PART VIII (B): Human Rights Council resolutions | INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

Document Number

187-20230630-REQ-10-02-EN

Parent Document Number

187-20230630-REQ-10-00-EN

Case

187 - Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change

Date of the Document

Fri, 06/30/2023 - 12:00

Document File

187-20230630-req-10-02-en.pdf

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GE.14-08351 (E)
*1408351*
Human Rights Council
Twenty-sixth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
26/27 Human rights and climate change
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action,
Recalling its resolutions 7/23 of 28 March 2008, 10/4 of 25 March 2009 and 18/22
of 17 October 2011 on human rights and climate change, and 16/11 of 24 March 2011,
19/10 of 22 March 2012 and 25/21 of 28 March 2014, on human rights and the
environment,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in all climate
change-related actions, fully respect human rights as enunciated in the outcome of the
sixteenth session of the Conference of Parties to the Convention,1
Reaffirming also the commitment to enable the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change through
long-term cooperative action, in order to achieve the ultimate objective of the Convention,
Welcoming the holding of the recent Conferences of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including the seventeenth Conference
of the Parties, held in November 2011 in Durban, South Africa, the eighteenth Conference
of the Parties, held in November 2012 in Doha, and the nineteenth Conference of the
Parties, held in November 2013 in Warsaw,
1 FCCC/CP/2010/7/Add.1, dec.1/CP.16.
United Nations A/HRC/RES/26/27
General Assembly Distr.: General
15 July 2014
Original: English
Please recycle@
A/HRC/RES/26/27
2
Welcoming also the outcome document “The future we want” of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development held in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,2
Notes the convening of the climate summit on 23 September 2014 by the Secretary-
General aimed at mobilizing action and ambition in relation to climate change,
Recalling the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Agenda 21, the
Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Declaration on
Sustainable Development and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development,
Recognizing that human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable
development, and that the right to development must be fulfilled so as to meet the
development and environmental needs of present and future generations,
Recognizing also the challenges of climate change to development and to the
progress made towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in
particular with regard to the goals on the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger,
environmental sustainability and health,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible
cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate
international response, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities and their social and economic conditions,
Acknowledging also that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding adverse impact on
the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries for
the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty,
Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Reaffirming also that it is the primary responsibility of States to promote and protect
human rights;
Recalling the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights on the relationship between climate change and human rights,3 the panel
discussion on the relationship between climate change and human rights, held on 15 June
2009, at the eleventh session of the Human Rights Council, and the 2010 Social Forum,
which focused on the relationship between climate change and human rights,4
Welcoming the convening of the seminar by the Office of the High Commissioner on
23 and 24 February 2012 on addressing the adverse impact of climate change on the full
enjoyment of human rights, and recalling its summary report thereon,5
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
both direct and indirect, for the effective enjoyment of human rights, including, inter alia,
the right to life, the right to adequate food, the right to the highest attainable standard of
health, the right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the right to
2 General Assembly resolution 66/288, annex.
3 A/HRC/10/61.
4 See A/HRC16/62 and Corr.1.
5 A/HRC/20/7.
A/HRC/RES/26/27
3
development and the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, and recalling that in no
case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and
communities around the world, the adverse effects of climate change will be felt most
acutely by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing
to factors such as geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status and
disability,
Reaffirming that people in developing countries, particularly in least developed
countries, small island developing States and African countries, that have contributed the
least to global greenhouse gas emissions, are among the most vulnerable to the adverse
effects of climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of all human rights, including
the right to development, and should be provided with predictable, sustainable and adequate
support to meet the costs of adaptation to and mitigation of those adverse effects,
Recognizing the need to give due consideration in the elaboration of the post-2015
development agenda to the role of international cooperation in relation to the special needs
and particular circumstances of developing countries and to addressing the adverse impact
of climate change on the full and effective realization of human rights,
Recognizing also that climate change is an urgent global problem requiring a global
solution, and that effective international cooperation to enable the full, effective and
sustained implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change in accordance with the provisions and principles of the Convention is important in
order to support national efforts for the realization of human rights affected by climate
change-related impact,
Noting that, as stated in the Rio Declaration, States should cooperate to strengthen
endogenous capacity-building for sustainable development by improving scientific
understanding through the exchange of scientific and technological knowledge, and by
enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer of technologies, including
new innovative technologies,
Affirming that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential
to inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of
climate change, promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
Noting the establishment of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the launching of the
second edition of Climate Vulnerability Monitor in 2012 in New York, which may become
a useful tool to orient public policies,
1. Reiterates its concern that the adverse effects of climate change have a range
of direct and indirect implications for the effective enjoyment of all human rights, and that
the effects of climate change will be felt most acutely by individuals and communities
around the world that are already in vulnerable situations owing to geography, poverty,
gender, age, indigenous or minority status or disability;
2. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed to the increase of both
sudden-onset natural disasters and slow-onset events, and that these events have adverse
effects on the full enjoyment of all human rights;
3. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change for all,
particularly in developing countries and its people whose situation is most vulnerable to
climate change, especially those in a situation of extreme poverty, and deteriorating
livelihood conditions;
A/HRC/RES/26/27
4
4. Stresses the importance of fostering dialogue and cooperation between
relevant international organizations and stakeholders to develop the analysis of the linkages
between human rights and climate change;
5. Calls upon all States to continue to enhance international dialogue and
cooperation in relation to the adverse impact of climate change on the enjoyment of human
rights, including the right to development, particularly in developing countries, especially
least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, including
through dialogue and measures, such as the implementation of practical steps to promote
and facilitate capacity-building, financial resources and technology transfer;
6. Decides to incorporate into its programme of work for the twenty-eighth
session a full-day discussion on specific themes relating to human rights and climate
change on the basis of the different elements contained in the present resolution, and to
dedicate one panel to identifying challenges and ways forward towards the realization of all
human rights for all, including the right to development, in particular those in vulnerable
situations, as well as the measures and best practices to promote and protect human rights
that can be adopted by States in addressing the adverse effects of climate change on the full
and effective enjoyment of human rights, and another panel discussion to how climate
change has had an adverse impact on States’ efforts to progressively realize the right to
food, and policies, lessons learned and good practices;
7. Invites the special procedures mandate holders, within their respective
mandates, and other relevant stakeholders, including academic experts and civil society
organizations, to participate actively in the panel discussions;
8. Encourages relevant special procedures mandate holders to give
consideration to the issue of climate change and human rights within their respective
mandates;
9. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to submit to the Human Rights Council, at its session following the full-day
discussion, a summary report, including any recommendations stemming therefrom, for
consideration of further follow-up action;
10. Decides to consider the possibility of organizing follow-up events on climate
change and human rights within its future programme of work;
11. Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide all the
human and technical assistance necessary for the effective and timely realization of the
above-mentioned panel discussions and summary report thereon;
12. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
40th meeting
27 June 2014
[Adopted without a vote.]
A/69/53
202 GE.14-14268
In favour:
Algeria, Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China, Congo, Costa
Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Ethiopia, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan,
Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation,
Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela
(Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam
Against:
Czech Republic, Republic of Korea, Romania, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America
Abstaining:
Austria, Botswana, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait,
Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia]
26/27
Human rights and climate change
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action,
Recalling its resolutions 7/23 of 28 March 2008, 10/4 of 25 March 2009 and 18/22
of 17 October 2011 on human rights and climate change, and 16/11 of 24 March 2011,
19/10 of 22 March 2012 and 25/21 of 28 March 2014, on human rights and the
environment,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in all climate
change-related actions, fully respect human rights as enunciated in the outcome of the
sixteenth session of the Conference of Parties to the Convention,98
Reaffirming also the commitment to enable the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change through
long-term cooperative action, in order to achieve the ultimate objective of the Convention,
Welcoming the holding of the recent Conferences of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including the seventeenth Conference
of the Parties, held in November 2011 in Durban, South Africa, the eighteenth Conference
of the Parties, held in November 2012 in Doha, and the nineteenth Conference of the
Parties, held in November 2013 in Warsaw,
Welcoming also the outcome document “The future we want” of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development held in June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,99
Notes the convening of the climate summit on 23 September 2014 by the Secretary-
General aimed at mobilizing action and ambition in relation to climate change,
98 FCCC/CP/2010/7/Add.1, dec.1/CP.16.
99 General Assembly resolution 66/288, annex.
A/69/53
GE.14-14268 203
Recalling the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human
Environment, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, Agenda 21, the
Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Declaration on
Sustainable Development and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on
Sustainable Development,
Recognizing that human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable
development, and that the right to development must be fulfilled so as to meet the
development and environmental needs of present and future generations,
Recognizing also the challenges of climate change to development and to the
progress made towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, in
particular with regard to the goals on the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger,
environmental sustainability and health,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible
cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate
international response, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities and their social and economic conditions,
Acknowledging also that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social
and economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding adverse
impact on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of
developing countries for the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication
of poverty,
Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Reaffirming also that it is the primary responsibility of States to promote and protect
human rights;
Recalling the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights on the relationship between climate change and human rights,100 the panel
discussion on the relationship between climate change and human rights, held on 15 June
2009, at the eleventh session of the Human Rights Council, and the 2010 Social Forum,
which focused on the relationship between climate change and human rights,101
Welcoming the convening of the seminar by the Office of the High Commissioner on
23 and 24 February 2012 on addressing the adverse impact of climate change on the full
enjoyment of human rights, and recalling its summary report thereon,102
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
both direct and indirect, for the effective enjoyment of human rights, including, inter alia,
the right to life, the right to adequate food, the right to the highest attainable standard of
health, the right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the right to
development and the right to safe drinking water and sanitation, and recalling that in no
case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and
communities around the world, the adverse effects of climate change will be felt most
100 A/HRC/10/61.
101 See A/HRC16/62 and Corr.1.
102 A/HRC/20/7.
A/69/53
204 GE.14-14268
acutely by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing
to factors such as geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status and
disability,
Reaffirming that people in developing countries, particularly in least developed
countries, small island developing States and African countries, that have contributed the
least to global greenhouse gas emissions, are among the most vulnerable to the adverse
effects of climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of all human rights, including
the right to development, and should be provided with predictable, sustainable and adequate
support to meet the costs of adaptation to and mitigation of those adverse effects,
Recognizing the need to give due consideration in the elaboration of the post-2015
development agenda to the role of international cooperation in relation to the special needs
and particular circumstances of developing countries and to addressing the adverse impact
of climate change on the full and effective realization of human rights,
Recognizing also that climate change is an urgent global problem requiring a global
solution, and that effective international cooperation to enable the full, effective and
sustained implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change in accordance with the provisions and principles of the Convention is important in
order to support national efforts for the realization of human rights affected by climate
change-related impact,
Noting that, as stated in the Rio Declaration, States should cooperate to strengthen
endogenous capacity-building for sustainable development by improving scientific
understanding through the exchange of scientific and technological knowledge, and by
enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer of technologies, including
new innovative technologies,
Affirming that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential
to inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of
climate change, promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
Noting the establishment of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the launching of the
second edition of Climate Vulnerability Monitor in 2012 in New York, which may become
a useful tool to orient public policies,
1. Reiterates its concern that the adverse effects of climate change have a range
of direct and indirect implications for the effective enjoyment of all human rights, and that
the effects of climate change will be felt most acutely by individuals and communities
around the world that are already in vulnerable situations owing to geography, poverty,
gender, age, indigenous or minority status or disability;
2. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed to the increase of both
sudden-onset natural disasters and slow-onset events, and that these events have adverse
effects on the full enjoyment of all human rights;
3. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change for all,
particularly in developing countries and its people whose situation is most vulnerable to
climate change, especially those in a situation of extreme poverty, and deteriorating
livelihood conditions;
4. Stresses the importance of fostering dialogue and cooperation between
relevant international organizations and stakeholders to develop the analysis of the linkages
between human rights and climate change;
5. Calls upon all States to continue to enhance international dialogue and
cooperation in relation to the adverse impact of climate change on the enjoyment of human
A/69/53
GE.14-14268 205
rights, including the right to development, particularly in developing countries, especially
least developed countries, small island developing States and African countries, including
through dialogue and measures, such as the implementation of practical steps to promote
and facilitate capacity-building, financial resources and technology transfer;
6. Decides to incorporate into its programme of work for the twenty-eighth
session a full-day discussion on specific themes relating to human rights and climate
change on the basis of the different elements contained in the present resolution, and to
dedicate one panel to identifying challenges and ways forward towards the realization of all
human rights for all, including the right to development, in particular those in vulnerable
situations, as well as the measures and best practices to promote and protect human rights
that can be adopted by States in addressing the adverse effects of climate change on the full
and effective enjoyment of human rights, and another panel discussion to how climate
change has had an adverse impact on States’ efforts to progressively realize the right to
food, and policies, lessons learned and good practices;
7. Invites the special procedures mandate holders, within their respective
mandates, and other relevant stakeholders, including academic experts and civil society
organizations, to participate actively in the panel discussions;
8. Encourages relevant special procedures mandate holders to give
consideration to the issue of climate change and human rights within their respective
mandates;
9. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to submit to the Human Rights Council, at its session following the full-day
discussion, a summary report, including any recommendations stemming therefrom, for
consideration of further follow-up action;
10. Decides to consider the possibility of organizing follow-up events on climate
change and human rights within its future programme of work;
11. Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide all the
human and technical assistance necessary for the effective and timely realization of the
above-mentioned panel discussions and summary report thereon;
12. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
40th meeting
27 June 2014
[Adopted without a vote.]
26/28
The Social Forum
The Human Rights Council,
Recalling all previous resolutions and decisions adopted on the Social Forum by the
Commission on Human Rights and its Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of
Human Rights, as well as by the Economic and Social Council,
Recalling also Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 of 18 June 2007, 6/13 of 28
September 2007, 10/4 of 25 March 2009, 10/29 of 27 March 2009, 13/17 of 25 March
2010, 16/26 of 25 March 2011, 19/24 of 23 March 2012 and 24/25 of 27 September 2013,
GE.15-12353(E)
*1512353*
Human Rights Council
Twenty-ninth session
Agenda item 3
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 2 July 2015
29/15. Human rights and climate change
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action,
Recalling all its previous resolutions on human rights and climate change,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in all climate
change-related actions, fully respect human rights as enunciated in the outcome of the
sixteenth session of the Conference of Parties to the Convention,1
Reaffirming also the commitment to enable the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change through
long-term cooperative action, in order to achieve the ultimate objective of the Convention,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible
cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate
international response, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities and their social and economic conditions,
Acknowledging also that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding adverse impact on
the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries for
the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty,
Affirming that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential
to inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of
climate change, promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
1 FCCC/CP/2010/7/Add.1, dec.1/CP.16.
United Nations A/HRC/RES/29/15
General Assembly Distr.: General
22 July 2015
Original: English
Please recycle .w,W •r.i. . .. . .. -: L:J • ••
A/HRC/RES/29/15
2
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
both direct and indirect, for the effective enjoyment of human rights, inter alia, the right to
life, the right to adequate food, the right to the enjoyment of highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health, the right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination,
the right to safe drinking water and sanitation and the right to development, and recalling
that in no case may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and
communities around the world, the adverse effects of climate change are felt most acutely
by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing to
factors such as geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status, national or
social origin, birth or other status and disability,
Expressing concern also that countries lacking the resources for implementing their
adaptation plans and programmes of action and effective adaptation strategies may suffer
from higher exposure to extreme weather events, in both rural and urban areas, particularly
in developing countries, including those in least developed countries, small island
developing States and African countries with more climate vulnerability,
Recognizing the particular vulnerabilities of non-nationals who may face challenges
associated with implementing appropriate responses in extreme weather conditions owing
to their status and who may have limited access to information and services, resulting in
barriers to the full enjoyment of their human rights,
Affirming the commitment to enhance action on adaptation under the Cancun
Adaptation Framework and to implement further the Nairobi Work Programme of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
Welcoming the holding of the twenty-first Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in December 2015, in Paris,
Noting the importance of facilitating meaningful interaction between the human
rights and climate change communities in order to build capacity to deliver responses to
climate change, as outlined in the Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action,
Noting also the establishment and the advocacy of the Climate Vulnerable Forum,
1. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed to the increase of both
sudden-onset natural disasters and slow-onset events, and that these events have adverse
effects on the full enjoyment of all human rights;
2. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change for all,
particularly in developing countries and the people whose situation is most vulnerable to
climate change, especially those in a situation of extreme poverty, and deteriorating
livelihood conditions;
3. Decides to incorporate into its programme of work for the thirty-first session,
on the basis of the different elements contained in the present resolution, a panel discussion
on the adverse impact of climate change on States’ efforts to progressively realize the right
of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health and related policies, lessons learned and good practices;
4. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, in consultation with and taking into account the views of States, the special
procedures of the Human Rights Council, the World Health Organization and other relevant
international organizations and intergovernmental bodies, including the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change and the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, and other stakeholders, to conduct, from within existing resources, a
A/HRC/RES/29/15
3
detailed analytical study on the relationship between climate change and the human right of
everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
to be submitted to the Council prior to its thirty-first session and with a view to informing
the panel discussion mandated in paragraph 3 above;
5. Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to submit to the Human
Rights Council, at its session following the panel discussion, a summary report, including
any recommendations stemming therefrom, for consideration of further follow-up action;
6. Invites the special procedures mandate holders, within their respective
mandates, and other relevant stakeholders, including academic experts and civil society
organizations, to contribute actively to the panel discussion;
7. Encourages relevant special procedures mandate holders to continue to
consider the issue of climate change and human rights within their respective mandates;
8. Decides to consider the possibility of organizing follow-up events on climate
change and human rights within its future programme of work;
9. Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide all the
human and technical assistance necessary for the effective and timely realization of the
above-mentioned panel discussion, the summary report thereon, and the analytical study;
10. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
44th meeting
2 July 2015
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.16-12332(E)

Human Rights Council
Thirty-second session
Agenda item 3
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 1 July 2016
32/33. Human rights and climate change
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,
Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,1
including, inter alia, its Goal 13, which calls for urgent action to combat climate change and
its impact,
Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and
interrelated,
Recalling all its previous resolutions on human rights and climate change,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in all climate
change-related actions, fully respect human rights as enunciated in the outcome of the
sixteenth session of the Conference of Parties to the Convention,2
Reaffirming also the commitment to enable the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
including, in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty,
through long-term cooperative action, in order to achieve the ultimate objective of the
Convention,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible
cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate
1 General Assembly resolution 70/1.
2 FCCC/CP/2010/7/Add.1, dec.1/CP.16.
United Nations A/HRC/RES/32/33
General Assembly Distr.: General
18 July 2016
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international response, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances,
Acknowledging also that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding an adverse impact
on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries
for the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty,
Affirming that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential
to inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of
climate change, promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
which can increase with greater warming, both direct and indirect, for the effective
enjoyment of human rights, including, inter alia, the right to life, the right to adequate food,
the right to the enjoyment of highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the
right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the right to safe drinking water
and sanitation and the right to development, and recalling that in no case may a people be
deprived of its own means of subsistence,
Recognizing that climate change poses an existential threat for some, and
recognizing also that climate change has already had an adverse impact on the full and
effective enjoyment of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and
communities around the world, the adverse effects of climate change are felt most acutely
by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing to
factors such as geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status, national or
social origin, birth or other status and disability,
Recognizing that children are among the most vulnerable to climate change, which
may have a serious impact on their enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical
and mental health, access to education, adequate food, adequate housing, safe drinking
water and sanitation,
Looking forward to the day of general discussion of the Committee on the Rights of
the Child on children’s rights and the environment, to be held on 23 September 2016,
Expressing concern that countries lacking the resources for implementing their
adaptation plans and programmes of action and effective adaptation strategies may suffer
from higher exposure to extreme weather events, in both rural and urban areas, particularly
in developing countries, including those in least developed countries, small island
developing States and African countries with more climate vulnerability,
Recognizing the particular vulnerabilities of migrants and other non-nationals who
may face challenges associated with implementing appropriate responses in extreme
weather conditions owing to their status and who may have limited access to information
and services, resulting in barriers to the full enjoyment of their human rights,
Welcoming the Paris Agreement adopted under United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, which acknowledged that climate change is a common
concern of humankind, and that parties should, when taking action to address climate
change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the
right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children,
persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development,
as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity,
A/HRC/RES/32/33
3
Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the
creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development
priorities,
Recognizing the urgent need for early ratification, acceptance or approval and full
implementation of the Paris Agreement,
Urging the parties to the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change that have not already done so to consider ratifying and
implementing the Doha amendment to the Kyoto Protocol,
Noting the importance for some of the concept of “climate justice” when taking
action to address climate change,
Welcoming the holding of the twenty-second Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in November 2016, in Marrakech,
Morocco,
Welcoming also the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030,
adopted at the Third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, and its
references to human rights,
Noting the work of the United Nations Children’s Fund related to environmental
sustainability for children, including its work to improve the enjoyment of rights by
children, especially the most disadvantaged, and to promote children as critical agents of
change, including its report on how children, particularly those in most vulnerable
situations, are affected by climate change and the concrete steps needed to be taken to
protect them,3
Welcoming the convening at the thirty-first session of the Human Rights Council of
the panel discussion on the adverse impact of climate change on States’ efforts to
progressively realize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health and related policies, lessons learned and good
practices, and noting the summary report on the panel discussion prepared by the Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,4
Taking note of the analytical study on the relationship between climate change and
the human right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical
and mental health prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner pursuant to Human
Rights Council resolution 29/15 of 2 July 2015,5
Encouraging States, as appropriate, to integrate policies on health and human rights
in their climate actions at all levels, including their national plans of action for climate
mitigation and adaptation,
Taking note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights
obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
focusing on climate change and human rights,6
Emphasizing the importance of implementing the commitments undertaken under
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on mitigation, adaptation
and the provision of finance, technology transfer and capacity-building to developing
3 Unless we act now: The impact of climate change on children (UNICEF, New York, November
2015).
4 A/HRC/32/24.
5 A/HRC/31/36.
6 A/HRC/31/52.
A/HRC/RES/32/33
4
countries, to ensure the highest possible mitigation efforts to minimize the adverse impact
of climate change on present and future generations,
Noting the importance of facilitating meaningful interaction between the human
rights and climate change communities at both the national and international levels in order
to build capacity to deliver responses to climate change that respect and promote human
rights, taking into account the Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action,
Noting also the establishment and the advocacy of the Climate Vulnerable Forum,
Noting further the establishment and work of regional and subregional initiatives on
climate change, including the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on
Climate Change and the International Solar Alliance,
1. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed to the increase of both
sudden-onset natural disasters and slow-onset events, and that these events have adverse
effects on the full enjoyment of all human rights;
2. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change for all,
particularly in developing countries and the people whose situation is most vulnerable to
climate change, especially children in a situation of extreme poverty, and deteriorating
livelihood conditions;
3. Calls upon States to continue and enhance international cooperation and
assistance for adaptation measures to help developing countries, especially those that are
particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and persons in vulnerable
situations, including children most at risk;
4. Decides to incorporate into its programme of work for the thirty-fourth
session, on the basis of the different elements contained in the present resolution, a panel
discussion on the adverse impact of climate change on States’ efforts to realize the rights
of the child and related policies, lessons learned and good practices;
5. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, in consultation with and taking into account the views of States, the special
procedures of the Human Rights Council, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United
Nations Environment Programme, the World Health Organization, the World
Meteorological Organization, and other relevant international organizations and
intergovernmental bodies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and
the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and other
stakeholders, to conduct, from within existing resources, a detailed analytical study on the
relationship between climate change and the full and effective enjoyment of the rights of
the child, to be submitted to the Council prior to its thirty-fifth session and to be further
informed by the panel discussion mandated in paragraph 4 above;
6. Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to submit to the Human
Rights Council, at its session following the panel discussion, a summary report, including
any recommendations stemming therefrom, for consideration of further follow-up action;
7. Invites special procedure mandate holders, within their respective mandates,
and other relevant stakeholders, including academic experts and civil society organizations,
to contribute actively to the panel discussion;
8. Encourages relevant special procedure mandate holders to continue to
consider the issue of climate change and human rights, including the adverse impact of
climate change on the enjoyment of children’s rights, within their respective mandates;
A/HRC/RES/32/33
5
9. Calls upon States to consider, among other aspects, human rights within the
framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
10. Also calls upon States to integrate a gender perspective in pursuing
mitigation and adaptation responses to the adverse impact of climate change on the full and
effective enjoyment of the rights of every boy and girl;
11. Decides to consider the possibility of organizing follow-up events on climate
change and human rights;
12. Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide all the
human and technical assistance necessary for the effective and timely realization of the
above-mentioned panel discussion, the summary report thereon, and the analytical study;
13. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
46th meeting
1 July 2016
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.17-11402(E)

