A/HRC/16/62 I. Introduction 1. The Human Rights Council, in its resolution 6/13, decided to preserve the Social Forum as a vital space for dialogue between the representatives of Member States, civil society, including grass-roots organizations and intergovernmental organizations on issues linked with the promotion of the enjoyment of all human rights by all. Consequently, the Social Forum met twice - in 2008 and 2009.1 2. In accordance with resolution 13/17 of the Council, the 2010 Social Forum was held in Geneva from 4 to 6 October 2010. The President of the Council appointed, in September 2010, Laura Dupuy Lasserre, Permanent Representative of Uruguay to the United Nations Office at Geneva, as the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the 2010 Social Forum. 3. The present report contains a summary of discussions held at the 2010 Social Forum, as well as its conclusions and recommendations. II. Organization of the Social Forum 4. The Chairperson-Rapporteur opened the 2010 Social Forum, and the President of the Human Rights Council followed with opening remarks.2 In his statement, the President emphasized that climate change had far-reaching implications on the enjoyment of human rights, especially for vulnerable groups, and noted the importance of looking at the human rights perspectives and applying a human rights-based approach when identifying and implementing measures and actions to address the adverse impacts of climate change. 5. On behalf of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Anders Kompass, Director of the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division, delivered welcome remarks. He stressed the need to bring the human rights dimension of climate change to the centre of the climate change debate and the importance of ensuring that any reference to human rights included in an agreed outcome text of the sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change be consistent with the obligations contained in international human rights instruments. 6. The Chairperson-Rapporteur then addressed the Forum and reaffirmed that various human rights, including those related to safe drinking water, health, housing, land, livelihood, employment and development, were undermined as a direct or indirect effect of climate change circumstances. She regretted that there had been little or no presence of human rights considerations in the actual climate change discussions, including in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Chairperson-Rapporteur underlined the important task ahead in formulating a human rights input to those discussions. She also referred to national efforts in Uruguay, highlighting the intersectoral and participatory national system of response to climate change and integral plan of action. 7. The Council, in its resolution 13/17, had requested that the discussions of the 2010 Social Forum focus on the adverse effects of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights, including the right to life and economic, social and cultural rights; measures and actions to address the impact of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights at the 1 2 See A/HRC/10/65 and A/HRC/13/51 for the reports of the 2008 and 2009 Social Forum, respectively. The full texts of the statements and presentations made available to the Secretariat are posted on the OHCHR website at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/poverty/presentations2010.htm. 3