations sought to draw the attention of all state parties to the UNFCCC; to the disproportionate impact climate change has on the world’s poorest & most vulnerable and its adverse effects on the enjoyment of human rights, calling on them to adopt urgent and ambitious mitigation and adaptation measures to prevent further harm.

“We call on the state parties to include language in the 2015 climate agreement that provides that the parties shall, in all climate change related actions, respect, protect, promote, and fulfill human rights for all” read the letter.

Jorge Mora Portuguez termed as “very good news” the incorporation of the human rights approach in the negotiation documents on climate change in Geneva, following a strong campaign where more than 240 organizations participated.

A meeting bringing together negotiators  in Geneva, Switzerland to shape and sharpen the global agreement on climate change which is due to be signed in Paris, France in December 2015 is currently underway.