Human Rights Council
Thirty-fifth session
6–23 June 2017
Agenda item 3
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 22 June 2017
35/20. Human rights and climate change
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,
Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,1
including, inter alia, its Goal 13 on taking urgent action to combat climate change and its
impact,
Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Recalling all its previous resolutions on human rights and climate change,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in all climate
change-related actions, fully respect human rights as enunciated in the outcome of the
sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention,2
Reaffirming also the commitment to realize the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement adopted under the Convention,3 including, in the context of sustainable
development and efforts to eradicate poverty, in order to achieve the ultimate objective of
the Convention,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible
1 General Assembly resolution 70/1.
2 FCCC/CP/2010/7/Add.1, decision 1/CP.16.
3 See FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.2, decision 1/CP.21, annex.
United Nations A/HRC/RES/35/20
General Assembly Distr.: General
7 July 2017
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cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate
international response, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities and their social and economic conditions, and acknowledging
also that article 2, paragraph 2, of the Paris Agreement states that the Agreement will be
implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances,
Noting the invitation by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change to the Paris Committee on Capacity-building,
in managing the 2016–2020 workplan, to take into consideration cross-cutting issues, such
as gender-responsiveness, human rights and indigenous peoples’ knowledge,4
Noting also the importance of the work of the scientific community and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its assessment reports, in support of
strengthening the global response to climate change, including considering the human
dimension, and indigenous peoples’ and traditional knowledge,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding an adverse impact
on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries
for the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty,
Affirming that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential
to inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of
climate change, promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
which can increase with greater global warming, both direct and indirect, for the effective
enjoyment of human rights, including, inter alia, the right to life, the right to adequate food,
the right to the enjoyment of highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the
right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the rights to safe drinking water
and sanitation and the right to development, and recalling that in no case may a people be
deprived of its own means of subsistence,
Recognizing that climate change poses an existential threat for some countries, and
recognizing also that climate change has already had an adverse impact on the full and
effective enjoyment of human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and
communities around the world, the adverse effects of climate change are felt most acutely
by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing to
factors such as geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status, national or
social origin, birth or other status and disability,
Recognizing that children, particularly migrant children and children displaced
across international borders in the context of the adverse impact of climate change, are
among the groups most vulnerable to the adverse impact of climate change, which may
seriously affect their enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental
health, access to education, adequate food, adequate housing, safe drinking water and
sanitation,
4 See FCCC/CP/2016/10/Add.2, decision 16/CP.22.
A/HRC/RES/35/20
3
Expressing concern that countries lacking the resources for implementing their
adaptation plans and programmes of action and effective adaptation strategies may suffer
from higher exposure to extreme weather events, in both rural and urban areas, particularly
in developing countries, including those in least developed countries and small island
developing States,
Welcoming the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, which acknowledges that climate change is a common
concern of humankind and that parties should, when taking action to address climate
change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the
right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children,
persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development,
as well as gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity,
Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the
creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development
priorities,
Welcoming the entry into force of the Paris Agreement, and urging parties that have
not already done so to ratify the Paris Agreement and the Doha amendment to the Kyoto
Protocol,
Welcoming also the establishment of the Task Force on Displacement by the
Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change
Impacts established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
Welcoming further the holding of the twenty-third session of the Conference of the
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be organized
by Fiji in Bonn, Germany, in November 2017,
Affirming the need for the continuing implementation of the Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, adopted at the Third United Nations World
Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, and its references to human rights,
Noting the importance for some of the concept of “climate justice” when taking
action to address climate change,
Taking note of General Assembly resolution 71/1 of 19 September 2016, in which
the Assembly adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and the
annexes thereto, and Assembly resolution 71/280 of 6 April 2017, in which it adopted the
modalities for the intergovernmental negotiations of the global compact for safe, orderly
and regular migration,
Recognizing the particular vulnerabilities of migrants and other non-nationals who
may face challenges associated with implementing appropriate responses in extreme
weather conditions owing to their status and who may have limited access to information
and services, resulting in barriers to the full enjoyment of their human rights,
Welcoming the convening at the thirty-fourth session of the Human Rights Council
of the panel discussion on the adverse impact of climate change on States’ efforts to realize
the rights of the child and related policies, lessons learned and good practices, and taking
note of the summary report on the panel discussion prepared by the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,5
5 A/HRC/35/14.
A/HRC/RES/35/20
4
Taking note of the analytical study on the relationship between climate change and
the full and effective enjoyment of the rights of the child prepared by the Office of the High
Commissioner pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 32/33 of 1 July 2016,6
Emphasizing that climate change affects some children more than other children,
including children with disabilities, children on the move, children living in poverty,
children separated from their families and indigenous children,
Noting that the human rights obligations and responsibilities as enshrined in the
relevant international human rights instruments provide roles for States and other duty
bearers, including businesses, to promote, protect and/or respect, as would be appropriate,
the rights and best interests of children, when taking action to address the adverse effects of
climate change,
Calling upon States to integrate, as appropriate, human rights in their climate actions
at all levels, including their national action plans for climate change adaptation and
mitigation,
Taking note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights
obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
focusing on climate change and human rights,7
Emphasizing the importance of implementing the commitments undertaken under
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on mitigation, adaptation
and the provision of finance, technology transfer and capacity-building to developing
countries, and emphasizing also that realizing the goals of the Paris Agreement would
enhance the implementation of the Convention and would ensure the highest possible
adaptation and mitigation efforts in order to minimize the adverse impact of climate change
on present and future generations,
Noting the establishment and the work of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, and its
communiqué, in which it asserted that climate change is a major threat to the enjoyment of
human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Noting also the importance of facilitating meaningful interaction between the human
rights and climate change communities at both the national and international levels in order
to build capacity to deliver responses to climate change that respect and promote human
rights, taking into account the Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action and
other similar efforts,
Noting further the establishment and work of regional and subregional initiatives on
climate change,
Noting the work of the State-led Platform on Disaster Displacement and its efforts to
follow up on the Nansen Initiative Agenda for the Protection of Cross-Border Displaced
Persons in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change, endorsed by more than 100 States
on 13 October 2015, and the Migrants in Countries in Crisis Initiative and its voluntary
Guidelines to Protect Migrants in Countries Experiencing Conflict or Natural Disaster,
Noting also the work being undertaken in the context of the adverse impact of
climate change by international organizations and relevant United Nations agencies and
bodies, including the Migration, Environment and Climate Change Division in the
International Organization for Migration and Climate Change and Disaster Displacement
Unit in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees,
6 A/HRC/35/13.
7 A/HRC/31/52.
A/HRC/RES/35/20
5
1. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed and continues to
contribute to the increased frequency and intensity of both sudden-onset natural disasters
and slow-onset events, and that these events have adverse effects on the full enjoyment of
all human rights;
2. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change impact for
all, particularly in developing countries and the people whose situation is most vulnerable
to climate change, including migrants and persons displaced across international borders in
the context of the adverse impact of climate change;
3. Calls upon States to consider, among other aspects, human rights within the
framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
4. Calls upon all States to adopt a comprehensive and integrated approach to
climate change adaptation and mitigation policies, consistent with the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the objective and principles thereof, to
address efficiently the economic, cultural and social impact and challenges that climate
change represents, for the full and effective enjoyment of human rights for all;
5. Encourages the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights and other relevant United Nations agencies with appropriate expertise to provide
technical assistance to States, upon their request, to help to better promote and protect
human rights when taking action to address the adverse impact of climate change;
6. Calls upon States to continue and enhance international cooperation and
assistance for adaptation measures to help developing countries, especially those that are
particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change as well as persons in
vulnerable situations, including migrants and persons displaced across international borders
in the context of the adverse impact of climate change;
7. Notes the urgency of protecting and promoting human rights of migrants and
persons displaced across international borders, in the context of the adverse impact of
climate change, including those from small island developing States and least developed
countries;
8. Also notes that paragraph 13 of annex II to the New York Declaration for
Refugees and Migrants envisages contributions to the process for the global compact on
safe, orderly and regular migration from, among other international agencies, the Office of
the High Commissioner;
9. Recognizes that climate change-related human mobility and human rights are
cross-cutting in nature;
10. Decides to incorporate into the programme of work of the Human Rights
Council, on the basis of the different elements contained in the present resolution, an
intersessional panel discussion, and requests the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights to organize an intersessional panel discussion prior to the
commencement of phase II of the intergovernmental process leading to the global compact
on safe, orderly and regular migration, with the theme “Human rights, climate change,
migrants and persons displaced across international borders”, focusing on challenges and
opportunities in the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights of migrants and
persons displaced across international borders in the context of the adverse impact of
climate change, and invites the participation of States, the Office of the High Commissioner
and other relevant United Nations agencies, relevant special procedures of the Human
Rights Council and other relevant bodies such as the subsidiary bodies and constituent
mechanisms, including the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage
associated with Climate Change Impacts of the United Nations Framework Convention on
A/HRC/RES/35/20
6
Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, the International
Organization for Migration, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees and the World Meteorological Organization, as well as other relevant
stakeholders with appropriate expertise, including national human rights institutions;
11. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to submit a summary report of the panel discussion to the appropriate mechanisms
sufficiently in advance to ensure that it feeds into the stocktaking meeting of the
preparatory process leading to the adoption of the global compact on safe, orderly and
regular migration and to the work of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and
Damage, particularly to the ongoing work of the Task Force on Displacement under the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, noting the potential of the
panel discussion to inform these processes, and to submit the summary report also to the
Human Rights Council at its thirty-seventh session;
12. Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to undertake research on
addressing human rights protection gaps in the context of migration and displacement of
persons across international borders resulting from the sudden-onset and slow-onset
adverse effects of climate change and the necessary means of implementation of adaptation
and mitigation plans of developing countries to bridge the protection gaps and submit a
report on the research to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-eighth session;
13. Invites the special procedure mandate holders, within their respective
mandates, and other relevant stakeholders with appropriate expertise, including academic
experts and civil society organizations, to contribute actively to the panel discussion;
14. Encourages relevant special procedure mandate holders to continue to
consider the issue of climate change and human rights, including the adverse impact of
climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, particularly the human
rights of migrants and persons displaced across international borders in the context of the
adverse impact of climate change, within their respective mandates;
15. Calls upon States to integrate a gender perspective in pursuing mitigation and
adaptation responses to the adverse impact of climate change on the full and effective
enjoyment of human rights, including those of migrants and persons displaced across
international borders in the context of the adverse impact of climate change;
16. Decides to consider the possibility of organizing follow-up events on climate
change and human rights;
17. Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide all the
human and technical assistance necessary for the effective and timely realization of the
above-mentioned panel discussion and the summary report thereon;
18. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
36th meeting
22 June 2017
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.18-11656(E)

Human Rights Council
Thirty-eighth session
18 June–6 July 2018
Agenda item 3
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on
5 July 2018
38/4. Human rights and climate change
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Declaration and
Platform for Action and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,
Recalling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including, inter alia, its
Goal 13 on taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts, and Goal 5 on
achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls,
Reaffirming the Addis Ababa Action Agenda as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda,
Reaffirming also that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Recalling all its previous resolutions on human rights and climate change,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in all climate
change-related actions, fully respect human rights as enunciated in the outcome of the
sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention,1
Reaffirming also the commitment to realize the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement adopted under the Convention,2 including, in the context of sustainable
development and efforts to eradicate poverty, in order to achieve the ultimate objective of
the Convention,
Stressing the importance of holding the increase in the global average temperature to
well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and of pursuing efforts to limit the temperature
increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, while recognizing that this would
significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change,
1 FCCC/CP/2010/7/Add.1, decision 1/CP.16.
2 See FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.2, decision 1/CP.21, annex.
United Nations A/HRC/RES/38/4
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16 July 2018
Original: English
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Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible
cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate
international response, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities and their social and economic conditions, and acknowledging
also that article 2, paragraph 2 of the Paris Agreement states that the Agreement will be
implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances,
Noting the invitation by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change to the Paris Committee on Capacity-building,
in managing the 2016–2020 workplan, to take into consideration cross-cutting issues, such
as gender-responsiveness, human rights and indigenous peoples’ and local communities’
knowledge,3
Welcoming the adoption of the first gender action plan under the Lima Work
Programme on Gender at the twenty-third session of the Conference of the Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
Noting the importance of the work of the scientific community and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its assessment reports, in support of
strengthening the global response to climate change, including considering the human
dimension, and indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ knowledge,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding adverse impacts on
the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries for
the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty,
Recognizing that poverty eradication is critical to the implementation of the
Sustainable Development Goals, climate change resilience and the promotion and
protection of human rights, including the rights of women and girls, who account for the
majority of people living in poverty worldwide,
Affirming that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential
to inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of
climate change, promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
which can increase with greater global warming, both direct and indirect, for the effective
enjoyment of human rights, including, inter alia, the right to life, the right to adequate food,
the right to the enjoyment of highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the
right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the rights to safe drinking water
and sanitation, the right to work and the right to development, and recalling that in no case
may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence,
Recognizing that climate change poses an existential threat for some countries, and
recognizing also that climate change has already had an adverse impact on the full and
effective enjoyment of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and other international human rights instruments,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and
communities around the world, the adverse effects of climate change are felt most acutely
by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing to
factors such as geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status, national or
social origin, birth or other status and disability,
Recognizing that women and girls are disproportionately affected by the negative
impacts of climate change, and emphasizing that sudden-onset natural disasters and slowonset
events seriously affect their access to food and nutrition, safe drinking water and
3 See FCCC/CP/2016/10/Add.2, decision 16/CP.22.
A/HRC/RES/38/4
3
sanitation, health-care services and medicines, education and training, adequate housing
and access to decent work,
Recognizing also that women are not only victims but also agents of change, and
that the integration of a gender-responsive approach into climate policies, including by
conducting gender analysis, ensuring women’s right to participate, access to education and
training and access to and control over adequate resources, such as clean energy and
technology, would increase the effectiveness of climate change mitigation and adaptation,
Noting that gender-responsive climate policies continue to require further
strengthening in all activities concerning adaptation, mitigation and related means of
implementation, such as finance, technology development and transfer, and capacitybuilding,
Expressing concern that countries lacking the resources to implement their
adaptation plans and programmes of action and effective adaptation strategies may suffer
from higher exposure to extreme weather events, in both rural and urban areas, particularly
in developing countries, including those in least developed countries and small island
developing States,
Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the
creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development
priorities,
Recalling that the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change acknowledges that climate change is a common concern of
humankind and that parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect,
promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the
rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with
disabilities and people in vulnerable situations and the right to development, as well as
gender equality, empowerment of women and intergenerational equity,
Urging States that have not already ratified the Paris Agreement and the Doha
Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to do so,
Emphasizing the importance of implementing the commitments undertaken under
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on mitigation, adaptation
and the provision of finance, technology transfer and capacity-building to developing
countries, and emphasizing also that realizing the goals of the Paris Agreement would
enhance the implementation of the Convention and would ensure the greatest possible
adaptation and mitigation efforts in order to minimize the adverse impacts of climate
change on present and future generations,
Welcoming the twenty-third session of the Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Climate Change Conference,
organized by Fiji and held in Bonn, Germany in November 2017 and April and May 2018
respectively, and looking forward to the twenty-forth session of the Conference of the
Parties in Katowice, Poland in December 2018,
Reaffirming the need for the continuing implementation of the Sendai Framework
for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, adopted at the Third United Nations World
Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, and its references to human rights,
Noting the importance for some of the concept of “climate justice” when taking
action to address climate change,
Welcoming the convening of the intersessional panel discussion on human rights,
climate change, migrants and persons displaced across international borders, and taking
note of the summary report on the panel discussion prepared by the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,4
4 A/HRC/35/14.
A/HRC/RES/38/4
4
Noting the research on addressing human rights protection gaps in the context of
migration and the displacement of persons across international borders resulting from the
sudden-onset and slow-onset adverse effects of climate change and the necessary means of
implementation of adaptation and mitigation plans of developing countries to bridge the
protection gaps undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner, pursuant to Human
Rights Council resolution 35/20 of 22 June 2017,5
Noting also that the human rights obligations and responsibilities as enshrined in the
relevant international human rights instruments provide roles for States and other duty
bearers, including businesses, to promote, protect and respect, as would be appropriate,
human rights, including those of women and girls, when taking action to address the
adverse effects of climate change,
Taking note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights
obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
focusing on climate change and human rights,6
Noting that the Special Rapporteur on the right to food asserted that climate change
has long-term and deeper impacts on food insecurity, and recommended that increasing
finance to support developing countries in tackling climate change impacts, through
adaptation and by addressing loss and damage, is essential,7
Noting with appreciation the work of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which asserted
that climate change is a major threat to the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental
freedoms,
Noting the importance of facilitating meaningful interaction between the human
rights and climate change communities at both the national and international levels in order
to build capacity to deliver responses to climate change that respect and promote human
rights, taking into account the Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action and
other similar efforts,
Noting also the establishment and work of regional and subregional initiatives on
climate change, including those incorporating a gender-responsive approach,
Noting with appreciation the statement made in 2009 by the Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination against Women on gender and climate change,
Noting the work being undertaken on the rights of women and girls in the context of
the adverse impacts of climate change by United Nations agencies, bodies and entities,
including the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development
Programme, the World Health Organization, the International Labour Organization, the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Entity for
Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the Committee on the Status of
Women,
1. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed and continues to
contribute to the increased frequency and intensity of both sudden-onset natural disasters
and slow-onset events, and that these events have adverse effects on the full enjoyment of
all human rights;
2. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change for all,
particularly in developing countries and for the people whose situation is most vulnerable to
climate change;
3. Calls upon States to consider, among other aspects, human rights within the
framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
4. Calls upon all States to adopt a comprehensive, integrated and genderresponsive
approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation policies, consistent with
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the objective and
5 A/HRC/38/21.
6 A/HRC/31/52.
7 See A/HRC/37/61.
A/HRC/RES/38/4
5
principles thereof, to address efficiently the economic, cultural and social impacts and
challenges that climate change represents, for the full and effective enjoyment of human
rights for all, particularly to support the resilience and adaptive capacities of women and
girls both in rural and urban areas to respond to the adverse impacts of climate change;
5. Calls upon States to continue and enhance international cooperation and
assistance, in particular in financing, the transfer of technology and capacity-building, for
mitigation and adaptation measures to assist developing countries, especially those that are
particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, to better promote human
rights in general and women’s access in particular to food and nutrition, safe drinking water
and sanitation, health-care services and medicines, education and training, adequate
housing and decent work, clean energy, science and technology;
6. Urges States to strengthen and implement policies aimed at increasing the
participation of women in climate change responses at the local, national, regional and
international levels, and calls upon the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women and other United Nations agencies to support upon request
national programmes and projects in this regard;
7. Decides to incorporate into the programme of work for the forty-first session
of the Human Rights Council, on the basis of the different elements contained in the present
resolution, a panel discussion on the theme “Women’s rights and climate change: climate
action, best practices and lessons learned”, focusing on best practices and lessons learned in
the promotion and protection of the rights of women and girls in the context of the adverse
impacts of climate change;
8. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to submit a summary report of the panel discussion to the Human Rights Council at
its forty-second session;
9. Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner, in consultation with and
taking into account the views of States, the special procedures of the Human Rights
Council, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women,
the Commission on the Status of Women, the United Nations Environment Programme, the
World Meteorological Organization and other relevant international organizations and
intergovernmental bodies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and
the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and other
stakeholders, to conduct, from within existing resources, an analytical study on the
integration of a gender-responsive approach into climate action at the local, national,
regional and international levels for the full and effective enjoyment of the rights of
women, to be circulated to States and other stakeholders and to be submitted to the Council
in sufficient time but no later than 30 days prior to the forty-first session;
10. Invites special procedure mandate holders, within their respective mandates,
and other relevant stakeholders with appropriate expertise, including academic experts and
civil society organizations, to contribute actively to the panel discussion;
11. Encourages relevant special procedure mandate holders to continue to
consider the issue of climate change and human rights, including the adverse impacts of
climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, particularly women’s
rights, within their respective mandates;
12. Decides to consider the possibility of organizing follow-up events on climate
change and human rights;
13. Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide all the
human and technical assistance necessary for the effective and timely realization of the
above-mentioned panel discussion and the summary report thereon;
14. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
37th meeting
5 July 2018
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.19-12539(E)

