Climate Change–A Human Rights Issue

29th September, 2011

Climate Change–A Human Rights Issue

Effects of climate change are having a direct impact on the basic human rights of people in the South Pacific, and it is important that this is recognised at international climate change negotiations. Climate change will affect a person’s right to enjoy life’s essentials such as food, water, shelter and security.

This is the understanding which participants from nine Pacific Island Countries took away with them at the conclusion of the ten-day regional training course held in Suva from 12 - 23 September, 2011.

The course titled, ‘Human Rights and Climate Change: the added value for the South Pacific’, was organised by the Pacific Centre for Environment and Sustainable Development (PACE-SD) at the University of the South Pacific in collaboration with International Lawyers.org.

PACE-SD Director, Professor Murari Lal, said that while climate change poses an inherent global threat to humanity as a whole, in the Pacific it is uniquely a human rights issue because of the many stresses that Pacific communities are already facing.

Impacts that are being felt now and projected in the future include sea level rise and salt water intrusion, increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as flooding and droughts, increasing water shortages and rising concerns over food shortages, and increases in both water and vector born diseases. People who will feel the greatest effects of climate change are those who are already in vulnerable situations. These include children, women and the elderly, indigenous people and minorities, internally displaced persons, persons with disabilities, and persons living in poverty.

Speaking at the closing session, Fiji’s Minister for Local Government, Urban Development, Housing and Environment, Colonel Samuela Saumatua said that countries in the region were having difficulty in carrying out their responsibilities because of scarce resources.

He emphasised that the principles of human rights should be placed at the centre of international climate change policies and discussions.

“The focus on addressing the adaptation to climate change has centered on the technical, economic, environmental and development aspects of climate change. To date the human rights dimension of climate change has not been adequately addressed at global, national and even the local level,” Colonel Saumatua said.

He noted that while individual states were looking after the rights of the people such as rights to proper water, proper food, and the rehabilitation after a natural disaster such as cyclones, there was a need for greater assistance in adaptation and mitigation work.

“All we need from developed countries is to provide us with access to funding. If they can do that, we can take care of ourselves. There have been a lot of promises during climate change conferences (in Copenhagen and Cancun) but as of today we still do not have access to this funding,” he said.

While many of the Pacific Island Countries guarantee basic civil and political rights through their constitution, the region as a whole has ratified the fewest number of core international human rights treaties. The States argue that they are ill-equipped to assume the legal obligations imposed by the international treaties or cite the customary practices that might conflict with human rights principles.

“By addressing the issue of climate change within a human rights perspective, we are making sure that empowerment and self determination are placed at the centre of the way forward,” Colonel Saumatua said.

The Human Rights Council has emphasised that climate change related impacts have a range of implications, both direct and indirect, for the effective enjoyment of human rights. These include the right to life, the right to adequate food, the right to health, the right to adequate housing, the right to self determination as well as access to safe drinking water and sanitation, and a person’s ability to enjoy its own means of subsistence.

During the course, participants learned about the international human rights law and mechanisms, the links between international climate change negotiations and human rights in the South Pacific and engaged in simulation exercises to identify how best to influence decision making on climate change at all levels.

The key trainer was Ms Margaret Wewerinke from International Lawyers.org. She was supported by guest speakers on a range of topics including the impacts of climate change on gender and persons with disability, how it will affect Pacific cultures, and the role media and communication can play in raising awareness.

ENDS

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