International NGOs Welcome the Announcement, Urging Quick Take-up from the Human Rights Council
October 16, 2020
Geneva — Faced with the increased human rights threats caused by climate change across the region, The Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is calling upon the PIF Leaders to work towards the establishment of a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change by the Human Rights Council.
Now, leading organizations advocating for environmental justice are praising the step, noting that the announcement joins similar calls from other members of the Climate Vulnerable Forum.
As Solomon Yeo from the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change explained: “In light of the climate crisis, there is a growing concern from frontline communities all over the world as the linkages between the adverse effects of climate change and human rights are apparent and intensifying. For Pacific communities, climate change poses an existential threat undermining our basic human rights, such as the right to water.”
George Koran, Coordinator of the Vanuatu Climate Action Network (VCAN), concurred, adding “the creation of a new special rapporteur on human rights and climate change would further help us advocate for more effective protection mechanisms and contribute to a better understanding of the human rights impacts of climate change”.
Franciscans International’s Deputy Executive Director, Sandra Epal-Ratjen, commends the call by PIF as she expects much-needed progress for the protection of the rights of people in the face of climate change thanks to the new mandate. “Such a new expert procedure would significantly increase the capacity of the UN system to promote legal and policy changes necessary for the protection of human rights in the context of climate change and climate action. The new special rapporteur would also be able to conduct country visits, receive information and complaints from affected individuals and communities on the ground, and ensure a better consideration of human rights in the international climate negotiations and debates”, Epal-Ratjen said.
Francesca Mingrone, Staff Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), welcomed the statement. “The commitment by all Pacific nations to proactively work towards the establishment of a new special rapporteur on human rights and climate change demonstrates the important and urgent role that such a mandate would serve. It is imperative for the Human Rights Council to respond to this clear and unambiguous call from some of the nations most impacted by climate change, by moving quickly to endorse the proposal and work towards an appointment as soon as possible.”
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Note to editors:
The Foreign Ministers’ Meeting gathered the representatives of all the members of the Pacific Islands Forum, a regional body mandated to foster cooperation between governments in the region and international agencies, and to represent its members’ interests. The members of the PIF comprise Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
Contact:
Cate Bonacini, Communications Manager, CIEL: cbonacini@ciel.org, +1-510-520-9109