Human Rights Council
Forty-first session
24 June–12 July 2019
Agenda item 3
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 12 July 2019
41/21. Human rights and climate change
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the
Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,
Recalling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its commitment to
leave no one behind, including, inter alia, its Goal 13 on taking urgent action to combat
climate change and its impacts,
Reaffirming the Addis Ababa Action Agenda as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda,
Reaffirming also that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Recalling all its previous resolutions on human rights and climate change,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in all climate
change-related actions, fully respect human rights,
Recalling that the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change1 acknowledges that climate change is a common concern of
humankind and that parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect,
promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the
rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with
disabilities and people in vulnerable situations, and the right to development, as well as
gender equality, the empowerment of women and intergenerational equity,
Reaffirming the commitment to realize the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement adopted under the Convention, including, in the context of sustainable
1 See FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21, annex.
United Nations A/HRC/RES/41/21
General Assembly Distr.: General
23 July 2019
Original: English
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A/HRC/RES/41/21
2
development and efforts to eradicate poverty, in order to achieve the ultimate objective of
the Convention,
Stressing the importance of holding the increase in the global average temperature to
well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and of pursuing efforts to limit the temperature
increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, while recognizing that this would
significantly reduce the risks and impact of climate change,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible
cooperation by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate
international response, in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities and their social and economic conditions, and acknowledging
also that article 2, paragraph 2 of the Paris Agreement states that the Agreement will be
implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but differentiated
responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances,
Noting the importance of the work of the scientific community and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its assessment reports and special
reports, in support of strengthening the global response to climate change, including
considering the human dimension, and indigenous peoples’ and local communities’
knowledge,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding an adverse impact
on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries
for the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty,
Recognizing that poverty eradication is critical to the implementation of the
Sustainable Development Goals, climate change resilience and the promotion and
protection of human rights, including the rights of persons with disabilities who are
disproportionately affected by the negative impacts of climate change,
Affirming that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential
to inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of
climate change, promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
which can increase with greater global warming, both direct and indirect, for the effective
enjoyment of human rights, including, inter alia, the right to life, the right to adequate food,
the right to the enjoyment of highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the
right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the rights to safe drinking water
and sanitation, the right to work and the right to development, and recalling that in no case
may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence,
Recognizing that climate change poses an existential threat for some countries, and
recognizing also that climate change has already had an adverse impact on the full and
effective enjoyment of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and other international human rights instruments,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and
communities around the world, the adverse effects of climate change are felt most acutely
by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing to
factors such as geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status, national or
social origin, birth or other status and disability,
Recognizing that persons with disabilities are among the most adversely affected in
an emergency, sustaining disproportionately higher rates of morbidity and mortality, and at
the same time being among those least able to have access to emergency support,
Expressing concern at the adverse impacts of climate change on individuals with
multiple vulnerability factors, including women and girls with disabilities, and emphasizing
the need for States to take and to support adequate measures to address their specific needs
A/HRC/RES/41/21
3
and to ensure participation in disaster response planning for emergency situations and
evacuations, humanitarian emergency response and health-care services,
Emphasizing that sudden-onset natural disasters and slow-onset events seriously
affect the access of persons with disabilities to food and nutrition, safe drinking water and
sanitation, health-care services and medicines, education and training, adequate housing
and access to decent work,
Reaffirming the need for the continuing implementation of the Sendai Framework
for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, adopted at the Third United Nations World
Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, and its references to human rights,
Noting the Dhaka Conference on Disability and Disaster Risk Management, held in
2015 and in 2018, and the adoption of the Dhaka Declaration 2015 and the Dhaka
Declaration 2015+ respectively,
Recognizing the need for ensuring meaningful participation, inclusion and leadership
of persons with disabilities and their organizations within disaster risk management and
climate-related decision-making at the local, national, regional and global levels,
Expressing concern that countries lacking the resources to implement their
adaptation plans and programmes of action and effective adaptation strategies may suffer
from higher exposure to extreme weather events, in both rural and urban areas, particularly
in developing countries, including those in least developed countries and small island
developing States,
Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the
creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development
priorities,
Emphasizing the importance of implementing the commitments undertaken under
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on mitigation, adaptation
and the provision and the mobilization of finance, technology transfer and capacitybuilding
to developing countries, and emphasizing also that realizing the goals of the Paris
Agreement would enhance the implementation of the Convention and would ensure the
greatest possible adaptation and mitigation efforts in order to minimize the adverse impact
of climate change on present and future generations,
Urging States that have not already ratified the Paris Agreement and the Doha
Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to do so,
Welcoming the twenty-forth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Katowice, Poland in December
2018, taking note of the adoption of the implementation guidelines for the Paris Agreement,
and looking forward to the climate action summit called for by the Secretary-General, to be
held in New York in September 2019, and to the twenty-fifth session of the Conference of
the Parties in Santiago, in December 2019, with the pre-Conference meeting to be held in
San José in October 2019,
Noting the importance for some of the concept of “climate justice” when taking
action to address climate change,
Welcoming the convening of the panel discussion on women’s rights and climate
change: climate action, good practices and lessons learned, and looking forward to the
summary report on the discussion to be prepared by the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights,
Noting the analytical study on gender-responsive climate action for the full and
effective enjoyment of the rights of women prepared by the Office of the High
Commissioner pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 38/4 of 5 July 2018,2
2 A/HRC/41/26.
A/HRC/RES/41/21
4
Welcoming the World Meteorological Organization Statement on the State of the
Global Climate in 2018, its twenty-fifth anniversary edition, that highlights the record rise
in sea levels and the exceptionally high land and ocean temperatures recorded in recent
years, and expressing concerns at their adverse impacts on human rights,
Noting that the human rights obligations and responsibilities as enshrined in the
relevant international human rights instruments provide roles for States and other duty
bearers, including businesses, to promote, protect and respect, as would be appropriate,
human rights, including those of persons with disabilities, when taking action to address the
adverse effects of climate change,
Taking note of the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights
obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment
focusing on climate change and human rights3 and on air pollution and human rights,4 the
report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights relating to climate
change and poverty,5 and the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food focusing
on the right to food in the context of natural disasters,6
Noting with appreciation the work of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which asserted
that climate change is a major threat to the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental
freedoms,
Noting the importance of facilitating meaningful interaction between the human
rights and climate change communities at both the national and international levels in order
to build capacity to deliver responses to climate change that respect and promote human
rights, taking into account the Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action and
other similar efforts,
Noting also the establishment and work of regional, subregional and other
initiatives, such as the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action
(Samoa Pathway) on addressing the adverse impacts of climate change,
1. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed and continues to
contribute to the increased frequency and intensity of both sudden-onset natural disasters
and slow-onset events, and that these events have adverse effects on the full enjoyment of
all human rights;
2. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change for all,
particularly in developing countries and for the people whose situation is most vulnerable to
climate change;
3. Calls upon States to consider, among other aspects, human rights within the
framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
4. Encourages the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to support the Secretary-General in the preparation of the climate action summit and
through its follow-up arrangements, in coordination with other relevant international
organizations, agencies, convention secretariats and programmes;
5. Calls upon all States to adopt a comprehensive, integrated, gender-responsive
and disability-inclusive approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation policies,
consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
objective and principles thereof, to address efficiently the economic, cultural and social
impact and challenges that climate change represents, for the full and effective enjoyment
of human rights for all, and particularly to support the resilience and adaptive capacities of
persons with disabilities both in rural and urban areas to respond to the adverse impacts of
climate change;
3 A/HRC/31/52.
4 A/HRC/40/55.
5 A/HRC/41/39.
6 A/HRC/37/61.
A/HRC/RES/41/21
5
6. Calls upon States to continue and enhance international cooperation and
assistance, in particular in financing, the transfer of technology and capacity-building, for
mitigation and adaptation measures to assist developing countries, especially those that are
particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, to better promote human
rights in general and the access of persons with disabilities in particular to livelihoods, food
and nutrition, safe drinking water and sanitation, health-care services and medicines,
education and training, adequate housing and decent work, clean energy, science and
technology;
7. Urges States to strengthen and implement policies aimed at increasing the
participation of persons with disabilities in climate change responses at the local, national,
regional and international levels, and calls upon the United Nations Partnership to Promote
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and other United Nations agencies to support upon
request national programmes and projects in this regard;
8. Decides to incorporate into the programme of work for the forty-fourth
session of the Human Rights Council, on the basis of the different elements contained in the
present resolution, a panel discussion on the theme “Promoting and protecting the rights of
persons with disabilities in the context of climate change”, focusing on best practices and
lessons learned in the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in
the context of the adverse impact of climate change, and also decides that the panel
discussion will have international sign interpretation and captioning;
9. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to submit a summary report
on the panel discussion to the Human Rights Council at its forty-sixth session, and to make
the report available in accessible formats, including Plain Language and Easy-to-Read;
10. Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner, in consultation with and
taking into account the views of States, the special procedures of the Human Rights
Council, including the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, the
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Disability and Accessibility, the United Nations
Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Inter-Agency Support Group for
the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Committee on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, the United Nations Environment Programme, the World
Meteorological Organization and other relevant international organizations and
intergovernmental bodies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and
the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and other
stakeholders, including organizations of persons with disabilities, to conduct, from within
existing resources, an analytical study on the promotion and the protection of the rights of
persons with disabilities in the context of climate change, to be circulated to States and
other stakeholders and to be submitted to the Human Rights Council prior to its forty-fourth
session, and further requests the Office to make the study available in accessible formats,
including Plain Language and Easy-to-Read;
11. Invites special procedure mandate holders, within their respective mandates,
and other relevant stakeholders with appropriate expertise, including academic experts and
civil society organizations, to contribute actively to the panel discussion;
12. Encourages relevant special procedure mandate holders to continue to
consider the issue of climate change and human rights, including the adverse impact of
climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, particularly rights of
persons with disabilities, within their respective mandates;
13. Decides to consider the possibility of organizing follow-up events on climate
change and human rights;
14. Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide all the
human and technical assistance necessary for the effective and timely realization of the
above-mentioned panel discussion and the summary report thereon;
15. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
41st meeting
12 July 2019
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.20-09798(E)

