A/HRC/28/41
same extent as were the rights to food, education, health or water and sanitation. It was also
noted that long-term efforts and strong partnerships with other stakeholders were important
in order to influence the process. It was agreed that mandate holders would continue to seek
ways to monitor the negotiations and influence the formulation of the goals and indicators
by mapping out crucial dates in the process and channels for input. The possibility of a joint
statement focused on common issues, such as accountability, equality and nondiscrimination, was also discussed.
3.
Climate change
67.
Mandate holders focused their attention to climate change in the light of several
upcoming events on the issue within the framework of the United Nations in 2015, with a
view to increasing their interaction with the United Nations entities working on that issue.
68.
The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Climate Change urged mandate
holders to speak out about the impact of climate change on human rights as they saw it in
the course of their work, and to contribute to discussions.
69.
The Special Envoy emphasized that this was a crucial time for the international
community and its response to climate change in the lead-up to the conclusion of a new
legally binding climate agreement in December 2015. Efforts of human rights advocates
had to build upon the Cancun Agreements and the language therein identifying the
relationship between human rights and climate change, and support the new language to be
proposed at the twentieth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Lima, “that parties should, in all climate
change-related actions, fully respect, protect and fulfil human rights”. In this regard, the
Council, in its resolution 10/4, had influenced the Agreements by affirming that human
rights obligations and commitments had the potential to inform and strengthen international
and national policymaking in the area of climate change, promoting policy coherence,
legitimacy and sustainable outcomes.
70.
The Coordinator and Principal Legal Adviser of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change updated participants on the status of negotiations on the
climate change agreement, and explained the events and opportunities that human rights
advocates, like other stakeholders, could use to express their views. Because of the Cancun
Agreements, human rights were now part of the discourse and the best way to generate
input was through States parties.
71.
The Independent Expert on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the
enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment referred to his mapping
report,23 which reflected the work of all special procedures on climate change. He had
initiated an open letter to States parties to the Framework Convention, in which he urged
them to build upon the human rights language of the Cancun Agreements and to ensure the
protection and promotion of and respect for human rights in the new legally binding
instrument. The letter was underwritten by other mandate holders. The representative of the
United Nations Environment Programme added that the environment community was
increasingly interested in incorporating human rights and the work of the special
procedures, and expressed support for the open letter. Other mandate holders shared their
experience of work on climate change and their views on the process and opportunities to
influence discussions. They supported the need to work individually and collectively to
emphasize human rights in the discussions over the next 15 months.
23
14
A/HRC/25/53.
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