A/HRC/10/61 page 29 88. Human rights standards and principles, underpinned by universally recognized moral values, can usefully inform debates on equity and fair distribution of mitigation and adaptation burdens. Above all, human rights principles and standards focus attention on how a given distribution of burden affects the enjoyment of human rights. Intergenerational equity and the precautionary principle 89. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change stresses principles of particular importance in the context of climate change which are less well developed in human rights law. Notably, these include the notion of “intergenerational equity and justice” and “the precautionary principle”, both of which are well-established in international environmental law. 90. Human rights treaty bodies have alluded to the notion of intergenerational equity.127 However, the human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination generally focus on situations in the present, even if it is understood that the value of these core human rights principles would not diminish over time and be equally applicable to future generations.128 91. The precautionary principle reflected in article 3 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, states that lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent or minimize the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects. As discussed above, human rights litigation is not well-suited to promote precautionary measures based on risk assessments, unless such risks pose an imminent threat to the human rights of specific individuals. Yet, by drawing attention to the broader human rights implications of climate change risks, the human rights perspective, in line with the precautionary principle, emphasizes the need to avoid unnecessary delay in taking action to contain the threat of global warming. IV. CONCLUSIONS 92. Climate change-related impacts, as set out in the assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, have a range of implications for the effective enjoyment of human rights. The effects on human rights can be of a direct nature, such as the threat extreme weather events may pose to the right to life, but will often have an indirect and gradual effect on human rights, such as increasing stress on health systems and vulnerabilities related to climate change-induced migration. 127 See CESCR general comments No. 12, para. 7, and No. 15, para. 11. Equally the concern for how current needs and rights affect the future health and development of the child is central to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (see e.g. Committee on the Rights of the Child general comment No. 4 (2003) on adolescent health and development in the context of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, para. 13). 128 For a discussion on the relationship between intergenerational equity and human rights in the context of climate change, see S. Caney, “Human rights, climate change, and discounting”, Environmental Politics, vol. 17, No. 4, August 2008, p. 536.