Category: News June 2022

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UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change delivers initial report

white and black ship on sea under white clouds

30 June 2021 – Ella Kiyomi Dobson

In April 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change. This position, filled by Dr. Ian Fry, is the first of its kind, looking more closely at the intersections of human rights and climate change. Dr. Fry presented his first report at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on the “promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change”. This report outlines initial ideas and visions for Dr. Fry’s mandate.

The thematic priorities in the preliminary report outline the areas of focus for the Special Rapporteur. The overarching priorities stated in the report are as follows:

  1. The promotion and protection of human rights in the context of mitigation, adaption, and financial actions to address climate change with a particular emphasis on loss and damages
  2. Addressing the human rights implications of climate change displacement including legal protection of people displaced across international borders
  3. Exploring approaches to enhance climate change legislation, supporting climate change mitigation, and advancing the principle of intergenerational justice
  4. Corporate accountability in the context of human rights and climate change
  5. The protection of human rights through just transitions for workers in industries that contribute to climate change
  6. Exploring the human rights impacts of new technologies associated with climate change mitigation.

As time progresses, these priorities will shift to better reflect the rapidly changing circumstances that the global community faces with respect to climate change.

This report is a significant step as civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and frontline communities have called for the creation of this particular mandate for over a decade. Furthermore, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the UN Human Rights Council have insisted on a global rights-based approach to mitigate harms caused by climate change since 2019. Earlier this year, Working Group II’s contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report was released which showed that 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change. These vulnerabilities are driven by many intersecting socio-economic factors such as inequity, marginalisation, the historical and ongoing violence of colonialism, and governance. The Special Rapporteur’s report has the ability to create much-needed attention and action to alleviate climate change-induced human rights implications, and to lay the groundwork for creating legal protections for affected peoples.

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For Persons With Disabilities, Migration and Evacuation Following Calamity Have Seldom Been Possible 

blue and white exit signage mounted on brown brick wall

14 June 2022 – by Willy Phillips

Globally, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are two to four times more likely to experience injury or death during natural disasters and war than non-disabled individuals. This silent reality has long accompanied the aftermath of calamity. Places like Ukraine, struck by war, and the Philippines, under the barrage of natural disasters, share the often overlooked necessity of aiding PWDs amidst the chaos.

In response to disasters, many individuals must migrate from their homes. For PWDs, however, the options are limited. Without specialized equipment or proper training, those aiding cannot evacuate this group of individuals safely.

In Ukraine, the Russian invasion has left 2.7 million PWDs in dire situations. The UN Committee on the Rights of PWDs has said in the wake of this conflict, disabled individuals have faced the worst of the war. The reports mention that “many people with disabilities, including children, are trapped or abandoned in their homes, residential care institutions and orphanages, with no access to life-sustaining medications, oxygen supplies, food, water, sanitation, support for daily living and other basic facilities.” Most of the 4.8 million who have fled the country are reportedly able-bodied.

In the Philippines, natural disasters like super typhoon Rai in December 2021 impacted nearly 12 million individuals. As of April 2022, 12,000 individuals are still displaced, and roughly half are housed in temporary evacuation centers. While the damage was immense and the recovery has been grueling, this storm has had a better ending for PWDs. A humanitarian organization called Community and Family Services International (CFSI) has set out to change the statistics for PWDs, especially children. Following the storm, CFSI provided 1,800 families with documented assistance. Each of these families had at least one elderly or disabled household member.

While much work is still required, CFSI sets the example for ensuring that these memebers of our society are accounted for. A paradigm shift toward equality emerges using a UN-backed framework called ‘disability inclusive disaster risk reduction’, or DiDRR. An essential component in the fight for the human rights of all persons, this guideline aims to change the attitudes of states and individuals towards a future of more comprehensive disaster readiness.

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Climate Change Creates Optimal Grounds for Human Trafficking

people riding boat on body of water during daytime

27 May 2022- by Willy Phillips

At the age of 12, Anjali thought she had been given a chance to advance her passion for dance. Her dance teacher approached her in West Bengal after cyclone Aila hit in 2009 with the opportunity to practice in Kolkata. Instead, she was whisked away to Delhi, where, for three consecutive months, she was tortured and raped. Anjali’s story is powerful, but it is not unique. 

Since recording began, the number of global climate migrants has been steadily rising. According to the World Migration Report, over 30 million people were displaced due to climate events in 2020 alone. These events are most commonly severe storms, flooding, drought, and extreme temperatures, which cause individuals, families, and even entire communities to relocate. This rise in displacements juxtaposes the 60% decline in voluntary international travel due to Covid restrictions throughout the year. 

The connection between disasters and migration feels obvious. If an area becomes uninhabitable, people must go somewhere. However, an issue that’s much less obvious and lurks in the unchecked aftermath of a disaster is human trafficking. Trafficking runs rampant in post-disaster states. Social and systemic factors contribute to this sharp increase as social institutions collapse. Specifically, a lack of accountability from law enforcement and difficulty securing aid or resources creates a vacuum quickly filled by crime syndicates. Offering stable employment or promises of resources like food and water, these groups prey on the vulnerable and exploit necessity.

In post-disaster situations and times of high migration, rates of trafficking rise sharply by 30%. Moreover, as climate change exacerbates the impact of natural disasters, more individuals, mainly women and children, will fall victim to the chaos.