Human Rights Council
Forty-fourth session
30 June–17 July 2020
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 16 July 2020
44/7. Human rights and climate change
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action,
Recalling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its commitment to leave
no one behind, including, inter alia, its Goal 13 on taking urgent action to combat climate
change and its impacts,
Reaffirming the Addis Ababa Action Agenda as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda,
Reaffirming also that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Recalling all previous Human Rights Council resolutions on human rights and climate
change,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in all climate changerelated
actions, fully respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human
rights,
Recalling that the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change1 acknowledges that climate change is a common concern of
humankind and that parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect,
promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the
rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities
1 See FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21, annex.
United Nations A/HRC/RES/44/7
General Assembly Distr.: General
23 July 2020
Original: English
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A/HRC/RES/44/7
2
and people in vulnerable situations, and the right to development, as well as gender equality,
the empowerment of women and intergenerational equity,
Reaffirming the commitment to realize the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement adopted under the Convention, including in the context of sustainable
development and efforts to eradicate poverty, in order to achieve the ultimate objective of the
Convention,
Stressing the importance of holding the increase in the global average temperature to
well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and of pursuing efforts to limit the temperature
increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, while recognizing that this would significantly
reduce the risks and impact of climate change,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation
by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response,
in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities and their social and economic conditions, and acknowledging also that article 2,
paragraph 2 of the Paris Agreement states that the Agreement will be implemented to reflect
equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances,
Noting the importance of the work of the scientific community and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its assessment reports and special
reports, in support of strengthening the global response to climate change, including
considering the human dimension, and indigenous peoples’ and local communities’
knowledge,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding an adverse impact
on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries for
the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty,
Recognizing that poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty,
is one of the greatest global challenges, and that poverty eradication is critical to the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change resilience and the
promotion and protection of human rights, including the rights of older persons who are
disproportionately affected by the negative impact of climate change,
Recalling the commemoration of the International Day of Older Persons in October
2019, with the theme “The journey to age equality”, which emphasized the importance of
reducing inequality in line with Sustainable Development Goal 10,
Recalling also the First and Second World Assemblies on Ageing, as well as the
Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and the Political Declaration,
Commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action on the rights of women, and stressing the importance of the participation of
women, including older women, and girls in climate action,
Stressing that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential to
inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of climate
change, thereby promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
which can increase with greater global warming, both direct and indirect, for the effective
enjoyment of human rights, including, inter alia, the right to life, the right to adequate food,
the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,
the right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the rights to safe drinking water
and sanitation, the right to work and the right to development, and recalling that in no case
may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence,
A/HRC/RES/44/7
3
Recognizing that climate change poses an existential threat for some countries
andrecognizing also that it has already had an adverse impact on the full and effective
enjoyment of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
other international human rights instruments,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and communities
around the world, the adverse effects of climate change are felt most acutely by those
segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing to factors such as
geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status where applicable, national or
social origin, birth or other status and disability,
Recognizing that climate change, and biodiversity loss and other types of
environmental degradation, put added pressure on the environment that may in turn
exacerbate disease emergence and increase the impact of pandemics, including the spread of
diseases, thereby increasing the risk of exposure of the most vulnerable segments of society,
inter alia, older persons, especially older persons with disabilities or chronic illnesses, to the
combined negative effects and consequences of these phenomena, and put added strain on
health systems, particularly those of developing economies,
Acknowledging the efforts of States to determine the best way to strengthen the
protection of the human rights of older persons, while taking note of the various proposals
that have been made within the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing,2
Welcoming the work of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights
by older persons,
Stressing the particular vulnerabilities of older persons, including older women and
older persons with disabilities, exposed by the implications of climate change, including their
increased susceptibility to diseases, heat stress, reduced mobility, social exclusion and
reduced physical, emotional and financial resilience, as well as the need for measures to
address their specific needs and to ensure their participation in disaster response planning for
emergency situations and evacuations, humanitarian emergency response, and health-care
services, as appropriate,
Expressing concern at the adverse impact of climate change on individuals with
multiple vulnerability factors, including older persons, particularly women and those with
disabilities and/or pre-existing conditions, and recognizing that older persons are among the
most adversely affected in an emergency, as has be seen during the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) pandemic, sustaining disproportionately higher rates of morbidity and
mortality, while at the same time being among those least able to have access to emergency
support and health services,
Recalling the call for solidarity by the Secretary-General in the face of the COVID-
19 pandemic,3 and welcoming his release of a policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on
older persons,4 that recommends, among other actions, ensuring the meaningful participation
of older persons in decision-making processes that affect their lives,
Emphasizing that sudden-onset natural disasters and slow-onset events seriously
affect the access of vulnerable segments of society, including older persons, to food and
nutrition, safe drinking water and sanitation, health-care services and medicines, social
protection, education and training, adequate housing, transportation and access to decent
work,
Reaffirming the need for the continuing implementation of the Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, adopted at the Third United Nations World Conference
on Disaster Risk Reduction, and its references to human rights, as well as to older persons as
key stakeholders in disaster risk reduction,
2 A/AC.278/2019/2.
3 UN News, “UN chief calls for ‘solidarity, unity and hope’ in battling COVID-19 pandemic”, 30 April
2020.
4 United Nations, “Policy brief: the impact of COVID-19 on older persons”, May 2020.
A/HRC/RES/44/7
4
Recognizing the need for ensuring meaningful participation, inclusion and leadership
of older persons and their representative organizations within disaster risk management,
emergency relief efforts and climate-related decision-making and in the design of policies,
plans and mechanisms at the community, local, national, regional and global levels,
Expressing concern that developing countries, particularly least developed countries
and small island developing States, lacking the resources to implement their adaptation plans
and programmes of action and effective adaptation strategies, may suffer from higher
exposure to extreme weather events in both rural and urban areas,
Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the
creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development
priorities,
Emphasizing the importance of implementing the commitments undertaken under the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on mitigation, adaptation and the
provision and mobilization of finance, technology transfer and capacity-building to
developing countries, and emphasizing also that realizing the goals of the Paris Agreement
would enhance the implementation of the Convention and ensure the greatest possible
adaptation and mitigation efforts in order to minimize the adverse impact of climate change
on present and future generations,
Urging States that have not already ratified the Paris Agreement and the Doha
Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to do so,
Welcoming the twenty-fifth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changeheld in Madrid in December 2019 under
the presidency of Chile, and taking note of the Katowice climate package agreed at the
twenty-fourth session of the Conference of the Parties, held in Katowice, Poland, in
December 2018 in connection with the Paris Agreement,
Noting the announcements and commitments made by Governments and by private
sector leaders at the Climate Action Summit held on 23 September 2019 in New York,
including the call to action for resilience and adaptation, and recognizing that the global
nature of climate change calls for the widest possible international cooperation to address the
adverse impact of climate change, to which vulnerable segments, including older persons,
are particularly at risk,
Noting also the importance of some elements of the concept of “climate justice” when
taking action to address climate change,
Noting with appreciation the continued efforts of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights in highlighting the need to respond to the global challenge
of climate change, including by reaffirming the commitments to ensure effective climate
action while advocating for the promotion and protection of human rights for all, including
older persons,
Welcoming the convening of a panel discussion on persons with disabilities, and
looking forward to the summary report on the discussion to be prepared by the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Noting the analytical study on the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of
climate change prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner pursuant to Human Rights
Council resolution 41/21 of 12 July 2019,
Noting also that the human rights obligations and responsibilities as enshrined in the
relevant international human rights instruments provide roles for States and other duty
bearers, including businesses, to promote, protect and respect, as would be appropriate,
human rights, including those of older persons, when taking action to address the adverse
effects of climate change,
Taking note with appreciation of the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of
human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
A/HRC/RES/44/7
5
environment, focusing on climate change and human rights5 and on air pollution and human
rights,6 the report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, relating
to climate change and poverty,7 the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food,
focusing on the right to food in the context of natural disasters,8 and the report of the
Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, on the human
rights of older persons in emergency situations,9
Welcoming the work of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which asserts that climate
change is a major threat to the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Noting the importance of facilitating meaningful interaction between the human rights
and climate change communities at both the national and international levels in order to build
capacity to deliver responses to climate change that respect and promote human rights, taking
into account the Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action and other similar efforts,
Noting also the establishment and work of regional, subregional and other initiatives,
such as the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action (Samoa
Pathway) on addressing the adverse impact of climate change,
1. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed and continues to
contribute to the increased frequency and intensity of both sudden-onset natural disasters and
slow-onset events, and that these adversely affect the full enjoyment of all human rights;
2. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change for all,
particularly in developing countries and for the people whose situation is most vulnerable to
climate change;
3. Calls upon States to consider, among other aspects, human rights within the
framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
4. Calls upon all States to adopt a comprehensive, integrated, gender-responsive,
age-inclusive and disability-inclusive approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation
policies, consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and
the objective and principles thereof, to address efficiently the economic, cultural and social
impact and human rights challenges that climate change presents, for the full and effective
enjoyment of human rights for all, and particularly to support the resilience and adaptive
capacities of older persons, both in rural and urban areas, to respond to the adverse impact of
climate change;
5. Calls upon States to continue and enhance international cooperation and
assistance, in particular in financing, the transfer of technology and capacity-building, for
mitigation and adaptation measures to assist developing countries, especially those that are
particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change;
6. Also calls upon States to better promote human rights in general and the access
of older persons in particular to livelihoods, food and nutrition, safe drinking water and
sanitation, social protection, health-care services and medicines, education and training,
adequate housing and decent work, clean energy, science and technology, and ensure services
can be adapted to emergency and humanitarian contexts;
7. Further calls upon States to develop, strengthen and implement policies for
the protection of the right of older persons in response to climate change, as appropriate, by,
among other actions, the inclusion of their rights, specific risks, needs and capabilities in
climate action plans and other relevant policies or legislation, the mainstreaming of climate
change action into resilient and adaptive social and health care, and the provision of
information on climate change and disaster preparedness response and planning through all
accessible means of communication;
5 A/HRC/43/53 and A/74/161.
6 A/HRC/40/55.
7 A/HRC/41/39.
8 A/HRC/37/61.
9 A/HRC/42/43.
A/HRC/RES/44/7
6
8. Urges States to strengthen and implement policies aimed at promoting the
participation of older persons in the design of policies, plans and mechanisms in climaterelated
decision-making and disaster risk reduction and management at the community, local,
national, regional and international levels, including for preparedness, contingency planning,
early warning, evacuation planning, emergency relief, humanitarian response and assistance
arrangements;
9. Decides to incorporate into its programme of work for the forty-seventh
session, on the basis of the different elements contained in the present resolution, a panel
discussion focusing on the adverse impact of climate change on the full and effective
enjoyment of human rights by older persons and best practices and lessons learned in the
promotion and protection of the rights of older persons, and also decides that the panel
discussion will have international sign interpretation and captioning;
10. Invites special procedure mandate holders, within their respective mandates,
and other relevant stakeholders with appropriate expertise, including academic experts, and
civil society organizations, including older persons and their associations, to contribute
actively to the panel discussion;
11. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to submit a summary report on the panel discussion to the Human Rights Council at
its forty-ninth session, and to make the report available in accessible formats, including Plain
Language and Easy-to-Read;
12. Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner, in consultation with and
taking into account the views of States, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council,
including the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, the
Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, the World Health Organization, the United Nations
Environment Programme, the World Meteorological Organization and other relevant
international organizations and intergovernmental bodies, including the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change and the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, and other stakeholders, to conduct, from within existing resources, a
study on the promotion and protection of the rights of older persons in the context of climate
change, including their particular vulnerabilities, such as physical and mental health risks,
and their contributions to efforts to address the adverse impact of climate change, to be
circulated to States and other stakeholders, including older persons and their associations,
and to be submitted to the Council prior to its forty-seventh session, and further requests the
Office to make the study available in accessible formats, including Plain Language and Easyto-
Read;
13. Encourages relevant special procedure mandate holders to continue to consider
the issue of climate change and human rights, including the adverse impact of climate change
on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, particularly the rights of older persons,
within their respective mandates;
14. Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights to provide all the human and technical assistance necessary for the
effective and timely realization of the above-mentioned panel discussion and the summary
report thereon;
15. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
27th meeting
16 July 2020
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.21-10295(E)
Human Rights Council
Forty-seventh session
21 June–14 July 2021
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 14 July 2021
47/24. Human rights and climate change
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action,
Recalling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its commitment to leave
no one behind, including, inter alia, its Goal 13 on taking urgent action to combat climate
change and its impacts,
Reaffirming the Addis Ababa Action Agenda as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda,
Reaffirming also that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Recalling all previous Human Rights Council resolutions on human rights and climate
change,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change,1 and the objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in
all climate change-related actions, fully respect, promote and consider their respective
obligations on human rights,
Recalling that the Paris Agreement acknowledges that climate change is a common
concern of humankind and that parties should, when taking action to address climate change,
respect, promote and consider their respective obligations with regard to human rights, the
right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, peasants, migrants,
children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable situations, including people living
in small island developing States and least developed countries, and in conditions of water
1 See FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21, annex.
United Nations A/HRC/RES/47/24
General Assembly Distr.: General
26 July 2021
Original: English
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A/HRC/RES/47/24
2
scarcity, desertification, land degradation and drought, and the right to development, as well
as gender equality, the empowerment of women and intergenerational equity,
Reaffirming the commitment to realize the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement adopted under the Convention, including in the context of sustainable
development and efforts to eradicate poverty, in order to achieve the ultimate objective of the
Convention,
Stressing the importance of holding the increase in the global average temperature to
well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and of pursuing efforts to limit the temperature
increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, while recognizing that this would significantly
reduce the risks and impact of climate change,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation
by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response,
in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities and their social and economic conditions, and acknowledging also that article 2,
paragraph 2 of the Paris Agreement states that the Agreement will be implemented to reflect
equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances,
Noting the importance of the work of the scientific community and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its assessment reports and special
reports, in support of strengthening the global response to climate change, including
considering the human dimension, and indigenous peoples’, peasants’ and local
communities’ knowledge,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding an adverse impact
on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries for
the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty,
Recognizing that poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty,
is one of the greatest global challenges, and that poverty eradication is critical to the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change resilience and the
promotion and protection of human rights, including the rights of people in vulnerable
situations and people living in small island developing States and least developed countries,
who are disproportionately affected by the negative impact of climate change,
Stressing that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential to
inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of climate
change, thereby promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
both direct and indirect, that can increase with greater global warming, for the effective
enjoyment of human rights, including, inter alia, the right to life, the right to adequate food,
the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,
the right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the rights to safe drinking water
and sanitation, the right to work and the right to development, and recalling that in no case
may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence,
Stressing the importance of the participation of women, including older women, and
girls in climate action,
Recognizing that climate change poses an existential threat to some countries, and
recognizing also that it has already had an adverse impact on the full and effective enjoyment
of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other
international human rights instruments,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and communities
around the world, the adverse effects of climate change are felt most acutely by those
segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing to factors such as
A/HRC/RES/47/24
3
geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status where applicable, national or
social origin, birth or other status and disability,
Recognizing that climate change, and biodiversity loss and other types of
environmental degradation, put added pressure on the environment that may in turn
exacerbate disease emergence and increase the impact of pandemics, including the spread of
diseases, thereby increasing the risk of exposure of the most vulnerable segments of society
to the combined negative effects and consequences of these phenomena, and put added strain
on health systems, particularly those of developing economies,
Stressing the particular challenges faced by people in vulnerable situations posed by
climate change, including their increased susceptibility to diseases, heat stress, water scarcity,
reduced mobility, social exclusion and reduced physical, emotional and financial resilience,
as well as the need for measures to address their specific needs and to ensure their
participation in disaster response planning for emergency situations and evacuations,
humanitarian emergency response, and health-care services, as appropriate,
Expressing concern at the adverse impact of climate change on individuals with
multiple vulnerability factors, who often sustain disproportionately higher rates of morbidity
and mortality, especially during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, sustaining
disproportionately higher rates of morbidity and mortality, while at the same time being
among those least able to have access to emergency support and health services,
Recalling the call for solidarity by the Secretary-General in the face of the COVID-
19 pandemic,2 and the policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on the human rights of people
in vulnerable situations,
Recalling also the statement made by the President of the Human Rights Council on
27 May 2020 emphasizing the importance of timely, equitable and unhindered access to safe,
affordable, effective and quality medicines, vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, and other
health products and technologies necessary to ensure an adequate and effective response to
the pandemic, including for the most vulnerable people affected by armed conflict, extreme
poverty, natural disasters or climate change, and of the urgent removal of unjustified
obstacles thereto,
Emphasizing that sudden-onset natural disasters and slow-onset events seriously
affect the access of vulnerable segments of society to food and nutrition, safe drinking water
and sanitation, health-care services and medicines, social protection, education and training,
adequate housing, transportation and access to decent work,
Reaffirming the need for the continuing implementation of the Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, adopted at the Third United Nations World Conference
on Disaster Risk Reduction, and its references to human rights and people in vulnerable
situations as key stakeholders in disaster risk reduction,
Recognizing the need for ensuring meaningful participation, inclusion and leadership
of people in vulnerable situations and their representative organizations within disaster risk
management, emergency relief efforts and climate-related decision-making and in the design
of policies, plans and mechanisms at the community, local, national, regional and global
levels,
Expressing concern that developing countries, particularly least developed countries
and small island developing States, lacking the resources to implement their adaptation plans
and programmes of action and effective adaptation strategies, may suffer from higher
exposure to extreme weather events in both rural and urban areas,
Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the
creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development
priorities,
2 UN News, “UN chief calls for ‘solidarity, unity and hope’ in battling COVID-19 pandemic”, 30 April
2020.
A/HRC/RES/47/24
4
Emphasizing the importance of implementing the commitments undertaken under the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on mitigation, adaptation and the
provision and mobilization of finance, technology transfer and capacity-building to
developing countries, and emphasizing also that realizing the goals of the Paris Agreement
would enhance the implementation of the Convention and ensure the greatest possible
adaptation and mitigation efforts in order to minimize the adverse impact of climate change
on present and future generations,
Urging States that have not already ratified the Paris Agreement and the Doha
Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to do so,
Recalling the twenty-fifth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Madrid in December 2019 under
the presidency of Chile, and looking forward to the adoption of a more ambitious agreement
at the twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties, to be held in Glasgow, United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in November 2021 in connection with the
Paris Agreement,
Noting the commitments made by Governments and private sector leaders at the
virtual Climate Adaptation Summit 2021, hosted by the Government of the Netherlands in
January 2021, to accelerate, innovate and scale up global efforts to adapt to the inevitable
effects of climate change, and at the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, held in Washington,
D.C., in April 2021, especially its associated Major Economies Forum on Energy and
Climate, which underscored the urgency and economic benefits of stronger global climate
action and marked a key milestone on the road to the twenty-sixth session of the Conference
of the Parties to the Framework Convention,
Noting also the importance of some elements of the concept of “climate justice” when
taking action to address climate change,
Noting with appreciation the continued efforts of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights in highlighting the need to respond to the global challenge
of climate change, including by reaffirming the commitments to ensure effective climate
action while advocating for the promotion and protection of human rights for all, including
people in vulnerable situations,
Welcoming the convening of a panel discussion on older persons, and looking forward
to the summary report on the discussion to be prepared by the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Taking note of the analytical study on the promotion and protection of the rights of
older persons in the context of climate change prepared by the Office of the High
Commissioner pursuant to Human Rights Council pursuant to Human Rights Council
resolution 44/7 of 16 July 2020,3
Noting that the human rights obligations and responsibilities as enshrined in the
relevant international human rights instruments provide roles for States and other duty
bearers, including businesses, to promote, protect and respect, as would be appropriate,
human rights, including people in vulnerable situations, when taking action to address the
adverse effects of climate change,
Recalling the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights
obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment,
focusing on climate change and human rights4 and on air pollution and human rights,5 the
report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, relating to climate
change and poverty,6 the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, focusing on
the right to food in the context of natural disasters,7 and the report of the Independent Expert
3 A/HRC/47/46.
4 A/HRC/43/53 and A/74/161.
5 A/HRC/40/55.
6 A/HRC/41/39.
7 A/HRC/37/61.
A/HRC/RES/47/24
5
on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, on the human rights of older persons
in emergency situations,8
Welcoming the work of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which asserts that climate
change is a major threat to the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
noting its Midnight Climate Survival Deadline for the Climate initiative calling for enhanced
nationally determined contributions under the mechanism of the Framework Convention,
Noting the importance of facilitating meaningful interaction between the human rights
and climate change communities at both the national and international levels in order to build
capacity to deliver responses to climate change that respect and promote human rights, taking
into account the Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action and other similar efforts,
Noting also the establishment and work of regional, subregional and other initiatives,
such as the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action (Samoa
Pathway) on addressing the adverse impact of climate change,
1. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed and continues to
contribute to the increased frequency and intensity of both sudden-onset natural disasters and
slow-onset events, and that these adversely affect the full enjoyment of all human rights;
2. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change for all,
particularly in developing countries and for the people whose situation is most vulnerable to
climate change;
3. Calls upon States to consider, among other aspects, human rights within the
framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
4. Calls upon all States to adopt a comprehensive, integrated, gender-responsive,
age-inclusive and disability-inclusive approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation
policies, consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and
the objective and principles thereof, to address efficiently the economic, cultural and social
impact and human rights challenges that climate change presents, for the full and effective
enjoyment of human rights for all, and particularly to support the resilience and adaptive
capacities of people in vulnerable situations, both in rural and urban areas, to respond to the
adverse impact of climate change;
5. Calls upon States to enhance international cooperation and assistance, in
particular in financing, the transfer of technology and capacity-building, for mitigation and
adaptation measures to assist developing countries, especially those that are particularly
vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change;
6. Also calls upon States to better promote the human rights of people in
vulnerable situations and their access to livelihoods, food and nutrition, safe drinking water
and sanitation, social protection, health-care services and medicines, education and training,
adequate housing and decent work, clean energy, science and technology, and ensure that
services can be adapted to emergency and humanitarian contexts;
7. Further calls upon States to develop, strengthen and implement policies for
the protection of the right of people in vulnerable situations in response to climate change, as
appropriate, by, among other actions, the inclusion of their rights, specific risks, needs and
capabilities in climate action plans and other relevant policies or legislation, the
mainstreaming of climate change action into resilient and adaptive social and health care, and
the provision of information on climate change and disaster preparedness response and
planning through all accessible means of communication;
8. Urges States to strengthen and implement policies aimed at promoting the
meaningful participation of people in vulnerable situations in the design of policies, plans
and mechanisms in climate-related decision-making and disaster risk reduction and
management at the community, local, national, regional and international levels, including
8 A/HRC/42/43.
A/HRC/RES/47/24
6
for preparedness, contingency planning, early warning, evacuation planning, emergency
relief, humanitarian response and assistance arrangements;
9. Reaffirms its commitment to advocate for combating climate change and
addressing its adverse impact on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, and
recognizes the importance of climate action in the work of the Human Rights Council and its
mechanisms in a regular, systematic and transparent manner;
10. Decides to incorporate into its programme of work for the fiftieth session, on
the basis of the different elements contained in the present resolution, a panel discussion
focusing on the adverse impact of climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of
human rights by people in vulnerable situations, and best practices and lessons learned in the
