21 October 2014: A group of independent experts of the Human Rights Council of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has published an open letter, titled ‘A New Climate Change Agreement Must Include Human Rights Protections for All.’ The letter urges State Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to recognize the adverse impacts of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights and to adopt urgent and ambitious measures to prevent further harm.

As Special Procedures mandate-holders of the Human Rights Council, the experts have published the letter on the occasion of the sixth part of the second session of the meeting of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP), taking place in Bonn, Germany from 20-25 October 2014.

The letter calls for the 2015 climate agreement to provide that Parties “shall, in all climate change-related actions, respect, protect, promote, and fulfill human rights for all.” It further urges States to launch a work programme to ensure that human rights are integrated into all aspects of climate actions at the 20th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 20) to the UNFCCC, taking place in Lima, Peru, from 1-12 December 2014.

The letter cites reports on the impacts of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights, including rights to an adequate standard of living, food, housing, health, and water and sanitation. It also identifies disproportionate effects of climate change on: the vulnerable; those living in extreme poverty; migrants and the displaced; women; children; and indigenous peoples, among others. The letter draws special attention to the unequal impacts of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights worldwide.

The letter further highlights States’ obligations to adopt the mitigation measures necessary to reduce global emissions so as to hold the increase in global temperature below levels that would cause harm to the enjoyment of human rights as well as their obligations to adopt effective adaptation measures to protect against this harm and to provide remedies for it. The letter emphasizes that States must ensure that all of the actions they take to address climate change are in accordance with their human rights obligations.

The letter concludes by stressing that States “must work together in good faith to protect the environment that supports and enables the full enjoyment of our human rights.” [UNFCCC Press Release] [Open letter: A New Climate Change Agreement Must Include Human Rights Protections for All]