GI-ESCR presented Oral Statement on Just Transitions at HRC51 Panel on Right to Work

At the 51st session of the Human Rights Council, GI-ESCR presented an oral statement to the panel discussion on the future of the right to work in connection with climate change actions, responses and impacts in the context of sustainable and inclusive economies.

In the statement, GI-ESCR highlighted the urgency of a swift gender-just green transition. We emphasised that labour rights must be protected and guaranteed through coordinated environmental, employment and gender policies. A gender-just transition must address the fact that, across the world, the majority of women are still working in the informal economy, in small enterprises or in low level income employment. If gender inequality is not addressed adequately, women and girls, specifically those living in marginalised and vulnerable situations, risk exacerbated exclusion and precarious working conditions, as they tend to perform much of the transition-critical work, such as sustainable agriculture and preservation of natural resources and ecosystems.