promotion and protection of the rights of people in vulnerable situations, and also decides
that the panel discussion will have international sign interpretation and captioning;
11. Also decides to incorporate into its annual programme of work, beginning in
2023, sufficient time, at a minimum a panel discussion, to discuss different specific themes
on the adverse impacts of climate change on human rights, and further decides that the panel
discussion will have international sign interpretation and captioning;
12. Invites the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, within their
respective mandates, and other relevant stakeholders with appropriate expertise, including
academic experts, and civil society organizations to contribute actively to the panel
discussion;
13. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to submit a summary report on the panel discussion to the Human Rights Council at
its fifty-second session, and to make the report available in accessible formats, including in
plain language and easy-to-read versions;
14. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with and taking into account
the views of States, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, the World Health
Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Meteorological
Organization and other relevant international organizations and intergovernmental bodies,
including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the secretariat of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and other stakeholders, to submit to the
Human Rights Council at its fiftieth session a report on the adverse impact of climate change
on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights of people in vulnerable situations, and
also requests the Secretary-General to make the report available in accessible formats,
including plain language and easy-to-read versions;
15. Encourages the continued discussions among States and relevant stakeholders
on the possible creation of a new special procedure addressing the adverse impact of climate
change on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights;
16. Encourages relevant special procedure mandate holders to continue to consider
the issue of climate change and human rights, including the adverse impact of climate change
on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, particularly the rights of people in
vulnerable situations, within their respective mandates;
17. Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights to provide all the human and technical assistance necessary for the
effective and timely realization of the above-mentioned panel discussion and the summary
report thereon;
18. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
39th meeting
14 July 2021
[Adopted by a recorded vote of 46 to 0, with 1 abstention. The voting was as follows:
In favour:
Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia
(Plurinational State of), Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China,
Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Czechia, Denmark, Eritrea, Fiji, France, Gabon,
A/HRC/RES/47/24
7
Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Libya, Malawi, Marshall Islands,
Mauritania, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines,
Poland, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Ukraine, United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Abstaining:
Russian Federation]
GE.22-11078(E)
Human Rights Council
Fiftieth session
13 June–8 July 2022
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights: civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 7 July 2022
50/9. Human rights and climate change
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Vienna Declaration and
Programme of Action,
Recalling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its commitment to leave
no one behind, including, inter alia, its Goal 13 on taking urgent action to combat climate
change and its impacts,
Reaffirming the Addis Ababa Action Agenda as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda,
Reaffirming also that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Recalling all previous Human Rights Council resolutions on human rights and climate
change,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change,1 and the objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in
all climate change-related actions, fully respect, promote and consider their respective
obligations on human rights,
Recalling that the Paris Agreement acknowledges that climate change is a common
concern of humankind and that parties should, when taking action to address climate change,
respect, promote and consider their respective obligations with regard to human rights,
including the right to food, the right to health, the rights of indigenous peoples, local
communities, peasants, migrants, children, persons with disabilities and people in vulnerable
situations, including people living in small island developing States and least developed
1 See FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21, annex.
United Nations A/HRC/RES/50/9
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A/HRC/RES/50/9
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countries, and in conditions of water scarcity, desertification, land degradation and drought,
and the right to development, as well as gender equality, the empowerment of women and
intergenerational equity,
Reaffirming the commitment to realize the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement adopted under the Convention, including in the context of sustainable
development and efforts to eradicate poverty and end hunger, in order to achieve the ultimate
objective of the Convention,
Stressing the importance of holding the increase in the global average temperature to
well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and of pursuing efforts to limit the temperature
increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, while recognizing that this would significantly
reduce the risks and impact of climate change,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation
by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response,
in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities and their social and economic conditions, and acknowledging also that article 2,
paragraph 2 of the Paris Agreement states that the Agreement will be implemented to reflect
equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances,
Noting the importance of the work of the scientific community and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its assessment reports and special
reports, in support of strengthening the global response to climate change, including
considering the human dimension, and indigenous peoples’, peasants’ and local
communities’ knowledge,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding an adverse impact
on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries to
achieve sustained economic growth, eradicate poverty and end hunger,
Recognizing that poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty,
is one of the greatest global challenges, and that eradicating poverty and ending hunger are
critical to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change
resilience and the promotion and protection of human rights, inter alia the full realization of
the right to food, particularly of people living in small island developing States, least
developed countries and other climate-vulnerable countries, who are disproportionately
affected by the negative impacts of climate change,
Stressing that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential to
inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of climate
change, thereby promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
both direct and indirect, that can increase with greater global warming, for the effective
enjoyment of human rights, including, inter alia, the right to life, the right to adequate food,
the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,
the right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the rights to safe drinking water
and sanitation, the right to work and the right to development, and recalling that in no case
may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence,
Noting with concern the findings contained in the special report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on climate change, desertification, land
degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in
A/HRC/RES/50/9
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terrestrial ecosystems,2 noting also with concern the findings contained in the special report
of the Intergovernmental Panel on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate,3 and
noting further with concern the findings contained in the sixth assessment report of the
Intergovernmental Panel,4
Concerned that the adverse impacts of climate change, including changes in the global
hydrological cycle, and natural disasters, are harming agricultural productivity, food
production and cropping patterns, thus contributing to food availability shortfalls, and that
such impacts are expected to increase in the future with climate change, and recognizing the
fundamental priority of safeguarding food security, improving nutrition and ending hunger,
Emphasizing that the adverse impact of climate change threatens global food security
and nutrition and puts at risk the agrifood systems which currently feed and nourish the great
majority of the world population and support the livelihoods of more than 1 billion people,5
and stressing that the adverse impact of climate change will increasingly put pressure on food
production and access to food, especially in vulnerable regions, undermining food security
and nutrition and the realization of the right to food,6
Emphasizing also that unequal food systems disproportionately affect women and
girls, making them more vulnerable to food insecurity and malnutrition, which is
exacerbated, inter alia, by climate change, environmental degradation and disasters,
Noting that the Special Rapporteur on the right to food has asserted that climate
change has a long-term and deep impact on global food insecurity, and has recommended
that increasing finance to support developing countries in tackling climate change impacts,
through adaptation and by averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage, is essential,7
Expressing its deep concern at the number and the scale of natural disasters, diseases
and pest infestations, as well as the negative impacts of climate change, and their increasing
impacts in recent years, which have resulted in substantial loss of life and livelihoods and
have threatened agricultural production and food security and nutrition, in particular in
developing countries,
Recognizing that women and girls may be disproportionately affected by the effects
of climate change, inter alia concerning the realization and enjoyment of their human rights,
and stressing the importance of the participation of women, including older women, and girls
in climate action,
Welcoming the contribution of Working Group II to the sixth assessment report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, entitled Climate Change 2022: Impacts,
Adaptation and Vulnerability, and extremely concerned that climate change poses an
existential threat to some countries, with an irreversible adverse impact on the full and
effective enjoyment of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and other international human rights instruments unless urgent climate action is taken,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and communities
around the world, the adverse effects of climate change are felt most acutely by those
segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing to factors such as
geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status where applicable, national or
social origin, birth or other status, and disability,
Recognizing that climate change, and biodiversity loss and other types of
environmental degradation, in particular sea level rise, and ocean habitat degradation, put
2 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change and Land: An IPCC Special report on
Climate Change, Desertification, Land Degradation, Sustainable Land Management, Food Security,
and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Terrestrial Ecosystems (United Nations publication, 2019). Available
at www.ipcc.ch/srccl/.
3 See https://unfccc.int/documents/66462.
4 See www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/.
5 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change and Land.
6 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and
Vulnerability (United Nations publication, 2022). Available at www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/.
7 See A/HRC/37/61.
A/HRC/RES/50/9
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added pressure on the environment, which adversely affect the production and distribution
of food from agriculture and fisheries, seriously affecting the availability, accessibility,
adequacy and sustainability of food, which are the key elements of the right to food,
Expressing concern that multiple challenges and adverse impacts arising from climate
change have serious consequences on the full realization of the right to food for all people,
especially with respect to the production, distribution, availability, accessibility, adequacy
and sustainability of food,
Emphasizing that sudden-onset natural disasters and slow-onset events cause
significant loss and damage to vulnerable populations, especially in developing countries,
and seriously affect the access by people in vulnerable situations to food and nutrition, safe
drinking water and sanitation, health-care services and medicines, social protection,
education and training, adequate housing, transportation and decent work,
Reaffirming the need for the continuing implementation of the Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, adopted at the Third United Nations World Conference
on Disaster Risk Reduction, and its references to human rights and food security,
Expressing concern that developing countries, particularly least developed countries
and small island developing States, lacking the resources to implement their adaptation plans
and programmes of action and effective adaptation strategies, may suffer from higher
exposure to extreme weather events in both rural and urban areas,
Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the
creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development
priorities,
Emphasizing the importance of implementing the commitments undertaken under the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to mitigation, adaptation and the
provision and mobilization of finance, technology transfer and capacity-building to
developing countries, and emphasizing also that realizing the goals of the Paris Agreement
would enhance the implementation of the Framework Convention and ensure the greatest
possible adaptation and mitigation efforts in order to minimize the adverse impact of climate
change on present and future generations,
Recalling the outcomes, including the Glasgow Climate Pact, adopted at the twentysixth
session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change and the third session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the
Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, held in Glasgow, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, in November 2021, and noting the commitments made at both
conferences,
Looking forward to the adoption of more ambitious commitments at the twentyseventh
session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, the seventeenth session of the Conference of the Parties
serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the fourth session of the
Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, to be
held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November 2022,
Noting the commitments made by Governments and private sector leaders at the
virtual Climate Adaptation Summit 2021, hosted by the Government of the Netherlands in
January 2021, to accelerate, innovate and scale up global efforts to adapt to the inevitable
effects of climate change, and at the virtual Leaders Summit on Climate, held in Washington,
D.C., in April 2021, especially its associated Major Economies Forum on Energy and
Climate, which underscored the urgency and economic benefits of stronger global climate
action,
Recognizing the fundamental priority of safeguarding food security and ending
hunger, and the particular vulnerabilities of food production systems to the adverse impacts
of climate change,
Noting the importance of some elements of the concept of “climate justice” when
taking action to address climate change,
A/HRC/RES/50/9
5
Noting with appreciation the continued efforts of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights in highlighting the need to respond to the global challenge
of climate change, including by reaffirming the commitments to ensure effective climate
action while advocating for the promotion and protection of human rights, including the right
to food,
Welcoming the convening of a panel discussion on the adverse impact of climate
change on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights by people in vulnerable situations,
Taking note of the report on the adverse impact of climate change on the full and
effective enjoyment of human rights of people in vulnerable situations, prepared by the
Secretary-General pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 47/24 of 14 July 2021,8
Noting that the human rights obligations and responsibilities as enshrined in the
relevant international human rights instruments provide roles for States and other duty
bearers, including businesses, to promote, protect and respect, as would be appropriate,
human rights, including the right to food, when taking action to address the adverse effects
of climate change,
Recalling the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, focusing on the
right to food in the context of natural disasters9 and on the impact of climate change on the
right to food,10 the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations
relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, focusing on
climate change and human rights11 and on air pollution and human rights,12 and the report of
the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, on climate change and
poverty,13
Recalling also the establishment of the mandate of Special Rapporteur on the
promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, and the
appointment of the Special Rapporteur,
Welcoming the work of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which asserts that climate
change is a major threat to the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
noting its Midnight Climate Survival Deadline for the Climate initiative calling for enhanced
nationally determined contributions under the mechanism of the Framework Convention,
Noting the importance of facilitating meaningful interaction between the human rights
and climate change communities at both the national and international levels in order to build
capacity to deliver responses to climate change that respect and promote human rights, taking
into account the Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action and other similar efforts,
Noting also the establishment and work of regional, subregional and other initiatives,
such as the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action (Samoa
Pathway) on addressing the adverse impact of climate change,
1. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed and continues to
contribute to the increased frequency and intensity of both sudden-onset natural disasters and
slow-onset events, and that these adversely affect the full enjoyment of all human rights;
2. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change for all,
particularly in developing countries and for the people whose situation is most vulnerable to
climate change;
3. Calls upon States to consider, among other aspects, human rights within the
framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
4. Urges States that have not yet ratified the Paris Agreement to do so;
8 A/HRC/50/57.
9 A/HRC/37/61.
10 A/70/287.
11 A/HRC/43/53 and A/74/161.
12 A/HRC/40/55.
13 A/HRC/41/39.
A/HRC/RES/50/9
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5. Recognizes the impact of climate change and of extreme weather and extreme
climate phenomena, including the El Niño phenomenon, on agricultural production, food
security and nutrition around the world and the importance of designing and implementing
actions to reduce their effects, in particular on vulnerable populations, such as rural women,
bearing in mind the role that they play in supporting their households and communities in
achieving food security and nutrition, generating income and improving rural livelihoods and
overall well-being;
6. Also recognizes the importance for all countries of averting, minimizing and
addressing loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, including
extreme weather events and slow-onset events, and the role of sustainable development in
reducing the risk of loss and damage, and in that regard looks forward to the further
operationalization of the Santiago Network for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and
damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change, and encourages the Parties to
constructively engage in the Glasgow Dialogue to discuss the arrangements for the funding
of activities to avert, minimize and address loss and damage associated with the adverse
impacts of climate change, in the context of relevant decisions of the Conference of the
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and article 8 of the
Paris Agreement;
7. Calls upon all States to adopt a comprehensive, integrated, gender-responsive,
age-inclusive and disability-inclusive approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation
policies, consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and
the objective and principles thereof, to address efficiently the economic, cultural and social
impact and human rights challenges that climate change presents, for the full and effective
enjoyment of human rights for all;
8. Calls upon States to enhance international cooperation and assistance, in
particular in financing, the transfer of technology and capacity-building, for mitigation and
adaptation measures to assist developing countries, especially those that are particularly
vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change;
9. Also calls upon States to better promote the human rights of people in
vulnerable situations and their access to livelihoods, food and nutrition, safe drinking water
and sanitation, social protection, health-care services and medicines, education and training,
adequate housing and decent work, clean energy, science and technology, and ensure that
services can be adapted to emergency and humanitarian contexts;
10. Further calls upon States to develop, strengthen and implement policies for
the protection of the rights of people in vulnerable situations in response to climate change,
as appropriate, by, among other actions, the inclusion of their rights, specific risks, needs and
capabilities in climate action plans and other relevant policies or legislation, the
mainstreaming of climate change action into resilient and adaptive social and health care, and
the provision of information on climate change and disaster preparedness response and
planning through all accessible means of communication;
11. Urges States to strengthen and implement policies aimed at enhancing
international cooperation based on human rights to realize the right to food for all, despite
the adverse effects of climate change, and consistent with national and international efforts
to combat climate change, and to pursue the right to development, including by addressing
inequalities in food distribution and access, ensuring food security, supporting sustainable
agriculture and aquatic food production from the oceans, and enhancing more equitable,
predictable, transparent and human rights-based forms of food systems governance at the
global and national levels;
12. Reaffirms its commitment to advocate for combating climate change and
addressing its adverse impact on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, and
recognizes the importance of climate action in the work of the Human Rights Council and its
mechanisms in a regular, systematic and transparent manner;
13. Decides to incorporate into its programme of work for the fifty-third session,
on the basis of the different elements contained in the present resolution, a panel discussion
focusing on the adverse impact of climate change on the full realization of the right to food
A/HRC/RES/50/9
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for all people and ways forward to address the challenges thereto, as well as on best practices
and lessons learned, including science-based approaches and local and indigenous
knowledge, and also decides that the panel discussion will have International Sign
interpretation and captioning;
14. Also decides to incorporate into its annual programme of work, beginning in
2023, at a minimum a panel discussion, with sufficient time to discuss different specific
themes on the adverse impacts of climate change on human rights, including means of
implementation for climate action as a mainstreamed element, and further decides that the
panel discussion will have International Sign interpretation and captioning;
15. Invites the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, within their
respective mandates, and other relevant stakeholders with appropriate expertise, including
academic experts, and civil society organizations to contribute actively to the panel
discussion;
16. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to present
a report to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-fifth session identifying the necessary
measures for minimizing the adverse impact of climate change on the full realization of the
right to food, taking into account the panel discussion and the interactive dialogue held at the
fifty-third session on this matter, to be followed by an interactive dialogue, and to make the
report available in accessible formats, including in plain language and easy-to-read versions;
17. Requests the Secretary-General, in consultation with and taking into account
the views of States, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme, the Committee
on World Food Security, the United Nations Environment Programme, the World
Meteorological Organization and other relevant international organizations and
intergovernmental bodies, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the
secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and other
stakeholders, to submit to the Council at its fifty-third session a report on the adverse impact
of climate change on the full realization of the right to food, to be followed by an interactive
dialogue, and also requests the Secretary-General to make the report available in accessible
formats, including plain language and easy-to-read versions;
18. Requests the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human
rights in the context of climate change to highlight the adverse impacts of climate change on
the full realization of the right to food in his work and reports, taking into consideration the
challenges of developing countries, including small island developing States, least developed
countries and other climate-vulnerable countries;
19. Encourages relevant special procedure mandate holders to continue to consider
the issue of climate change and human rights, including the adverse impact of climate change
on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, particularly the rights of people in
vulnerable situations, within their respective mandates;
20. Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights to provide all the human, technical and financial assistance necessary for
the effective and timely realization of the above-mentioned panel discussion, reports and
interactive dialogues;
21. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
39th meeting
7 July 2022
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.12-12685
Human Rights Council
Nineteenth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council*
19/4
Adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard
of living in the context of disaster settings
The Human Rights Council,
Reaffirming all previous resolutions of the Human Rights Council, as well as those
adopted by the Commission on Human Rights on the issue of adequate housing as a
component of the right to an adequate standard of living, including Council resolution 15/8
of 30 September 2010,
Recalling all previous resolutions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights on
the issue of women’s equal rights to ownership of, access to and control over land and the
equal rights to own property and to adequate housing, including resolution 2005/25 of
15 April 2005,
Reaffirming that international human rights law instruments, including the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, entail obligations and commitments of States parties in
relation to access to adequate housing,
Reaffirming also the principles and commitments with regard to adequate housing
enshrined in the relevant provisions of declarations and programmes adopted by major
United Nations conferences and summits and at special sessions of the General Assembly
and at their follow-up meetings, inter alia, the Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements
and the Habitat Agenda,1 and the Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the
New Millennium, adopted at the twenty-fifth special session of the Assembly and annexed
to its resolution S-25/2 of 9 June 2001,
* The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of
the Council on its nineteenth session (A/HRC/19/2), chap. I.
1 A/CONF.165/14.
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Reaffirming further the importance of implementing the Hyogo Declaration2 and the
Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and
Communities to Disasters,3 adopted at the World Conference on Disaster Reduction, held in
Kobe, Hyogo, Japan, from 18 to 22 January 2005,
Concerned that any deterioration in the general housing situation disproportionately
affects persons living in conditions of poverty, low-income earners, women, children,
persons belonging to minorities and indigenous peoples, migrants, internally displaced
persons, tenants, the elderly and persons with disabilities, and increases the need for them
to be supported against extreme natural disasters,
Noting the work of the United Nations treaty bodies, in particular the Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in the promotion of the rights relating to adequate
housing, including its general comments Nos. 4, 7, 9, 16 and 20,
Expressing its deep concern at the number and scale of natural disasters and extreme
climate and weather events and their increasing impact in the context of climate change and
urbanization, as well as other factors that might affect the exposure, vulnerability and
capacity to respond to such disasters, which have resulted in massive loss of life, homes and
livelihoods, together with forced displacement and long-term negative social, economic and
environmental consequences for all societies throughout the world,
Recognizing that vulnerable persons are disproportionately susceptible to recurring
displacement, evictions without adequate remedies and exclusion from meaningful
consultation and participation during disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness,
as well as in all phases of disaster response and recovery, to the detriment of their
enjoyment of the right to adequate housing,
Recognizing also that the integration of a human rights-based approach into the
framework of disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness, as well as in all phases
of disaster response and recovery, represents an important factor into the progressive
realization of the right to adequate housing, and underlining in this regard the principles of
participation and empowerment,
1. Acknowledges the work of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a
component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to nondiscrimination
in this context, including the undertaking of country missions;
2. Welcomes the reports presented by the Special Rapporteur to the General
Assembly4 and to the Human Rights Council,5 and takes note with appreciation of the
framework presented to comprehensively respect, protect and fulfil the right to adequate
housing in the context of post-disaster settings;
3. Encourages States and relevant actors to respect, protect and fulfil the right to
adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living in their
broader disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness initiatives, as well as in all
phases of disaster response and recovery;
4. Urges States, in the context of post-disaster settings, and recognizing that
short-term humanitarian response and early recovery phases are based on needs, to respect,
protect and fulfil the right to adequate housing without discrimination of any kind as to
2 A/CONF.206/6 and Corr.1, chap. I, resolution 1.
3 Ibid., resolution 2.
4 A/66/270.
5 A/HRC/16/42.
A/HRC/RES/19/4
3
race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status, and, in this regard:
(a) To ensure that all affected persons, irrespective of their pre-disaster tenure
status and without discrimination of any kind, have equal access to housing that fulfils the
requirements of adequacy, namely the criteria of accessibility, affordability, habitability,
security of tenure, cultural adequacy, suitability of location, access to essential services and
respect for safety standards aimed at reducing damage in cases of future disasters;
(b) To integrate, in post-disaster settings, including where temporary shelter is
required as an interim response, the right to adequate housing as a key component of
planning and implementation of humanitarian, reconstruction and development responses;
(c) To give due priority to the realization of the right to adequate housing for the
most disadvantaged and vulnerable persons through housing reconstruction and the
provision of alternative housing, especially by respecting the principles of nondiscrimination
and gender equality, and by integrating a gender perspective into policies,
strategies and programmes for disaster risk reduction, prevention and preparedness, as well
as into all phases of disaster response and recovery;
(d) To ensure that accessibility for persons with disabilities is taken into account
during all phases of reconstruction, in accordance with international law and standards;
(e) To aim to ensure access to information and meaningful consultation and
participation of affected persons and communities in the planning and implementation of
shelter and housing assistance;
(f) To ensure that the tenure rights of those without individual or formally
registered property ownership are recognized in restitution, compensation, reconstruction
and recovery programmes, giving particular consideration to the most vulnerable persons
and by taking measures to support their repossession of or alternative access to adequate
housing or land;
(g) To support the voluntary return of displaced persons or groups to their former
homes, lands or places of habitual residence, in safety and dignity, based on a free,
informed choice, and to ensure that relocation and local integration conditions for displaced
persons are in accordance with international human rights law and standards as reflected in
the guidelines pertaining to adequate housing, evictions and displacement, in particular the
Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the Operational Guidelines on the
Protection of Persons in Situations of Natural Disasters adopted by the Inter-Agency
Standing Committee;
(h) To ensure that cases of permanent relocation are kept to a minimum and are
only carried out after all alternative and less disruptive options have been exhausted, and,
where there is a clear issue of public safety, that the relocation is done in accordance with
international law;
(i) To ensure that appropriate measures are taken to make available adequate
alternative shelter to those unable to provide for themselves;
(j) To make accessible appropriate remedies, including access to legal counsel
and legal aid, and to guarantee a fair hearing to all persons threatened with or subject to
eviction;
5. Welcomes the cooperation extended to the Special Rapporteur by States and
other relevant actors in the context of post-disaster response and recovery, and calls upon
them to continue to cooperate with her on this issue, to share good practices in this regard
and to respond favourably to her requests for information and visits;
A/HRC/RES/19/4
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6. Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human rights to provide all assistance necessary to the Special Rapporteur for the
effective fulfilment of her mandate;
7. Decides to continue its consideration of this matter under the same agenda
item.
52nd meeting
22 March 2012
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.19-05450(E)

