On Wednesday 30th June, GI-ESCR joined several other civil society organisations in an oral Statement delivered during the Human Rights Council’s Panel discussion on the adverse impact of climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights by older persons.

The Statement, which was delivered by the Center for International Environmental Law, welcomed the OHCHR’s analytical study on the promotion and protection of the rights of older persons in the context of climate change. Importantly, it also urged States to establish a new Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change at this session of the Council.

The call for the establishment of this new mandate has been reiterated by more than 400 civil society and Indigenous Peoples’ organizations in a recent open letter. Scroll down to find out more!

Sign now! Joint letter on the creation of a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change

If you support the effort to establish a much needed new UN procedure on human rights and climate change at the upcoming session of the Human Rights Council, we encourage you to sign the Joint Letter calling for the Council to take action (in English, French and Spanish). Signatures may be registered here by the 9th July.

BACKGROUND

Civil society groups and Indigenous Peoples' organizations have called for the creation of a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change for more than a decade. In 2019, the Marshall Islands, on behalf of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, called for the creation of a dedicated HRC Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change at the 25th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. In the past two years, this proposal has gained momentum amongst States. During the 46th session of the HRC in March 2021, in an unprecedented move, a cross-regional group of 56 States joined Bangladesh in a statement that called upon Council members to consider creating this new mandate.

The 47th session of the Human Rights Council, from 21 June to 15 July 2021, provides a key opportunity for the Human Rights Council to establish a new UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change.