A new policy report has been published by the Universal Rights Group and was written by Jane McAdam and Marc Limon.
The report is entitled: "Human Rights, Climate Change, and Cross-Border Displacement: The Role of the International Human Rights Community in Contributing to Effective and Just Solutions." It is available here.
The following is a brief description which also available here:
The links between climate change and human rights are more widely
accepted than ever before. The Human Rights Council has adopted a series
of resolutions calling attention to the effects of climate change on
the full enjoyment of human rights, and the Conference of the Parties to
the UNFCCC has also recognised that ‘the adverse effects of climate
change have a range of direct and indirect implications for the
effective enjoyment of human rights.’ While climate change impacts have
implications for the human rights of individuals in all parts of the
world, it is well established that the rights of those in already
vulnerable situations are at particular risk. As sea levels rise and
extreme weather events increase in frequency and magnitude, more and
more people in such situations are expected to be displaced by
disasters, some of them across international borders.
And yet,
despite a growing recognition of the human rights implications of
climate change, including in the context of human displacement, and
despite an understanding that adherence to international human rights
commitments and principles can help to strengthen policymaking in
response to global warming, relatively few concrete steps have been
taken to bring a human rights perspective to climate negotiations.
Likewise, beyond expressing concern about a possible human rights
protection gap for the increasing number of people who are expected to
be displaced across borders in the context of climate change, the
international community has not done enough to consider how to fill that
gap. This Policy Report is an important step towards clarifying what UN
bodies can and should do to begin to safeguard human rights against the
effects of climate change, including in the context of human
displacement.