Human Rights Council
Fortieth session
25 February–22 March 2019
Agenda item 3
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 21 March 2019
40/11. Recognizing the contribution of environmental human rights defenders
to the enjoyment of human rights, environmental protection and
sustainable development
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and
other relevant instruments,
Guided also by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the
Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity,
Recalling General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled
“Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which is
grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights
treaties, the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the 2005 World Summit Outcome
and informed by other instruments, such as the Declaration on the Right to Development,
Recalling also the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012
and its outcome document entitled, “The Future We Want”, which reaffirmed the principles
of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,
Recalling further General Assembly resolution 53/144 of 9 December 1998, by
which the Assembly adopted by consensus the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility
of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally
Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, commonly referred to as the
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, and the continued validity and application of all
its provisions, and reiterating the importance of the Declaration and its promotion and full
and effective implementation,
Recalling all other previous resolutions on this subject, including Human Rights
Council resolutions 22/6 of 21 March 2013, 31/32 of 24 March 2016 and 34/5 of 23 March
2017, and General Assembly resolutions 68/181 of 18 December 2013, 70/161 of 17
December 2015 and 72/247 of 24 December 2017, and recalling also Council resolutions
on human rights and the environment, the most recent of which are resolutions 31/8 of 23
March 2016, 34/20 of 24 March 2017 and 37/8 of 22 March 2018,
Reiterating that all human rights and fundamental freedoms are universal,
indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and should be promoted and implemented in a
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fair and equitable manner, without prejudice to the implementation of each of those rights
and freedoms,
Reaffirming that States have the primary responsibility and are under the obligation
to respect, protect and fulfil all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons, and
welcoming the steps taken by many States to create a safe and enabling environment for
human rights defenders,
Reaffirming also the importance of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders and
its full and effective implementation, and that promoting respect, support and protection for
the activities of human rights defenders, including women and indigenous human rights
defenders, is essential to the overall enjoyment of human rights and for the protection and
conservation of the environment, including the rights to life, to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health, to an adequate standard of living,
including adequate food and housing, safe drinking water and sanitation, and cultural rights,
Recognizing the positive, important and legitimate role played by human rights
defenders in the promotion and protection of human rights as they relate to the enjoyment
of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, and deeply concerned that human
rights defenders working in environmental matters, referred to as environmental human
rights defenders, are among the human rights defenders most exposed and at risk,
Underscoring that more than 150 States have recognized some form of a right to a
healthy environment in, inter alia, international and regional agreements, their constitutions,
legislation or policies,
Recognizing that the twenty-fourth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2018 operationalized the Local Communities
and Indigenous Peoples Platform, adopted as part of decision 1/CP.21 on the Paris
Agreement, in order to recognize their climate actions, their role in climate policy, and
strengthening the role of traditional knowledge in mitigating and adapting to climate
change,
Recognizing also the importance of gender equality, the empowerment of women
and the role women play as managers of natural resources and agents of change in the
safeguarding of the environment, as well as the multiple and intersecting forms of violence
and discrimination against women human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, children,
persons belonging to minorities and rural and marginalized communities,
Recognizing further that, while the human rights implications of environmental
damage are felt by individuals and communities around the world, the consequences are felt
most acutely by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations,
and that the specific nature of indigenous peoples and rural and local communities can
aggravate their vulnerability, as they can be located in isolated areas without
communication access or network support, and recognizing also that indigenous peoples are
among the first to face the direct consequences of climate change owing to their
dependence upon and close relationship with the environment and its resources,
Taking note of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous
peoples, 1 and noting with concern her findings with regard to attacks against and the
criminalization of indigenous human rights defenders, and calling upon all States to
consider the recommendations contained in the report,
Alarmed by the increasing rate of killings, violent acts, including gender-based
violence, threats, harassment, intimidation, smear campaigns, criminalization, judicial
harassment, forced eviction and displacement of environmental human rights defenders,
including indigenous and women human rights defenders, and human rights defenders
addressing issues relating to land rights, their family members, communities, associates and
legal representatives, as reported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and other special
procedures,
1 A/HRC/39/17.
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Cognizant that the Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations
relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment has called
for States to prioritize action to protect environmental human rights defenders,2
Recognizing the need to develop protection mechanisms for environmental human
rights defenders, taking into account the intersectional dimensions of violations against
women human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, rural and marginalized communities,
and persons belonging to minorities, and to take concrete steps to prevent and stop the use
of legislation to hinder or limit unduly the ability of human rights defenders to exercise
their work, including by reviewing and, where necessary, amending relevant legislation and
its implementation in order to ensure compliance with international human rights law,
Noting with appreciation international instruments, such as the Convention on
Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in
Environmental Matters and the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public
Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (the
Escazú Agreement), for the protection of environmental human rights defenders,
Recognizing that the protection of environmental human rights defenders is
inherently linked to the protection of their communities and can only be fully achieved in
the context of a holistic approach that includes the strengthening of democratic institutions,
the fight against impunity, a reduction in economic inequality and equal access to justice,
Underscoring that the legal framework within which human rights defenders work
peacefully to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms is that of
national legislation consistent with the Charter and international human rights law,
Gravely concerned that national security and counter-terrorism legislation and other
measures, such as laws regulating civil society organizations, are in some instances misused
to target human rights defenders or have hindered their work and endangered their safety in
contravention of international law, and mindful that domestic law and administrative
provisions and their application should not hinder but enable the work of human rights
defenders, including by avoiding any criminalization, stigmatization, impediments,
discrimination, obstructions or restrictions thereof contrary to the obligations and
commitments of States under international human rights law,
1. Expresses grave concern at the situation of environmental human rights
defenders around the world, and strongly condemns the killing of and all other human
rights violations or abuses against environmental human rights defenders, including women
and indigenous human rights defenders, by State and non-State actors, and stresses that
such acts may violate international law and undermine sustainable development at the local,
national, regional and international levels;
2. Stresses that human rights defenders, including environmental human rights
defenders, must be ensured a safe and enabling environment to undertake their work free
from hindrance and insecurity, in recognition of their important role in supporting States to
fulfil their obligations under the Paris Agreement and to realize the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, including the pledge that no one will be left behind and to reach
the furthest behind first;
3. Urges all States to take all measures necessary to ensure the rights, protection
and safety of all persons, including environmental human rights defenders, who exercise,
inter alia, the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association,
online and offline, which are essential for the promotion and protection of human rights and
the protection and conservation of the environment;
4. Welcomes the work of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights defenders, including his reports presented to the Human Rights Council and the
General Assembly, and strongly encourages all States to cooperate with and to assist the
Special Rapporteur;
2 See A/HRC/40/55, para. 82.
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5. Recognizes that democracy and the rule of law are essential components for
the protection of human rights defenders, and urges States to take measures to strengthen
democratic institutions, safeguard civic space, uphold the rule of law and combat impunity;
6. Urges States to acknowledge, through public statements, policies,
programmes or laws, the important and legitimate role of human rights defenders in the
promotion of all human rights, democracy and the rule of law as essential components of
ensuring their protection, including by respecting the independence of their organizations
and by avoiding the stigmatization of their work, including with regard to the environment;
7. Calls upon States to ensure that all legal provisions and their application
affecting human rights defenders are clearly defined, determinable and non-retroactive in
order to avoid potential abuse, to the detriment of fundamental freedoms and human rights,
and specifically to ensure that the promotion and the protection of human rights are not
criminalized, and that human rights defenders are not prevented from enjoying universal
human rights owing to their work, whether they operate individually or in association with
others;
8. Urges States to take concrete steps to prevent and put an end to arbitrary
arrest and detention, including of human rights defenders, and in this regard strongly urges
the release of persons detained or imprisoned, in violation of the obligations and
commitments of States under international human rights law, for exercising their human
rights and fundamental freedoms;
9. Also urges States to develop and appropriately resource protection initiatives
for human rights defenders, to ensure that human rights defenders are meaningfully
consulted in the provision and implementation of protection measures, and also to ensure
that the measures are holistic, including both individual and collective protection aspects,
and that these measures also function as early warning and rapid response mechanisms that
enable human rights defenders, when threatened, to have immediate access to authorities
that are competent and adequately resourced to provide effective protective measures,
taking into account the intersectional dimensions of violations and abuses against women
human rights defenders, indigenous peoples, children, persons belonging to minorities, and
rural and marginalized communities;
10. Calls upon States to combat impunity by conducting prompt, impartial and
independent investigations and pursuing accountability for all attacks and threats by State
and non-State actors against any human rights defender, or against lawyers and legal
representatives, journalists and media workers covering these issues, as well as against their
family members and their associates, and by condemning publicly all cases of violence,
discrimination, intimidation and reprisal, underlining that such practices can never be
justified;
11. Continues to express particular concern about systemic and structural
discrimination and violence faced by women human rights defenders of all ages, including
sexual and gender-based violence, and calls upon States to take appropriate, robust and
practical steps to protect women human rights defenders and to integrate a gender
perspective into their efforts to investigate threats and attacks against human rights
defenders, and to create a safe and enabling environment for the defence of human rights,
as called for by the General Assembly in its resolutions 68/181 and 72/247;
12. Reaffirms the right of everyone, individually and in association with others,
to unhindered access to and communication with international bodies, in particular the
United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights, including
the Human Rights Council and its special procedures, the universal periodic review
mechanism and the treaty bodies, as well as regional human rights mechanisms;
13. Strongly condemns reprisals and violence against and the targeting,
criminalization, intimidation, arbitrary detention, torture, disappearance and killing of any
individual, including human rights defenders, for their advocacy of human rights, for
reporting and seeking information on human rights violations and abuses or for cooperating
with national, regional and international mechanisms;
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14. Calls upon States:
(a) To respect, protect and fulfil human rights, including in all actions
undertaken to address environmental challenges, including the rights to life and to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, to an adequate
standard of living, to adequate food and housing, safe drinking water and sanitation, and
cultural rights, and to human rights as they relate to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy
and sustainable environment;
(b) To adopt and implement strong and effective laws or policies ensuring,
among other things, the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs and in cultural life,
the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and equal access to justice, including
to an effective remedy, in the field of the environment;
(c) To facilitate public awareness of and participation in environmental decisionmaking,
implementation, monitoring and follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, including of civil society, women, children, youth, indigenous
peoples, rural and local communities, peasants and others who depend directly on
biodiversity and the services provided by ecosystems, by protecting all human rights,
including the rights to freedom of expression and to freedom of peaceful assembly and
association, both online and offline;
(d) To implement fully their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human
rights without distinction of any kind, including in the application of environmental laws
and policies;
(e) To provide a safe and empowering context for initiatives organized by young
people and children to defend human rights relating to the environment;
(f) To promote a safe and enabling environment in which individuals, groups
and organs of society, including those working on human rights and environmental issues,
including biodiversity, can operate free from violence, threats, hindrance and insecurity;
(g) To provide for effective remedies for human rights violations and abuses,
including those relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
environment, in accordance with their international obligations and commitments;
(h) To establish or maintain effective legal and institutional frameworks to
regulate the activities of public and private actors in order to prevent, reduce and remedy
harm to biodiversity, taking into account human rights obligations and commitments
relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment;
(i) To take into account human rights obligations and commitments relating to
the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment in the genderresponsive
implementation of and follow-up to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, bearing in mind the integrated and multi-sectoral nature of the latter;
15. Also calls upon States to promote and enable public participation, and to
promote transparency, accountability and effective governance, in the prevention of and the
fight against corruption involving State officials, business representatives and other non-
State actors, and in raising public awareness regarding the existence, causes and gravity of
and the threat posed by corruption, including all possible impact on the enjoyment of
economic, social and cultural rights, and further calls upon all States to respect, promote
and protect the freedom of everyone to seek, receive, publish and disseminate information
concerning corruption, including by protecting the actors doing so, including environmental
human rights defenders;
16. Urges States to bear in mind the importance of the empowerment and
capacity-building of indigenous peoples, including their full and effective participation in
decision-making processes in matters that affect them directly, and of consultations in order
to obtain their free, prior and informed consent, and the important role indigenous human
rights defenders play in this regard, and encourages States to work towards achieving the
ends of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and also
encourages those States that have not yet ratified or acceded to the Indigenous and Tribal
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Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour Organization to consider
doing so;
17. Encourages States to ensure that information held by public authorities,
including that relating to environmental, land, natural resources and development issues, is
proactively disclosed and not unnecessarily classified or otherwise withheld from the
public, and calls upon all States to adopt transparent, clear and expedient laws and policies
that provide for the effective disclosure of information held by public authorities and a
general right to request and receive information, for which public access should be granted,
except within narrow, proportionate, necessary and clearly defined limitations;
18. Encourages all States to ensure to the maximum extent possible that the
competent authorities generate, collect, publicize and disseminate environmental
information relevant to their functions in a systematic, proactive, timely, regular, accessible
and comprehensible manner, and periodically update that information and encourage the
disaggregation and decentralization, where appropriate, of environmental information at the
subnational and local levels;
19. Underlines the value of national human rights institutions, established and
operating in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for
the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), in the continued
engagement with human rights defenders, including environmental human rights defenders;
20. Recognizes the important and legitimate role of human rights defenders in
identifying and raising awareness of human rights impacts, the benefits and risks of
development projects and business operations, including in relation to workplace health,
safety and rights, and natural resource exploitation, environmental, land and development
issues, by expressing their views, concerns, support, criticism or dissent regarding
government policy or action or business activities, and underlines the need for States to take
the measures necessary to safeguard space for such public dialogue and its participants;
21. Calls upon all States to implement the Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights, including to develop a national action plan or other such framework, and to
encourage all business enterprises to carry out human rights due diligence, including with
regard to human rights relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean and healthy environment
and by conducting meaningful and inclusive consultations with potentially affected groups
and other relevant stakeholders;
22. Underscores the responsibility of all business enterprises, both transnational
and others, in accordance with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to
respect human rights, including the rights to life, liberty and security of person of human
rights defenders, including environmental human rights defenders, and their exercise of the
rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and participation in
public affairs, which are essential for the promotion and protection of all human rights, and
the importance that business enterprises establish or participate in effective and accessible
operational-level grievance mechanisms for individuals and communities who may be
adversely impacted;
23. Encourages all business enterprises, as part of their human rights due
diligence in accordance with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, to
share and exchange best practices in this regard, and to communicate in an accessible form
on how they address their adverse human rights impacts, particularly when concerns are
raised by or on behalf of affected stakeholders, including by environmental human rights
defenders;
24. Encourages States to avail themselves of technical assistance in follow-up to
the present and previous resolutions of the General Assembly and the Human Rights
Council on the protection, individually and collectively, of human rights defenders,
including environmental human rights defenders, such as through collaboration, based on
mutual consent, with national human rights institutions, regional organizations, the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant special
procedures, and other relevant international agencies and organizations, and with other
States;
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25. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the twentieth anniversary
of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,3 in which he called for the development of
a more coherent and comprehensive approach to support the Declaration by the United
Nations, and also of the environmental defenders policy launched by the United Nations
Environment Programme in 2018 as a positive example, and encourages other agencies to
do the same;
26. Encourages the Office of the High Commissioner, in consultation with the
Special Rapporteurs and other special procedures, to continue to compile and share
information on best practices and challenges in this regard, and also encourages the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders to continue to address the situation
of human rights defenders, including good practices and challenges, in his work and
reporting, including through collaboration and coordination with relevant United Nations
agencies, organizations and mechanisms, the treaty bodies and other relevant special
procedures, in accordance with the mandate;
27. Invites the Secretary-General to draw attention to the present resolution in the
United Nations system and to continue to include alleged acts of intimidation and reprisal
against human rights defenders, including environmental human rights defenders, who seek
to cooperate, are cooperating or have cooperated with the United Nations, its
representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights, including against their family
members, associates and legal representatives, in his annual report on cooperation with the
United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights;
28. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
52nd meeting
21 March 2019
[Adopted without a vote.]
3 A/73/230.
GE.20-13335(E)
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Human Rights Council
Forty-fifth session
14 September–7 October 2020
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 7 October 2020
45/30. Rights of the child: realizing the rights of the child through a healthy
environment
The Human Rights Council,
Emphasizing that the Convention on the Rights of the Child constitutes the
international legal foundation for the respect, protection and fulfilment of the rights of the
child, bearing in mind the importance of the Optional Protocols to the Convention, and calling
for their universal ratification and effective implementation,
Recalling all previous resolutions on the rights of the child of the Commission on
Human Rights, the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, the most recent being
Council resolutions 40/14 of 22 March 2019 and 43/22 of 22 June 2020, and Assembly
resolution 74/133 of 18 December 2019,
Welcoming the convening of commemorative events to celebrate the thirtieth
anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the progress
made over the years in safeguarding the rights of the child,
Recalling all other relevant international human rights treaties, in particular the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities,
Reaffirming that the general principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
including the best interests of the child, non-discrimination, participation, survival and
development, provide the framework for all actions concerning children,
Reaffirming also that the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires States parties
to pursue the full implementation of the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health by taking measures to, inter alia, combat
disease and malnutrition, including through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and
clean drinking water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental
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pollution, and that States parties have agreed that the education of the child shall be directed
to, among others, the development of respect for the natural environment,
Recalling the 2016 day of general discussion of the Committee on the Rights of the
Child, which focused on the contents and the implications of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child with regard to environmental matters, and taking note of its outcome report and
recommendations,
Welcoming the attention paid by the special procedures of the Human Rights Council
to the rights of the child in the context of their respective mandates, in particular the work of
the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child
prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, the Special Rapporteur
on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy
and sustainable environment, the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of
the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, as
well as the work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against
Children and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed
conflict, and notes with appreciation their most recent reports submitted to the Council,
Recalling General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled
“Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, in which the
Assembly adopted a comprehensive, far-reaching, indivisible and people-centred set of
universal and transformative Sustainable Development Goals and targets, and the
commitment to achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions – economic, social
and environmental – in a balanced and integrated manner and to realizing the human rights
of all, leaving no one behind and reaching those furthest behind first, and recognizing that
the realization of the rights of the child through a healthy environment is crucial to achieving
the goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, namely human rights
for all, well-being and a sustainable planet,
Noting the Secretary-General’s “A Call to Action for Human Rights”, which calls for,
inter alia, creating space for young people to participate in shaping the decisions that will
affect their future, including but not limited to environmental protection, protecting human
rights defenders and environmental activists, particularly young people, women and girls,
and raising awareness and enhancing education that prepares young people for the future they
face, including climate change-related curricula at all levels of primary and secondary
education,
Reaffirming that States have the obligation to respect, protect and fulfil human rights,
including in all actions undertaken to address environmental harm, such as loss of
biodiversity, climate change, pollution and exposure to hazardous substances and wastes, and
to take measures to protect the rights of all, including the rights of the child, and that
additional measures for those who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of environmental
harm should be taken,
Recalling States’ obligations and commitments under multilateral environmental
instruments and agreements, including on climate change,
Recalling also that article 2, paragraph 2, of the Paris Agreement states that the
Agreement will be implemented to reflect equity and the principle of common but
differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national
circumstances, while stressing that the principle does not apply to States’ human rights
obligations,
Profoundly concerned that children in many parts of the world remain negatively
affected by the adverse impact of environmental harm, including climate change, persistent
drought and extreme weather events, environmental disasters, land degradation, sea level
rise, coastal erosion and ocean acidification,
Expressing concern that millions of children worldwide continue to grow up deprived
of parental care, separated from their families for many reasons, including due to natural
disasters, the adverse impacts of climate change and different forms of environmental harm,
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Reaffirming that the child, for the full and harmonious development of his or her
personality, should grow up in a family environment, that the best interests of the child shall
be the guiding principle of those responsible for his or her nurture and protection, and that
families’ and caregivers’ capacities to provide the child with care and a safe environment
should be promoted, including in the context of natural disasters, the adverse impacts of
climate change or other forms of environmental harm,
Recognizing the particular vulnerability of children, due to their unique metabolism,
physiology and developmental needs, to the effects of environmental harm, especially to
pollution of the air, soil and water, and exposure to hazardous substances and wastes, and
that exposure to those effects can have a lifelong impact on children, as their health outcomes,
well-being and development are compromised from early age,
Deeply concerned that, each year, more than 1.7 million children under the age of 5
lose their lives as a result of avoidable exposure to the effects of environmental harm, while
12 million children in developing countries experience permanent brain damage due to lead
poisoning and approximately 85 million children worldwide work in hazardous conditions
and are regularly exposed to toxic substances, which cause brain damage and disease and an
array of other forms of harm, some of which can result in irreversible and lifelong effects,
such as impairment,
Recognizing that environmental harm, including climate change, exacerbates
environmental disasters, which can deprive affected persons of essential livelihoods and
generate displacement and migration, including of unaccompanied children and young
persons,
Deeply concerned that the effects of environmental harm may undermine the full
enjoyment of a vast range of the rights of the child, inter alia the right to life, the right to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the right to a
standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social
development, the right to education, the right of the child to be cared for by his or her parents,
the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities, and the right of the
child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely
to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education or to be harmful to the child’s health
or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development,
Recognizing that close interlinkages exist between intersecting forms of
discrimination and the inequalities faced by children and their level of exposure to the effects
of environmental harm, and the unequal exposure to environmental health risks across
countries and regions, with a higher burden in developing countries,
Recognizing also that girls may be disproportionately affected by the effects of
environmental harm, inter alia concerning the enjoyment of their rights to education and of
the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including sexual and
reproductive health, and stressing the importance of protecting them from violence,
exploitation and harmful practices, including, inter alia, child, early and forced marriage and
female genital mutilation, and of ensuring their full, equal and meaningful participation in
decision-making affecting their lives, in accordance with the evolving capacities of the child,
Recalling that discrimination against girls violates the principle of equality, and that
all measures designed and implemented to prevent and address environmental harm should
adhere to the principles of substantive equality and non-discrimination, including by taking
into account and addressing pre-existing gender inequalities,
Recognizing that children with disabilities may be disproportionately affected by the
effects of environmental harm and that specific measures may be required to ensure their
protection and safety on an equal basis with others, while recognizing also the need to support
the participation and inclusion of children with disabilities, and their representative
organizations, in the development of and decision-making processes relating to such
measures,
Recalling that every child has the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standard of physical and mental health, which includes States taking measures to combat and
prevent disease and its impact on health and to ensure access to health-care services, and inter
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alia to prevent and reduce exposure to harmful substances or environmental conditions that
directly or indirectly affect their health,
Expressing concern that epidemics and pandemics, and the unintended consequences
of public health measures to combat them, can undermine the rights of the child, especially
of children that are already in a vulnerable situation due to environmental harm, while
underscoring that a healthy environment is an effective way to prevent epidemics and
pandemics and to protect human rights, including the rights of the child,
Expressing concern also that children continue to be exposed to pollution, waste and
hazardous substances, whether on their own or in mixtures, including through secondary
products and processes related to business and industrial activities and nearby small- and
large-scale mining activities, as well as through the use of pesticides to combat undesirable
organisms, including in agriculture, and that approximately 73 million children are engaged
in hazardous labour related to these activities, with the number of youngest children in
hazardous labour increasing, thereby seriously affecting children’s health, well-being and
development,
Acknowledging ongoing discussions in the International Law Commission on the
toxic remnants of war, and concerned at the possible threat that they pose to the full
enjoyment of the rights of the child,
Recalling that, while States shall respect, protect and fulfil human rights and have the
duty to take the necessary measures to prevent the exposure of children to pollution,
hazardous substances and wastes, business enterprises have a responsibility to respect the
rights of the child, including by conducting human rights due diligence appropriate to their
size and circumstances, the risk of severe impact and context of their operation, with a view
to preventing or mitigating adverse impacts on the rights of the child through actions directly
linked to their operations, products or services by their business relationships, even if they
have not contributed to those impacts, and to remediating contamination,
Expressing concern that children impacted by the effects of environmental harm are
often unable to fully exercise their rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association
and peaceful assembly, or to have access to an effective remedy, and underscoring that States
have a duty to ensure effective remedies for violations of the rights of the child, that children
have access to information in child-friendly formats, and that every child capable of forming
his or her views has the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child,
the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the
child, including in environmental decision-making processes that may be relevant to his or
her life,
Recognizing the importance of public access to environmental information and
education to enable children to understand environmental risks and the effects of
environmental harm on the enjoyment of their rights, and the crucial nature of accessible and
age-, gender- and disability-responsive information in this respect,
Recognizing also the positive, important and legitimate role played by children and
by child- and youth-led movements that defend human rights relating to a healthy
environment, and deeply concerned that they may be among those most exposed and at risk,
and recognizing the need to protect them,
Underscoring the importance of protecting children from the adverse impact of
environmental harm through decisive climate action, including through mitigation of and
adaptation to climate change, the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, pollution
mitigation, the sound management of hazardous chemicals throughout their life cycle and the
safe disposal of wastes, the disclosure of information and improved and affordable water,
sanitation and hygiene,
1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights on realizing the rights of the child through a healthy
environment;1
1 A/HRC/43/30.
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5
2. Urges States to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child, without
discrimination of any kind, including in efforts to implement their obligations and
commitments under multilateral environmental instruments and agreements, and to achieve
the Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
3. Acknowledges the vital importance of ensuring that every child of present and
future generations can enjoy an environment adequate to their health and well-being, and that
preventing environmental harm is the most effective way to fully protect children from its
effects;
4. Urges States to take the necessary measures to ensure the full enjoyment by
children of all their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to protect them from the
effects of environmental harm through effective regulation and enforcement mechanisms,
including by:
(a) Ensuring that the best interest of the child is a primary consideration in
environmental decision-making by adopting a child rights-based approach and by
recognizing the critical importance of child rights impact assessments of relevant laws,
standards and policies to evaluate their actual impact on the rights of the child;
(b) Committing to take precautionary action whenever there are threats of serious
or irreversible damage to children from the effects of environmental harm, while noting that
a lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-efficient
measures to prevent such threats;
(c) Considering recognizing a right to a healthy environment in national
legislation in order to promote justiciability, strengthen accountability and facilitate greater
participation, improving environmental protection and performance and ensuring rights for
present and future generations;
(d) Enhancing cross-sectoral cooperation and strengthening regulatory agencies
and ministries responsible for overseeing standards relevant to the rights of the child
implicated by exposure to pollution, hazardous substances and wastes, climate change and
the loss of biodiversity with a view to ensuring that sufficient monitoring of laws, policies
and implementation mechanisms are in place to protect children from the effects of such
environmental harm;
(e) Strengthening efforts to monitor childhood exposure by collecting information
on the impact of environmental harm on children, in particular exposure to hazardous
substances, wastes and pollution, and ensuring that child-rights impact assessments take into
account the ways in which environmental harm affects girls and boys differently, making
such information publicly available and accessible while ensuring it is available also in ageresponsive
language and formats;
(f) Taking immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour and to
secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including hazardous
