A/HRC/32/24
Agenda for Sustainable Development called for a human-rights based approach to
sustainable development. In this regard, various delegations emphasized accountability for
commitments, participatory decision-making, the protection of the rights of the most
vulnerable, education and access to remedy, among other issues.
32.
Delegations supported the continuing discussion on climate change at the Human
Rights Council and agreed that protecting the right to health required addressing climate
change. They observed that climate change disproportionately affected people and groups
in vulnerable situations, including the poor, indigenous peoples, women and children. This,
in turn, deepened social inequalities and threatened the underlying determinants of health,
including housing, water and food. Several delegations observed that those problems were
worse in States that were particularly vulnerable to climate change as a result of their
unique geographic and climactic conditions and/or economic circumstances. It was further
noted that, under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, States were obligated to
address the negative health impacts of climate change on children.
33.
Most delegations raised specific health impacts of climate change in their countries.
These included: expanding insect-borne and waterborne disease vectors, which contributed
to increasing incidences of dengue, pertussis, malaria, chikungunya, zika and diarrhoea,
among other diseases; droughts and declining crop yields, which contributed to
malnutrition and starvation; heat stress and air pollution, which contributed to respiratory
and cardiovascular disease; and natural disasters and extreme weather events, which
contributed to displacement, loss of life, reallocation and the destruction of resources and
the destruction of housing. Several delegations emphasized that climate change and its
impacts also posed a threat to mental health. Delegations agreed that climate change
jeopardized lives, compromised water and food supplies, heightened the potential for
conflicts and threatened sustainable development objectives, including fulfilment of the
right to health.
34.
Many delegations called for increased local, national and international cooperation
in support of sustainable development. They emphasized that climate change, including its
human rights impacts, could only be addressed through cooperation, including technical
and financial support and technology transfer. Several delegations highlighted the
differences in capacity between developed and developing countries, and called for
developed countries to lead the charge against climate change in accordance with the
principle of common but differentiated responsibility that is found in both the Paris
Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The
impacts of climate change were often disproportionately felt by developing countries that
had contributed the least to climate change, and these countries should receive climate
adaptation assistance that was additional to existing development assistance commitments.
In this context, the importance of fulfilling the right to development was specifically
emphasized.
35.
Various delegations called for specific measures to address the impacts of climate
change on human rights, including: the lowering of barriers to the transfer of technologies
to address climate change; the adoption of preventive measures, including universal health
coverage; gender equality, women’s empowerment and the full and equal participation of
women in decision-making processes, including those related to disaster risk reduction and
resilience; health and environmental impact assessments; enhanced research and improved
data collection for the implementation of efficient and timely responses to the negative
impacts of climate change on determinants of health; the acceleration of research and
development efforts related to diagnosis and treatment of diseases and control of disease
vectors; accountability for all actors and sectors of the economy; improved cooperation
between the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Human
Rights Council; targeted assistance and poverty reduction for States vulnerable to climate
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