UN Body Adopts PH-Led Resolution on Human Rights, Climate Change During the 44th Session of the Human Rights Council

GENEVA 16 July 2020 — The United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously adopted a resolution led by the Philippines, as penholder, that sought to further protect and promote the human rights of older persons against the adverse impacts of climate change.

The resolution mandated the conduct of an analytical study and panel discussion that would look at the specific needs of older persons and their potential contributions to climate action, particularly as climate change continued to present challenges related to disease emergence, extreme weather events, mobility, access to decent work, and provision of healthcare.

“Climate change widens inequalities by making the most vulnerable and marginalized of countries—historically the same ones that likely had the least contribution to global warming—bear a disproportionate cost of carrying out necessary climate action,” said Ambassador Maria Teresa Almojuela, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva, in her introduction of the resolution.

“The impacts of climate change are also felt most acutely by those who are already in vulnerable situations owing to factors such as geography, poverty, gender, age, and disability,” she added.

The resolution garnered wide support and was eventually adopted by consensus, with 52 other countries signing on as co-sponsors as of this writing.

Together with Bangladesh and Vietnam, the Philippines has traditionally led the resolution on climate change and human rights in the UN body, drawing attention to sectors such as women, migrants, children, and persons with disabilities.

Amb. Almojuela emphasized the importance of maintaining clear and structured work on the human rights of sectors that were often overlooked and advocated the continued inclusion of climate change issues in the regular work program of the Human Rights Council.

“Climate change poses a threat to the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, including the right to life, adequate food and housing, the highest standard of physical and mental health, self-determination, and development,” she said, stressing that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the particular vulnerabilities of older persons and that the science on climate change was irrefutable.

The results of the analytical study will be available in 2021 and are expected to help inform the panel discussion as well as national and multilateral policy decisions on the rights and welfare of older persons. END

For more information, visit https://www.genevapm.dfa.gov.ph or https://www.facebook.com/PHinGeneva/