child labour, and putting an end to child labour in all its forms, inter alia through the
enforcement of the fundamental principles and rights at work and by eliminating work by
children where they are exposed to hazardous substances and wastes, while ensuring that
children who have been subjected to such exposure have access to the necessary treatment
and compensation;
(g) Integrating gender-responsive measures into their laws, policies and
programmes relevant to the protection of children from the effects of environmental harm,
including by addressing sexual and gender-based violence risks;
5. Also urges States to ensure the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health, without discrimination of any kind,
including sexual and reproductive health, throughout their life course, by inter alia:
(a) Ensuring the availability, quality, accessibility and acceptability of health
information and goods, and of health-care services;
(b) Taking measures to ensure that the underlying determinants of health, such as
food, water and housing, are free from hazardous substances;
A/HRC/RES/45/30
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(c) Identifying and eliminating sources of exposure of children to indoor and
outdoor air pollution and substances of high concern, such as heavy metals and endocrine
disrupting chemicals;
(d) Ensuring that all children, in particular girls, are guaranteed protection from
occupational exposure to hazardous substances and wastes;
(e) Taking all necessary measures to protect children from the health, social, and
economic consequences of epidemics and pandemics by integrating the rights of the child
into national contingency and recovery plans;
6. Further urges States to take effective measures to ensure that all children in
vulnerable situations can exercise their rights on an equal basis with other children, and that
the effects of environmental harm do not affect them disproportionately, including by
strengthening the collection of disaggregated data, by requiring that childhood exposure
monitoring and children’s rights impact assessment procedures take fully into account the
impact of proposed policies, programmes and projects on those in the most vulnerable
situations, including their gender dimensions, and by providing children at particular risk and
their parents, or primary caregivers and legal guardians, with assistance in accessing effective
remedies;
7. Urges States to ensure that children have access to justice and timely, effective,
inclusive and gender-, disability- and age-responsive remedies when exposed to violations or
abuse of their rights through the effects of environmental harm, including by providing
relevant information concerning violations and reparation mechanisms, access to effective
assistance for children and, where relevant, for and through their parents, caregivers and legal
guardians, independent complaints procedures that are child sensitive, and by ensuring
effective and prompt reparation of harm suffered and prevention of future violations, inter
alia through the remediation of contaminated sites, the cessation of the acts or inaction that
give rise to negative impacts, the provision of necessary medical and psychological services
and care, the enacting of regulations to stop the production and sale of harmful products and
by providing adequate compensation;
8. Calls upon States to consider ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and the Optional Protocols thereto, and calls also for renewed efforts towards their full
implementation by all parties;
9. Urges States to create opportunities for children’s inclusive and meaningful
participation, in accordance with their evolving capacities, in environmental decision-making
processes that are likely to affect their development and survival, including by ensuring girls’
meaningful participation in such processes on an equal basis with boys, by:
(a) Taking affirmative action to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of the child to
freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of peaceful assembly;
(b) Developing consultative mechanisms and ensuring that mitigation and
adaptation measures are developed with the best interest of the child as a primary
consideration, based upon participatory, evidence-based decision-making processes that take
into account the views of children;
(c) Providing a safe and empowering context for initiatives organized by children
and child- and youth-led movements that defend human rights relating to a healthy, safe and
sustainable environment, and ensuring their protection from all acts of intimidation,
harassment and abuse;
(d) Providing for environmental education throughout the educational process of
pupils to increase their awareness and understanding of environmental issues and their
respect for the natural environment, and to strengthen their knowledge and capacity to
respond to environmental challenges, while at all stages of such education taking into account
children’s culture, language and environmental situation and by considering the adoption of
environmental education strategies and curricula;
(e) Providing training on environmental issues to school teachers as to allow them
to carry out effective teaching on environmental issues and challenges;
A/HRC/RES/45/30
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(f) Ensuring the availability and accessibility of adequate and age- and disabilityresponsive
information on the effects of environmental harm, including pollution, hazardous
substances and wastes, the loss of biodiversity and climate change on their impact and
adaptive responses, and about appropriate lifestyle choices for sustainable development,
including consumption behaviours;
(g) Increasing public awareness to promote community engagement and child
creativity and knowledge, and strengthening cooperation, joint efforts and knowledge
exchange to engage all stakeholders and to create partnerships to respond collectively to
environmental challenges;
10. Also urges States to take all necessary, appropriate and reasonable measures to
prevent businesses from causing or contributing to children’s rights abuses, including by:
(a) Regularly monitoring business activities’ environmental impacts and ensuring
that they comply with all applicable health and safety, labour, environmental and consumer
laws and standards, and where relevant strengthening regulation to ensure enforcement of the
rights of the child in the context of business activities and environmental harm;
(b) Requiring businesses to undertake child rights due diligence appropriate to
their size, the risk of severe impact and the context of their operations, and ensuring that
businesses meet their obligation to respect the rights of the child throughout their operations;
(c) Developing and updating national action plans on business and human rights
that include consideration of the effects of environmental harm, particularly the adverse
impact of business activities on the rights of the child through exposure to pollution and
hazardous substances and wastes;
(d) Taking steps to ensure, through judicial, administrative, legislative or other
appropriate means, that, when abuses of the rights of the child occur within their territory
and/or jurisdiction, those affected have access to an effective remedy, without fear of
reprisals;
11. Calls upon all business enterprises to meet their responsibility to respect the
rights of the child by undertaking child rights due diligence, appropriate to their size, the risk
of severe impact and the context of their operation, to identify risks and to prevent children
from being exposed to the effects of environmental harm through their activities, and to
prevent and mitigate exposure through their business relationships, as outlined in the
recommendations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its general comment No.
16 (2013), the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the International Labour
Organization Tripartite Declaration of Principles concerning Multinational Enterprises and
Social Policy and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles;
12. Calls upon States to increase cooperation to address the effects of
environmental harm on the rights of the child, including by sharing information on the
hazardous properties of chemicals, such toxicity and other characteristics of concern, and of
products containing them, by ensuring that international trade in chemicals and waste is in
full compliance with the relevant environmental treaties, and by adhering to their human
rights obligations;
13. Urges States to ensure that considerations of the rights of the child are
integrated in their environmental, climate, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian and
development activities, monitoring and reporting, and also to ensure policy coherence in
these fields in order to establish a coherent approach to sustainable development that benefits
all persons, particularly children and future generations;
14. Calls upon States to develop ambitious mitigation measures to minimize the
future negative impacts of climate change on children to the greatest extent possible by
holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial
levels and by pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial
levels, to develop adaptation plans and to make finance flows consistent with a pathway
towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development, in accordance with
the commitments undertaken by each State under the Paris Agreement and the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, and to consider their respective obligations
A/HRC/RES/45/30
8
regarding the rights of the child and intergenerational equity in their climate change
adaptation and mitigation and environmental strategies;
Follow-up
15. Encourages the special procedures and other human rights mechanisms of the
Human Rights Council to continue to integrate a child rights perspective while implementing
their mandates, and to include in their reports information, qualitative analysis and
recommendations on the rights of the child, paying attention to the adverse impact of
environmental harm on the full enjoyment of those rights;
16. Invites all human rights treaty bodies to continue to integrate the rights of the
child into their work, in particular in their concluding observations, general comments and
recommendations, paying attention to the adverse impact of environmental harm on the full
enjoyment of their rights;
17. Decides to continue its consideration of the question of the rights of the child
in accordance with its programme of work and its resolutions 7/29 of 28 March 2008 and
19/37 of 23 March 2012, and to focus its next annual full-day meeting on the theme “the
rights of the child and the Sustainable Development Goals”, and requests the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to make the discussion fully
accessible to persons with disabilities and to prepare a summary report on the annual day
discussion, and to present it to the Human Rights Council at its forty-eighth session;
18. Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare
a report on the rights of the child and family reunification, in close cooperation with all
relevant stakeholders, including States, the United Nations Children’s Fund, other relevant
United Nations bodies and agencies, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on
Violence against Children and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
Children and Armed Conflict, relevant special procedure mandate holders, regional
organizations and human rights bodies, national human rights institutions and civil society,
including through consultations with children themselves, and to present the report to the
Human Rights Council at its forty-ninth session with a view to providing information for the
2022 annual day of discussion on the rights of the child, and requests the Office of the High
Commissioner to make the discussion fully accessible to persons with disabilities.
38th meeting
7 October 2020
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.21-14965(E)
Human Rights Council
Forty-eighth session
13 September–11 October 2021
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 8 October 2021
48/13. The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action, and recalling the Declaration on the Right to Development, the
Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (the Stockholm
Declaration), the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, relevant international
human rights treaties and other relevant regional human rights instruments,
Reaffirming also that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Recalling General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled
“Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, in which the
Assembly adopted a comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred set of universal and
transformative Sustainable Development Goals and targets,
Recalling also States’ obligations and commitments under multilateral environmental
instruments and agreements, including on climate change, and the outcome of the United
Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June
2012, and its outcome document entitled “The future we want”,1 which reaffirmed the
principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development,
Recalling further all its resolutions on human rights and the environment, the most
recent of which are resolutions 45/17 of 6 October 2020, 45/30 of 7 October 2020 and 46/7
of 23 March 2021, and relevant resolutions of the General Assembly,
Recognizing that sustainable development, in its three dimensions (social, economic
and environmental), and the protection of the environment, including ecosystems, contribute
to and promote human well-being and the enjoyment of human rights, including the rights to
life, to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, to an
adequate standard of living, to adequate food, to housing, to safe drinking water and
sanitation and to participation in cultural life, for present and future generations,
1 General Assembly resolution 66/288, annex.
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A/HRC/RES/48/13
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Reaffirming the importance of international cooperation, on the basis of mutual
respect, in full compliance with the principles and purposes of the Charter, with full respect
for the sovereignty of States while taking into account national priorities,
Recognizing that, conversely, the impact of climate change, the unsustainable
management and use of natural resources, the pollution of air, land and water, the unsound
management of chemicals and waste, the resulting loss of biodiversity and the decline in
services provided by ecosystems interfere with the enjoyment of a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment, and that environmental damage has negative implications, both
direct and indirect, for the effective enjoyment of all human rights,
Recognizing also that, while the human rights implications of environmental damage
are felt by individuals and communities around the world, the consequences are felt most
acutely by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations,
including indigenous peoples, older persons, persons with disabilities, and women and girls,
Recognizing further that environmental degradation, climate change and
unsustainable development constitute some of the most pressing and serious threats to the
ability of present and future generations to enjoy human rights, including the right to life,
Recognizing that the exercise of human rights, including the rights to seek, receive
and impart information, to participate effectively in the conduct of government and public
affairs and in environmental decision-making and to an effective remedy, is vital to the
protection of a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,
Reaffirming that States have the obligation to respect, protect and promote human
rights, including in all actions undertaken to address environmental challenges, and to take
measures to protect the rights of all, as recognized in different international instruments and
reflected in the framework principles on human rights and the environment, prepared by the
Special Rapporteur on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a
safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment,2 and that additional measures should be
taken for those who are particularly vulnerable to environmental harm,
Recalling the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which underscore
the responsibility of all business enterprises to respect human rights, including the rights to
life, liberty and security of human rights defenders working in environmental matters,
referred to as environmental human rights defenders,
Acknowledging the importance of a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as
critical to the enjoyment of all human rights,
Recalling all of the reports of the Special Rapporteur (formerly the Independent
Expert) on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean,
healthy and sustainable environment,3
Noting that more than 155 States have recognized some form of a right to a healthy
environment in, inter alia, international agreements or their national constitutions, legislation
or policies,
Noting also “The highest aspiration: a call to action for human rights”, which the
Secretary-General presented to the Human Rights Council on 24 February 2020 and in which,
inter alia, he called upon the United Nations to increase support to Member States at the field
level for laws and policies that regulated and promoted the right to a safe, clean, healthy and
sustainable environment, and for effective individual access to justice and effective remedies
for environment-related concerns,
Noting further the joint statement to the Human Rights Council on 9 March 2021 by
15 United Nations entities, including the United Nations Environment Programme, the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations
Development Programme, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Entity
2 A/HRC/37/59, annex.
3 A/73/188, A/74/161, A/75/161, A/76/179, A/HRC/22/43 A/HRC/25/53, A/HRC/28/61,
A/HRC/31/52, A/HRC/31/53, A/HRC/34/49, A/HRC/37/58, A/HRC/37/59, A/HRC/40/55,
A/HRC/43/53 A/HRC/43/54 and A/HRC/46/28.
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for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund and
the World Health Organization, and the letter dated 10 September 2020 and signed by more
than 1,100 civil society, child, youth and indigenous peoples’ organizations, urgently calling
for global recognition, implementation and protection of the human right to a safe, clean,
healthy and sustainable environment,
1. Recognizes the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a
human right that is important for the enjoyment of human rights;
2. Notes that the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is related
to other rights and existing international law;
3. Affirms that the promotion of the human right to a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment requires the full implementation of the multilateral environmental
agreements under the principles of international environmental law;
4. Encourages States:
(a) To build capacities for the efforts to protect the environment in order to fulfil
their human rights obligations and commitments, and to enhance cooperation with other
States, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the rest of
the United Nations system and other relevant international and regional organizations,
agencies, convention secretariats and programmes, and relevant non-State stakeholders,
including civil society, national human rights institutions and business, on the
implementation of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, in accordance
with their respective mandates;
(b) To continue to share good practices in fulfilling human rights obligations
relating to the enjoyment of a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, including by
exchanging knowledge and ideas, building synergies between the protection of human rights
and the protection of the environment, bearing in mind an integrated and multisectoral
approach and considering that efforts to protect the environment must fully respect other
human rights obligations, including those related to gender equality;
(c) To adopt policies for the enjoyment of the right to a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment as appropriate, including with respect to biodiversity and
ecosystems;
(d) To continue to take into account human rights obligations and commitments
relating to the enjoyment of a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in the
implementation of and follow-up to the Sustainable Development Goals, bearing in mind the
integrated and multisectoral nature of the latter;
5. Invites the General Assembly to consider the matter;
6. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
43rd meeting
8 October 2021
[Adopted by a recorded vote of 43 to 0, with 4 abstentions. The voting was as follows:
In favour:
Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia
(Plurinational State of), Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte
d’Ivoire, Cuba, Czechia, Denmark, Eritrea, Fiji, France, Gabon, Germany,
Indonesia, Italy, Libya, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico,
Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Republic of
Korea, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Venezuela (Bolivarian
Republic of)
Abstaining:
China, India, Japan and Russian Federation]
GE.22-16505(E)
Human Rights Council
Fifty-first session
12 September–7 October 2022
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 6 October 2022
51/17. Youth and human rights
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and relevant international
human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child,
Recalling also the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, in which it is stated
that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated, interdependent and mutually
reinforcing, and that all human rights must be treated in a fair and equal manner, on the same
footing and with the same emphasis,
Recalling further Human Rights Council resolutions 32/1 of 30 June 2016, 35/14 of
22 June 2017 and 41/13 of 11 July 2019 on youth and human rights, and resolution 48/12 of
8 October 2021 on the human rights implications of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
pandemic on young people,
Recalling all previous relevant resolutions, including the most recent, namely General
Assembly resolution 76/137 of 16 December 2021, on policies and programmes involving
youth, Assembly resolution 50/81 of 14 December 1995, by which the Assembly adopted the
World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, and its subsequent
resolution 62/126 of 18 December 2007,
Acknowledging that the World Programme of Action for Youth provided a policy
framework and practical guidelines for national action and international support to improve
the situation of young people,
Recalling the holding of the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in
Lisbon, in August 1998, and the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth 2019
and Youth Forum Lisboa+21, also in Lisbon, in June 2019, and recalling also with
appreciation their Declarations on Youth Policies and Programmes, especially with regard to
empowering youth and their representatives, the commitment to protect, respect and fulfil
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the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all young people, protecting the most
disadvantaged and those in vulnerable situations and contributing to the creation of indicators
to assess the impact of youth policies and programmes,
Recalling also the serious and continuing threat to global health posed by the COVID-
19 pandemic and that its consequences disproportionately affect the full enjoyment of human
rights and fundamental freedoms by young people, in particular young women and persons
in vulnerable situations, including with regard to their right to work, right to an inclusive,
equitable and quality education and right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard
of physical and mental health,
Encouraging States to effectively implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, and reaffirming the need to develop and implement strategies that give young
people everywhere, including those in vulnerable situations, real opportunities to enable their
full, effective and meaningful participation in society, in relevant decision-making processes
and monitoring in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres, including in designing
and implementing policies, programmes and initiatives, in particular those for implementing
the 2030 Agenda,
Recalling the high-level event held by the General Assembly on 29 May 2015 to mark
the twentieth anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth, which offered an
important opportunity for States and other relevant stakeholders to take stock of the progress
made in its implementation and to identify gaps and challenges and the way forward for its
full, effective and accelerated implementation,
Welcoming General Assembly resolution 76/6 of 15 November 2021 on the followup
to the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Our Common Agenda,1
Welcoming also General Assembly resolution 76/306 of 8 September 2022 on the
establishment of the United Nations Youth Office as a dedicated office for youth affairs in
the Secretariat, integrating the Office of the Envoy of the Secretary-General on Youth,
Welcoming further the intersessional seminar focused on the challenges and
opportunities of young people in the field of human rights, held in April 2021, pursuant to
Human Rights Council resolution 41/13, and taking note with appreciation of the report on
the seminar prepared by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,2 which
provides an overview of the challenges and discrimination faced by young people in the
realization of their rights, youth mainstreaming in human rights mechanisms and next steps
on youth and human rights at the international level,
Taking note with appreciation of the report prepared by the High Commissioner on
the human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people, pursuant to
Human Rights Council resolution 48/12,3 and encouraging States to consider adopting an
approach to COVID-19 recovery that gives a proper place to the human rights of young
people and is implemented in partnership with them,
Recognizing the contribution of the fourth phase of the World Programme for Human
Rights Education, which focuses on youth, to the advancement of human rights education
and training with, by and for youth globally,
Noting with appreciation the United Nations Youth Strategy entitled “Youth 2030:
working with and for young people” as a tool for the empowerment of young people and the
advancement of their rights, launched at the high-level event held in September 2018 at
United Nations Headquarters,
Noting the inputs from recent relevant conferences, forums and global initiatives
relating to youth at the international, regional and subregional levels, inter alia, the World
Youth Forums held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022,
1 A/75/982.
2 A/HRC/49/32.
3 A/HRC/51/19.
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Encouraging contributions by the High Commissioner, the special procedures of the
Human Rights Council and the treaty bodies, and other relevant international and regional
human rights mechanisms, as well as the United Nations Youth Office and the Envoy of the
Secretary-General on Youth, in identifying and addressing obstacles to the enjoyment of all
human rights by youth,
Underlining the important role that youth can play in the promotion of peace and
security, sustainable development and human rights and in the implementation of the youth,
peace and security agenda, and the importance of the active, meaningful and inclusive
participation of youth in decision-making,
Conscious that today’s generation of youth is the largest that the world has ever
witnessed, and therefore encouraging States to make further efforts to ensure the respect,
protection and fulfilment of all human rights for young people, including all civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights, given that lack of participation and opportunity has
adverse consequences for communities and societies,
Affirming that youth unemployment figures have increased globally since the onset of
the COVID-19 pandemic and that job losses for youth in 2020 were 8.7 per cent higher than
for other workers, with unprecedented global employment losses of 114 million jobs
compared with 2019,
Recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly affected young workers
and those transitioning from education to employment, compounding already existing
problems and increasing instability, and that youth have disproportionately faced precarious
employment conditions, reduced employment hours and income, a lack of decent work,
unemployment, limited or no social security support, and limited or no new job or selfemployment
opportunities,
Recalling that, in its resolution 76/137, the General Assembly urged Member States
to take all measures necessary to combat all forms of discrimination, neglect and abuse of,
and violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, against young people and to
address the barriers to their social integration and adequate participation, bearing in mind that
the full enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms empowers them to
contribute as active members of society to the political, civil, economic, social and cultural
development of their countries,
Emphasizing the need to empower youth in order to achieve sustainable development,
including poverty eradication, and stressing in this regard the commitment made in the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development to substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in
employment, education or training and to develop and operationalize a global strategy for
youth employment,
Expressing concern that young people face specific challenges that require integrated
responses by States, the United Nations system and other relevant stakeholders, and that
further work is needed to continue to mainstream their rights throughout the United Nations
human rights mechanisms,
Noting that civic education and engagement is one important way to facilitate
knowledge of how public institutions work, while also noting the lack of equal access of
young people to civil education programmes,
Noting also that human rights education for youth, with special emphasis on equality
and non-discrimination, contributes to building inclusive and peaceful societies,
Noting further that digital technology can also provide an opportunity for all young
people, including persons with disabilities, to fully realize their human rights, including the
right to education and to participate in civic engagement and in relevant decision-making
processes, while also noting the need to make digital spaces safer for youth,
Emphasizing the need to give each young person effective and meaningful access to
digital tools, the Internet, accessible and inclusive public services, equitable and inclusive
distance-learning solutions and virtual vocational training, to promote digital and media
literacy and to work with all relevant stakeholders to bridge the digital divides, including
gender, age, geographical, linguistic and socioeconomic digital divides,
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1. Welcomes the work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights on youth, and recalls its report4 and its recommendations to strengthen the
promotion and protection of the rights of young people;
2. Stresses the fundamental importance of equal opportunities, education,
including digital literacy, and technical and vocational training, and that lifelong learning
opportunities and guidance for youth are necessary for the realization of all human rights for
young people;
3. Welcomes the decision of the General Assembly to convene a one-day highlevel
plenary meeting of the General Assembly, at the level of Heads of State and
Government and with the full and effective participation of youth, during the general debate
of the eightieth session of the General Assembly, in 2025, to commemorate the thirtieth
anniversary of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond, with
a view to addressing the challenges still faced by young people in the realization of their full
potential and human rights;
4. Recognizes that the participation and representation of youth in institutional
political processes and policymaking are low compared with those of other age groups, and
that young people are not proportionately represented in political institutions, such as
parliaments, political parties and public administrations;
5. Urges States, in consultation with youth-led and youth-focused organizations,
to promote new initiatives for the full, effective, structured, sustainable and meaningful
participation of young people in relevant decision-making processes and monitoring, in
political, economic, social and cultural spheres, including in designing and implementing
policies, programmes and initiatives, in particular, while implementing the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development;
6. Calls upon all States to promote and to ensure the full realization of all human
rights and fundamental freedoms for youth, including by taking measures to combat age
discrimination, neglect, abuse and violence, including sexual and gender-based violence, and
to address issues relating to barriers to social integration and adequate participation, bearing
in mind that the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by young people
empowers them to contribute as active members of society to the political, civil, economic,
social and cultural development of their countries;
7. Urges States to promote equal opportunities for all, to eliminate all forms of
discrimination against young people, including that based on age, race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status;
8. Calls upon all States to guarantee a safe and enabling environment for
meaningful youth participation that fully respects the right to freedom of opinion and
expression and the rights of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association in accordance
with relevant and applicable international human rights instruments;
9. Also calls upon all States to take the steps necessary to ensure that the right of
young people to freedom of expression and their safety are respected online, including by
better educating them on the digital environment and by developing youth-friendly digital
tools, as well as by protecting young people effectively against online threats;
10. Calls upon all States and other relevant stakeholders to develop initiatives on
human rights education for youth, in accordance with the plan of action for the fourth phase
of the World Programme for Human Rights Education, and to engage youth as key partners
in those efforts;
11. Urges States to address the challenges faced by girls and young women, as
well as gender stereotypes that perpetuate all forms of discrimination and violence against
girls and young women, including harmful practices, both online and offline, and the
stereotypical roles of women and men that hinder social development, by reaffirming the
commitment to the empowerment of women and gender equality and the human rights of all
women and girls, and to engage, educate, encourage and support men and boys to take
4 A/HRC/39/33.
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responsibility for their behaviour in this regard, including their sexual and reproductive
behaviour;
12. Encourages States to conduct their coherent youth-related policies through
inclusive and participatory consultations with youth and relevant youth-led and youthfocused
stakeholders and social development partners in the interest of developing integrated,
holistic and inclusive youth policies and programmes, as well as coherent cross-sectoral
efforts, based on the World Programme of Action For Youth and the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, and in which human rights are mainstreamed, and to evaluate them
regularly as part of the follow-up action on and implementation of the Programme of Action
at all levels;
13. Urges States to consider addressing, through the universal periodic review and
the treaty bodies, issues pertaining to the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights of
youth, and to share the best practices that they have developed in dealing with the realization
of the human rights of young people;
14. Encourages States, United Nations bodies, especially the Human Rights
Council, and the Office of the High Commissioner, to collaborate broadly with the United
Nations Youth Office and the Envoy of the Secretary-General on Youth in implementing the
United Nations Youth Strategy and other youth-focused activities in order to guarantee the
empowerment of young people and the full enjoyment of their human rights;
15. Decides to incorporate into its programme of work a biennial panel discussion,
fully accessible to persons with disabilities, which will be held during the September session
of the Council as of its fifty-fourth session, and requests the Office of the High Commissioner
to organize the panel discussion following consultations with young people, youth and youthled
organizations and to prepare a summary report on the panel discussion for consideration
at the subsequent session;
16. Also decides that the theme of the panel discussion to be held during the fiftyfourth
session will be young people’s engagement with climate change and global
environmental decision-making processes;
17. Requests the High Commissioner, in consultation with States and relevant
stakeholders, including relevant United Nations agencies, the treaty bodies, the special
procedures of the Human Rights Council, national human rights institutions, civil society and
representatives of youth organizations, to conduct a detailed study on the solutions to promote
digital education for young people and to ensure their protection from online threats, and to
submit the study to the Council for consideration prior to its fifty-seventh session;
18. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
41st meeting
6 October 2022
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.22-16666(E)
Human Rights Council
Fifty-first session
12 September–7 October 2022
Agenda item 8
Follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 7 October 2022
51/31. National human rights institutions
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and
recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Vienna Declaration and
Programme of Action and other relevant instruments,
Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated,
interdependent and mutually reinforcing and that all human rights must be treated in a fair
and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis,
Recalling all relevant resolutions of the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly
and the Commission on Human Rights on national institutions for the promotion and
protection of human rights, including most recently Council resolution 45/22 of 6 October
2020 and Assembly resolution 76/170 of 16 December 2021,
Recalling also General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled
“Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, in which the
Assembly adopted the outcome document of the United Nations summit for the adoption of
the post-2015 development agenda and pledged that no one would be left behind,
Recalling further General Assembly resolution 69/313 of 27 July 2015 on the Addis
Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development,
which is an integral part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
Recalling that the 2030 Agenda is guided by the purposes and principles of the
Charter, grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international human rights
treaties, the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the 2005 World Summit Outcome,
and informed by other instruments, such as the Declaration on the Right to Development, and
recognizing, inter alia, the need to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies that provide
equal access to justice and are based on respect for all human rights, effective rule of law and
good governance at all levels and transparent, effective and accountable institutions,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement, and emphasizing that parties should, in all climate change-related actions,
fully respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights,
Reaffirming also the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and reaffirming
also its statement of the important and constructive role played by national human rights
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institutions, in particular in their advisory capacity to the competent authorities, and their role
in preventing, remedying and assisting victims to find remedies to human rights violations
and abuses, in the dissemination of human rights information and education in human rights,
Recalling the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion
and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), welcoming the forthcoming thirtieth
anniversary, in 2023, of the adoption of the Paris Principles, and recalling the establishment
of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions,
Reaffirming the importance of, and welcoming the rapidly growing interest and
progress throughout the world in, establishing and strengthening independent, pluralistic
national human rights institutions in accordance with the Paris Principles,
Recalling that the existence of independent national human rights institutions in
compliance with the Paris Principles is a global indicator of progress towards achieving
Sustainable Development Goal 16, taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on
progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals,1 including this indicator, and calling
upon all States to accelerate progress under this indicator,
Reaffirming the important role that such national human rights institutions play, and
