A/HRC/16/62 relatively small proportion of the overall environmentally induced population flows. He pointed to the legal gaps with regard to those kinds of movements, especially as it was clear that the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951) would not apply, and the need to fill those gaps. 17. José Riera, Special Adviser to the Director of International Protection, Climate Change Focal Point, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) noted that since the 1990s, UNHCR had been proactive in seeking to mitigate the environmental impact in areas hosting large concentrations of refugees and other persons of concern. Urgent investment was needed to reduce the impact of natural hazards by mitigating vulnerabilities, enhancing resilience and strengthening adaptation measures, and focusing on people at a grass-roots level. Experience showed that refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless people were already congregating in areas of the planet which were considered “high risk” areas for climate change impacts. He emphasized that there were serious legal gaps relating to potential cross-border movement linked to environmental factors and climate change, and referred to UNHCR work to generate innovative approaches on how to fill those gaps. Natural disasters exacerbated existing gender inequalities and pre-existing vulnerabilities, in particular those of children, after a major disaster. Mr. Riera made an appeal to place the rights of the most vulnerable at the centre of needs assessments, planning, project implementation and evaluation, and to improve the resilience and capacity of governments and host communities, by ensuring that local authorities and communities are at the centre of actions taken. 18. During the ensuing interactive debate, interventions were made by representatives of ATD Fourth World and Mr. Lador of Earthjustice. The impacts of climate change on people living in extreme poverty were emphasized, as such persons had fewer resources with which to respond to the events and yet were often not reached by aid programmes. Crucially, the poor endured the loss of the social networks which helped them to survive, and were often excluded from decision-making processes on how to prevent, mitigate and adjust to climate change. It was recommended that people living in extreme poverty should be at the centre of strategies to monitor, mitigate and adjust to climate change, which included active and meaningful involvement in the development of these strategies; and that climate change should be taken into account in the consultations on the draft guiding principles on extreme poverty and human rights. The gender aspect of climate change was emphasized, while it was suggested that when looking at vulnerabilities, the concept of the universality of rights should not be forgotten: climate change would eventually affect everyone and all populations should be protected, not just those deemed vulnerable. It was also noted that there was a risk in speaking about adaptation and not mitigation, as it could lead to a form of “giving up”. Mitigation remained crucial and both adaptation and mitigation policies and measures should be undertaken. B. 1. Measures and actions: addressing the impact of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights, including on most vulnerable groups, particularly women and children National level measures and actions 19. Saida Agrebi, President of the Tunisian Mothers’ Organization, presented findings on climate change trends in Tunisia and discussed how a human rights-based approach with regard to women, youth and children’s rights was needed to address climate change. She emphasized that children were central actors in promoting behaviour change required to mitigate the effects of global warming, and that education on environmental matters was crucial. Further, the Convention on the Rights of the Child specifically required States to take action with regard to measures to safeguard children’s right to life, survival and 7