will continue to play, in promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms,
including of human rights defenders, strengthening participation, in particular of civil society
organizations, Indigenous Peoples, persons belonging to minorities, minority groups and
persons in vulnerable situations, promoting the rule of law, developing and enhancing public
awareness of those rights and fundamental freedoms and contributing to the prevention of
human rights violations and abuses,
Encouraging greater efforts to investigate and respond to increasing reports of acts of
intimidation and cases of reprisal against national human rights institutions, their members
and staff and those who cooperate or seek to cooperate with them,
Recognizing the important role that national human rights institutions can play in
preventing and addressing acts of intimidation and cases of reprisal as part of supporting the
cooperation between States and the United Nations in the promotion of human rights,
including by contributing, as appropriate, to follow-up actions and to recommendations made
by international human rights mechanisms, and in this regard recalling the Marrakech
Declaration adopted at the thirteenth International Conference of National Human Rights
Institutions,
Welcoming the strengthening in all regions of regional and cross-regional cooperation
among national human rights institutions, and between national human rights institutions and
other regional human rights forums,
Commending the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and regional networks of
national human rights institutions, including the Network of African National Human Rights
Institutions, the Network of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human
Rights in the Americas, the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions and
the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions, for their important work in
support of the development and strengthening of independent and effective national human
rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles,
Welcoming efforts to strengthen United Nations system-wide coordination in support
of national human rights institutions and their networks, including the tripartite partnership
between the United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the High Commissioner
and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions,2 and encouraging further
cooperation in this regard between United Nations mechanisms and processes and with
national human rights institutions, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions
and its regional networks,
1 E/2022/55.
2 General Assembly resolution 70/163, para. 19.
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Welcoming also the valuable participation and contribution of national human rights
institutions and their networks, including their contribution to national mechanisms for
reporting and follow-up, and with regard to follow-up to recommendations and relevant
United Nations mechanisms and processes, in accordance with their respective mandates,
including the Human Rights Council and its universal periodic review mechanism and the
special procedures, the treaty bodies, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Commission on the
Status of Women, the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities and the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, and their continuing efforts
in support of the 2030 Agenda, and encouraging further efforts in this regard,
Emphasizing the importance of human rights in shaping the response to the
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, for both the public health emergency and the
broader impact on people’s lives and livelihoods,
Recognizing the important role of national human rights institutions in highlighting
the human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, including offering guidance to
States in ensuring a human rights-compliant response to the pandemic, examining and
monitoring the situation, raising public awareness, including the provision of accurate and
timely information, working to protect groups and persons in vulnerable situations and
cooperating with civil society, rights holders and other stakeholders, and encouraging States
to cooperate with their national human rights institution and to ensure that they can
effectively discharge their mandate and functions, including by ensuring the allocation of
adequate resources,
Conscious that change in the Earth’s climate, and the ensuing adverse effects, have
led to economic, social, cultural and environmental consequences and have negative
implications, both direct and indirect, for the enjoyment of human rights and the achievement
of the Sustainable Development Goals,
Recognizing that climate change and its impact are among the greatest challenges of
the day, directly and indirectly affecting the full enjoyment of human rights, that States
should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their
respective obligations with regard to human rights to ensure more sustainable and effective
climate action, and that the impact of climate change affects individuals and communities
around the world, especially in developing countries, in particular small island developing
States, least developed countries and landlocked developing countries, and in different ways,
owing to factors such as geography, economic condition, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or
minority status, where applicable, national or social origin, birth or other status and disability,
Recognizing also that Indigenous Peoples are in particularly vulnerable situations and
are already suffering the impact of climate change, owing to their close relationship with
natural ecosystems, and encouraging contributions of their traditional knowledge and their
full and effective participation in decision-making processes that affect them, including the
principle of free, prior and informed consent before adoption and implementation of
legislative or administrative measures that may affect them,
Recalling the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement, with regard to the importance of technical assistance, capacity-building,
international cooperation and financial resources in support of national efforts, actions and
measures to address the adverse impact of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights,
Recalling also resolution 48/13 of 8 October 2021, in which the Human Rights
Council encouraged States to enhance cooperation with other States, the Office of the High
Commissioner, the rest of the United Nations system and other relevant international and
regional organizations, agencies, convention secretariats and programmes, and relevant non-
State stakeholders, including civil society, national human rights institutions and business, in
accordance with their respective mandates,
Recognizing the important role of national human rights institutions in monitoring,
reporting to and advising government bodies and other stakeholders in relation to climate
mitigation and adaption, in accordance with their respective mandates and in line with human
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rights obligations and the principles of non-discrimination, participation, access to justice
and accountability,
Welcoming the role of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and
its regional networks in supporting national human rights institutions to fulfil their mandate
with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and the support provided by the Office of the High
Commissioner, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations
Environment Programme,
Acknowledging the contribution that many national human rights institutions have
made and continue to make in promoting human rights in the context of climate action, and
noting the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions Caucus on Human Rights
and Climate Change, which brings together national human rights institutions from all
regions to work together on human rights and climate change,
Reaffirming that, as recognized in the 2030 Agenda, eradicating poverty in all its
forms and dimensions, combating inequality within and among countries, preserving the
planet, creating sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and fostering social
inclusion are linked to each other and interdependent,
Stressing that the ability of all individuals to participate fully, equally and
meaningfully in national, political, cultural, religious, economic and social processes in their
societies is crucial to their full and equal enjoyment of all human rights,
Bearing in mind that the promotion and upholding of tolerance, respect, pluralism and
diversity are essential for the promotion and protection of human rights in multicultural
contexts and, in particular, for combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance,
Acknowledging that the promotion and protection of human rights and the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda are interrelated and mutually reinforcing, and
recognizing that the 2030 Agenda contains a pledge to leave no one behind and envisages a
world of universal respect for human rights and human dignity, the rule of law, justice,
equality and non-discrimination,
Recognizing the importance of the independent voice of national human rights
institutions in promoting and protecting all human rights, including, in accordance with their
mandates, economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, particularly in the context of
the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, whose aim is to realize the human rights of all,
Welcoming the Mérida Declaration on the Role of National Human Rights Institutions
in Implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, noting that the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda is a priority under the current strategic plan of the Global
Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, and acknowledging the efforts that national
human rights institutions are making to connect their work, in accordance with their
respective mandates, to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda,
Recalling the Belgrade principles on the relationship between national human rights
institutions and parliaments,3
1. Welcomes the most recent reports of the Secretary-General submitted to the
Human Rights Council on national human rights institutions4 and on the activities of the
Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in accrediting national institutions in
compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion
and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles);5
2. Encourages States to establish effective, independent and pluralistic national
human rights institutions or, where they already exist, to strengthen them to enable the
effective fulfilment of their mandate to promote and protect human rights and fundamental
3 A/HRC/20/9, annex.
4 A/HRC/51/51.
5 A/HRC/51/52.
A/HRC/RES/51/31
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freedoms for all, as outlined in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and to do
so in accordance with the Paris Principles;
3. Stresses the importance of the financial and administrative independence and
the stability of national human rights institutions for the promotion and protection of human
rights, notes with satisfaction the efforts of those States that have provided their national
human rights institutions with more autonomy and independence, including by giving them
an investigative role or enhancing such a role, and encourages other Governments to consider
taking similar steps;
4. Also stresses that national human rights institutions and their respective
members and staff should not face any form of reprisal or intimidation, including political
pressure, physical intimidation, harassment or unjustifiable budgetary limitations, as a result
of activities undertaken in accordance with their respective mandates, including when taking
up individual cases or when reporting on serious or systematic violations, and calls upon
States to promptly and thoroughly investigate cases of alleged reprisal or intimidation against
members or staff of national human rights institutions or against individuals who cooperate
or seek to cooperate with them and to bring perpetrators to justice;
5. Encourages all relevant United Nations mechanisms and processes, in
accordance with their respective mandates, including the Economic and Social Council,
including the Commission on the Status of Women, and the Conference of States Parties to
the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Open-ended Working Group
on Ageing, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the high-level
political forum on sustainable development and related global and regional processes, as well
as the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, to further enhance the participation of
national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles and to allow for their
contribution to these United Nations mechanisms and processes, bearing in mind the relevant
provisions dealing with their participation contained in General Assembly resolution 60/251
of 15 March 2006, Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 of 18 June 2007, 5/2 of 18 June
2007 and 16/21 of 25 March 2011 and Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/74 of
20 April 2005;
6. Welcomes the important role of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights
Institutions, in close cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, in assessing conformity with the Paris Principles and in assisting States
and national institutions, when requested, to strengthen national human rights institutions in
accordance with such principles, also welcomes the continuing number of national
institutions seeking accreditation status through the Global Alliance, and encourages relevant
national institutions, including ombudsman institutions, to seek accreditation status;
7. Encourages the Secretary-General and all United Nations human rights
mechanisms and relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, working within
their respective mandates, to continue to give high priority to requests from States for
assistance in the establishment and strengthening of national human rights institutions, to
work with States and national human rights institutions in the protection and promotion of
human rights, and to strengthen United Nations system-wide coordination in support of
national human rights institutions;
8. Recognizes the contribution that national human rights institutions have made
to the promotion and protection, and prevention of violations, of human rights by exercising
their mandates and functions consistent with the Paris Principles, and encourages them to
continue to do so, including by:
(a) Independently assisting, advising and engaging with the State, and other
stakeholders, in the prevention of violations and abuses of human rights;
(b) Encouraging the ratification, and ensuring the implementation, of international
human rights treaties;
(c) Promoting legal, policy and procedural reforms, including to promote and
ensure the harmonization of national laws and practices with the international human rights
instruments to which a State is a party, and their effective implementation;
A/HRC/RES/51/31
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(d) Cooperating with the United Nations system, including by contributing, as
appropriate, to follow-up actions to the recommendations made by international human rights
mechanisms;
(e) Conducting and promoting at all levels practical and relevant human rights
training and education, and raising public awareness and advocacy about the promotion and
protection of human rights and efforts to combat all forms of discrimination;
(f) Working with non-governmental organizations devoted to promoting and
protecting human rights and economic and social development, combating racism and
protecting groups subject to particular vulnerabilities, marginalization or intersecting forms
of discrimination, or specialized areas;
(g) Preparing and publicizing reports on the national situation with regard to
human rights, drawing the attention of the Government to situations in any part of the country
in which human rights are violated, making proposals to put an end to such situations and,
where necessary, expressing an opinion on the positions and reactions of the Government;
(h) Supporting transparent and meaningful engagement by States in regional and
international human rights forums by making contributions, in accordance with their
independent mandates, to the reports that States are required to submit to United Nations
bodies and committees and to regional institutions pursuant to their treaty obligations;
(i) Enhancing their work in the context of climate change by studying and
identifying how the adverse effects of climate change, including sudden and slow-onset
disasters, directly and indirectly affect the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, and
considering challenges to addressing and preventing these adverse effects when making
recommendations to strengthen the integration of human rights concerns into policymaking,
legislation and plans addressing climate change;
(j) Continuing to monitor, report to and advise government bodies and other
stakeholders on the implementation of human rights, including in the context of the design
and implementation of mitigation and adaptation policies, practices, investments and other
projects on climate change;
9. Acknowledges that, in the performance of their key functions, in accordance
with their mandates and with the Paris Principles, national human rights institutions are
supporting the establishment and maintenance of inclusive societies, and in doing so are
contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, including by:
(a) Assisting States to adopt effective frameworks to promote and protect human
rights, which are applied equally to protect the rights of all individuals without discrimination
on any grounds, including race, colour, gender, age, disability, language, religion, political
or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status;
(b) Contributing to building the capacity of States to prevent and reduce
discrimination and violence through effective national-level legislation, regulation, policies
and programmes, including those that guarantee equal access, rights and opportunities for all,
including equal access to justice and participatory decision-making;
(c) Contributing to the progressive realization of economic, social and cultural
rights for all;
(d) Contributing to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women
and girls and of sexual and gender-based violence;
(e) Contributing to the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
other related intolerance, all forms of hate speech, and religious intolerance and its
manifestations, including hate crimes and incitement to hatred, and fostering cohesive
societies that respect and celebrate diversity and multiculturalism;
(f) Contributing to addressing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination
that can increase the vulnerability to violence and discrimination of persons with disabilities,
Indigenous Peoples, refugees and migrants, persons who are socioeconomically
disadvantaged, persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,
and other individuals in vulnerable situations or belonging to marginalized groups;
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(g) Working with businesses to fulfil their commitment to respect human rights in
accordance with human rights law, and to support initiatives aimed at protecting victims of
human rights abuses, including through the dissemination and implementation of the Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights;
10. Encourages all States and national human rights institutions to continue to take
appropriate steps to maintain a legislative or policy framework compliant with the Paris
Principles and to promote cooperation, the exchange of information, the sharing of
experience and the dissemination of best practices concerning the establishment and effective
operation of national human rights institutions, including their contribution to the
establishment and maintenance of inclusive societies and the implementation of the 2030
Agenda;
11. Invites national human rights institutions to include in their cooperation the
exchange of best practices on strengthening their liaison role between their Governments and
civil society, Indigenous Peoples, persons belonging to minorities, minority groups and
persons in vulnerable situations;
12. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to continue and to strengthen
its work with national human rights institutions, including through technical cooperation,
capacity-building activities and advice, urges the High Commissioner to ensure that
appropriate arrangements are made and budgetary resources are provided to continue and
further extend activities in support of national human rights institutions, including through
increased support for the work of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions
and its regional networks, and invites Governments to contribute additional voluntary funds
to that end;
13. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Human Rights Council, at its
fifty-seventh session, a report on the implementation of the present resolution that includes
examples of best practices among national human rights institutions, prepared in consultation
with States, national human rights institutions and other relevant stakeholders, and a report
on the activities of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in accrediting
national institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles.
44th meeting
7 October 2022
[Adopted without a vote.]
GE.23-06790(E)
Human Rights Council
Fifty-second session
27 February–4 April 2023
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 4 April 2023
52/23. The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action, and recalling the Declaration of the United Nations Conference
on the Human Environment, the Declaration on the Right to Development, the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development, the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, relevant international human rights treaties and other relevant regional
human rights instruments,
Reaffirming also that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Recalling all its resolutions on human rights and the environment, the most recent of
which are resolutions 45/17 of 6 October 2020, 45/30 of 7 October 2020 and 46/7 of 23
March 2021, and relevant resolutions of the General Assembly,
Welcoming the adoption of Human Rights Council resolution 48/13 on 8 October
2021 and General Assembly resolution 76/300 on 28 July 2022, recognizing the human right
to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,
Reaffirming General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled
“Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, in which the
Assembly adopted a comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred set of universal and
transformative Sustainable Development Goals and targets,
Recalling States’ obligations and commitments under multilateral environmental
instruments and agreements and the outcome of the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 2012, and its outcome
document entitled “The future we want”,1 which reaffirmed the principles of the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development,
1 General Assembly resolution 66/288, annex.
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Reaffirming the importance of international cooperation on the basis of mutual
respect, in full compliance with the principles and purposes of the Charter, with full respect
for the sovereignty of States, while taking into account national priorities,
Reaffirming also that the promotion of the human right to a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment requires the full implementation of multilateral environmental
agreements under the principles of international environmental law,
Recalling the outcomes of the fifth session of the United Nations Environment
Assembly, held online on 22 and 23 February 2021, and subsequently in Nairobi and online
from 28 February to 2 March 2022, and noting its reaffirmation that a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment is important for the enjoyment of human rights and for sustainable
development in all its dimensions, and that the well-being of humanity depends on nature,
Welcoming the outcomes of the twenty-seventh session of the Conference of the
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the fourth
Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, held
in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, from 6 to 20 November 2022, including the Sharm el-Sheikh
Implementation Plan, which acknowledge that climate change is a common concern of
humankind, and that Parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect,
promote and consider their respective obligations with regard to human rights, the right to a
clean, healthy and sustainable environment, the right to health, the rights of Indigenous
Peoples, local communities, migrants, children, older persons, persons with disabilities and
persons in vulnerable situations and the right to development, as well as gender equality, the
empowerment of women and girls and intergenerational equity,
Welcoming also the outcomes of the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties
to the Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Montreal, Canada, from 7 to 19 December
2022, and welcoming further that the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global
Biodiversity Framework, adopted at that session, should follow a human rights-based
approach, respecting, protecting, promoting and fulfilling human rights, and that the
framework acknowledges the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,
Taking note of the information note entitled “What is the Right to a Healthy
Environment?” of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development
Programme,
Recalling all of the reports of the Special Rapporteur (formerly the Independent
Expert) on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean,
healthy and sustainable environment,2
Welcoming the latest report of the Special Rapporteur, on the issue of women, girls
and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment,3 and recognizing the
intersectional forms of discrimination that women and girls face, the importance of gender
equality, gender-responsive action to address climate change and environmental degradation,
and the empowerment, leadership, decision-making and meaningful participation of women
and girls and their role as managers, leaders, environmental human rights defenders and
agents of change in conserving, protecting and restoring the environment,
Recognizing that environmental degradation and loss of biodiversity often result from
and reinforce existing patterns of discrimination, and that environmental harm can have
disastrous and at times geographically dispersed consequences for the quality of life of
Indigenous Peoples, local communities, peasants and others who rely directly on the products
of forests, rivers, lakes, wetlands and oceans for their food, fuel and medicine, resulting in
further inequality and marginalization,
Recognizing also that, conversely, the impacts of climate change, the unsustainable
management and use of natural resources, the pollution of air, land and water, the unsound
2 A/73/188, A/74/161, A/75/161, A/76/179, A/77/284, A/HRC/22/43 A/HRC/25/53, A/HRC/28/61,
A/HRC/31/52, A/HRC/31/53, A/HRC/34/49, A/HRC/37/58, A/HRC/37/59, A/HRC/40/55,
A/HRC/43/53, A/HRC/43/54, A/HRC/46/28, A/HRC/49/53, A/HRC/52/33 and A/HRC/52/44.
3 A/HRC/52/33.
A/HRC/RES/52/23
3
management of chemicals and waste, the resulting loss of biodiversity and the decline in
ecosystem services may interfere with the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
environment, and that environmental damage can have negative implications, both direct and
indirect, for the effective enjoyment of all human rights,
Recognizing further that, while the human rights implications of environmental
damage are felt by individuals and communities around the world, the consequences are felt
most acutely by those segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations,
such as people facing desertification, land degradation, sea level rise, drought and water
scarcity, as well as women and girls,
Recalling that all people on Earth depend directly or indirectly on the ocean and
cryosphere, and that communities living in close connection with polar, mountain or coastal
environments are particularly exposed to the current and future hazards of ocean and
cryosphere change, including sea level rise, ocean warming, acidification and deoxygenation,
ice sheet and glacier mass loss, and permafrost degradation,
Recognizing the benefits of seeking to mitigate and minimize the negative effects of
pollution and other forms of environmental degradation and the importance of the
environmentally sound management and disposal of chemicals and waste, including in
situations of armed conflict and post-conflict contexts, and expressing its deep concern at the
threats posed to the effective enjoyment of human rights, particularly to those of children,
women and girls, youth, persons with disabilities, older persons, Indigenous Peoples, local
communities, refugees, internally displaced persons, migrants and persons in vulnerable
situations,
Recognizing also that the exercise of human rights, including the freedom to seek,
receive and impart information, to participate safely and effectively in the conduct of
government and public affairs, to have access to justice and the right to an effective remedy,
is vital to the respect, protection and promotion of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable
environment,
Reaffirming Human Rights Council resolution 40/11 of 21 March 2019, in which the
Council recognized the contribution of human rights defenders working in environmental
matters, referred to as environmental human rights defenders, to the enjoyment of human
rights, environmental protection and sustainable development,
Recalling the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which underscore
the responsibility of all business enterprises to respect human rights, including the rights to
life, liberty and security of environmental human rights defenders,
Mindful that the growing risk of emerging infectious diseases of zoonotic origin may
be caused by human actions that damage ecosystems and biodiversity, stressing that
biodiversity is important for the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, including the
right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, expressing concern that the loss of
biodiversity caused by human activities can be threatening to the enjoyment of those rights
and have a major impact on health and livelihoods, and stressing that human rights-based
environmental action is essential to reduce the risk of future pandemics,
Recognizing the positive, important and legitimate role played by children and by
child- and youth-led movements that defend human rights relating to a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment, and welcoming the work of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of
human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
environment in engaging and consulting with children,
Recognizing also the particular vulnerability of children to the effects of
environmental harm, including to air pollution, water pollution, climate change, exposure to
chemicals, toxic substances and waste, and loss of biodiversity, and that environmental harm
may interfere with the full enjoyment of a vast range of the rights of the child, and noting
that the Committee on the Rights of the Child is drafting a general comment on children’s
rights and the environment, with a special focus on climate change,
Reaffirming that States have the obligation to respect, protect and promote human
rights, including in all actions undertaken to address environmental challenges, and to take
measures to protect the rights of all, as recognized in different international instruments and
A/HRC/RES/52/23
4
reflected in the framework principles on human rights and the environment,4 and that
additional measures for those who are particularly vulnerable to environmental harm should
be taken,
1. Welcomes the work undertaken by the Special Rapporteur on the issue of
human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable
environment, including in the implementation of his mandate, the comprehensive, transparent
and inclusive consultations conducted with relevant stakeholders, his thematic reports, and
the undertaking of country visits;
2. Also welcomes the work of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights on the issue of human rights and the environment, including
its collaboration with the Secretary-General, the United Nations Environment Programme
and other key partners, and its engagement with multilateral environmental agreements, such
as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations
Convention to Combat Desertification and the Convention on Biological Diversity;
3. Further welcomes the work undertaken by the United Nations Environment
Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations International
Children’s Emergency Fund and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the
Empowerment of Women in support of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, and in helping
to clarify the relationship between human rights and the environment;
4. Calls upon States:
(a) To respect, protect and fulfil human rights, including in all actions undertaken
to address environmental challenges;
(b) To adopt and implement strong laws ensuring, among other things, the rights
to participation, to access to information and to justice, including to an effective remedy, in
environmental matters;
(c) To facilitate public awareness and participation in environmental decisionmaking,
including of civil society, women, children, youth, Indigenous Peoples, local
communities, peasants, older persons, persons with disabilities and others who depend
directly on biodiversity and ecosystem services, by protecting all human rights, including the
rights to freedom of expression and to freedom of peaceful assembly and association;
(d) To implement fully their obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights
without discrimination of any kind, including in the application of environmental laws and
policies;
(e) To promote a safe and enabling environment in which individuals, civil society
organizations, including environmental human right defenders and those working on human
rights and environmental issues can operate free from threats, hindrance and insecurity;
(f) To provide for effective remedies for human rights violations and abuses,
including those relating to the enjoyment of the human right to a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment, in accordance with their international obligations;
(g) To establish, maintain and strengthen effective legal and institutional
frameworks to regulate the activities of public and private actors in order to prevent, reduce
and remedy harm to biodiversity and ecosystems, taking into account human rights
obligations and commitments relating to the enjoyment of a clean, healthy and sustainable
environment;
(h) To take into account human rights obligations and commitments relating to the
enjoyment of a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in the implementation of and
follow-up to the Sustainable Development Goals, bearing in mind the integrated and
multisectoral nature of the latter;
(i) To increase funding and support for, and collaboration with, grass-roots
women’s organizations working on environmental and human rights issues, and for the
implementation of gender action plans under multilateral environmental agreements;
4 A/HRC/37/59, annex.
A/HRC/RES/52/23
5
5. Encourages States:
(a) To adopt integrated, intersecting and holistic national and local policies and an
effective legal framework for the enjoyment of the human right to a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment;
(b) To address compliance with human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment
of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment in the framework of
human rights mechanisms, including the universal periodic review, and the submission of
State party reports to relevant United Nations human rights treaty bodies;
(c) To build capacities for efforts to protect the environment in order to fulfil their
human rights obligations and commitments, and to enhance cooperation with other States,
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the rest of the United
Nations system and other relevant international and regional organizations, agencies,
convention secretariats and programmes, and relevant non-State stakeholders, including civil
society, national human rights institutions and business, on the further development and
implementation of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, in
accordance with their respective mandates;
(d) To explore ways to incorporate information on human rights and the
environment in school curricula, in order to teach current and future generations to act as
agents of change, including by taking into account the traditional knowledge of Indigenous
Peoples;
(e) To seek to ensure that projects supported by environmental finance
mechanisms respect all human rights;
(f) To collect disaggregated data on the effects of environmental harm, including
the loss of biodiversity and the decline of ecosystem services, on persons in vulnerable
situations;
(g) To promote and accelerate human rights-based environmental action that is
gender-responsive and includes gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls,
and takes into consideration the vulnerability of ecosystems and the needs of persons and
communities in vulnerable situations;
(h) To continue to share good practices in fulfilling human rights obligations
relating to the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment through the good
practices database maintained by the Special Rapporteur;
(i) To facilitate expert exchange of knowledge and ideas, building synergies
between the protection of human rights and the protection of the environment, and to promote
coherence among different policy areas, bearing in mind an integrated and multisectoral
approach and considering that efforts to protect the environment must fully respect other
human rights obligations, including those relating to gender equality;
(j) To strengthen their efforts to protect biodiversity, including by updating and
implementing their national biodiversity strategies and action plans, thereby contributing to
the achievement of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework under the
Convention on Biological Diversity;
(k) To build capacity within the judicial sector to understand the relationship
between human rights and the environment;
(l) To foster a responsible private business sector and to encourage corporate
sustainability reporting while respecting the Guiding Principles on Business and Human
Rights and environmental standards, in accordance with relevant international agreements;
6. Recognizes the important role played by individuals and civil society
organizations, including human rights defenders and environmental human right defenders,
in the promotion and protection of human rights as they relate to the enjoyment of the human
right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, including biodiversity and ecosystems;
7. Also recognizes the important role of national human rights institutions to
support and promote the enjoyment of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable
environment;
A/HRC/RES/52/23
6
8. Encourages relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, other
international organizations, treaty bodies, academia and civil society organizations to
promote the implementation of the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable
environment;
9. Requests the Special Rapporteur, in collaboration with the Office of the High
Commissioner:
(a) To convene, before the end of 2023, a one-day expert seminar on the
responsibility of business enterprises to respect the human right to a clean, healthy and
sustainable environment, informed by the findings of the mandate holder;
(b) To invite States and other relevant stakeholders, including academic experts,
civil society organizations, business and finance representatives, to participate actively in the
seminar;
(c) To invite relevant experts of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes,
treaty bodies, other international organizations and conventions to participate in the seminar;
(d) To submit to the Human Rights Council, at its fifty-fifth session, a summary
report on the above-mentioned seminar, including any recommendations stemming
therefrom, for consideration of further follow-up action;
10. Stresses the need for enhanced cooperation among States, the United Nations
Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Office of the High Commissioner, the
World Health Organization, the International Organization for Migration, the International
Labour Organization and other relevant international and regional organizations, agencies,
conventions and programmes, in accordance with their respective mandates, including by
regularly exchanging knowledge and ideas and building synergies for the respect, promotion
and protection of the human right to a clean healthy and sustainable environment, bearing in
mind an integrated and multisectoral approach;
11. Calls upon all States to conserve, protect and restore healthy ecosystems and
biodiversity and to ensure their sustainable management and use by applying a human rightsbased
approach that emphasizes participation, inclusion, transparency and accountability in
the management of natural resources;
12. Decides to remain seized of the matter, in accordance with its annual
programme of work.
56th meeting
4 April 2023
[Adopted without a vote.]

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PART VIII (B): Human Rights Council resolutions

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