11 March 2015 - The Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Cecilia B. Rebong, led the Philippine delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UN HRC’s) Full-Day Discussions on Human Rights and Climate Change held on March 06 during the 28th HRC session in Geneva, Switzerland.
In the Philippines’ capacity as Chair of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), Ambassador Rebong delivered a statement during the first panel discussion, which focused on “challenges and ways forward towards the realization of human rights for all, including the right to development, in particular those in vulnerable situations, as well as measures and best practices to promote and protect human rights that can be adopted by States in addressing the adverse effects of climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights.”
The CVF is a cross-regional grouping of 20 states that are most vulnerable to the challenges brought on by climate change. Many of its members also recently adopted the “Geneva Pledge” that proclaims their belief that there should be meaningful exchange among climate change and human rights experts in order to increase their understanding of how human rights obligations inform better climate action and build their collective capacity to deliver responses to climate change.
In her intervention, Ambassador Rebong stated that CVF countries are doubly challenged in fulfilling a range of fundamental human rights, in particular the right to life and the peoples’ right to development due to resource constraints and technological limitations; that, in spite of their negligible present and historical contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, they are committed to do their part in reducing carbon emissions, in pursuing renewable clean energy alternatives, and devising sustainable green development goals.
Ambassador Rebong explained that “international cooperation as regards transfer of technology, provision of new, additional and predictable financial resources, capacity-building programs should not remain in printed words.” She urged every member of the international community to “remember that a successful climate deal in Paris is a fulfillment of our shared responsibility towards humanity.”
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon delivered a video message at the opening of the session, saying that “We must transform our economies and harness the potential of a low-carbon future. Reaching a meaningful universal agreement at the Paris Climate Conference in December this year is a vital step along this path.”
During the afternoon session, which focused on the “adverse impact of climate change on States’ efforts to progressively realize the right to food, and policies, lessons learned and good practices,” National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Zenen Renan B. Dalisay served as a panelist and shared the Philippine experience in achieving food security amidst the damages brought on by climate change-induced super typhoons.
In his remarks, Administrator Dalisay recalled the losses and damages experienced by the Philippine agricultural sector due to Super Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan, totaling PhP 39.8 billion. He also cited the billions of damages caused by other major typhoons that hit the country in the past five to six years, which greatly hampered the Philippine Government's efforts to achieve food security, jeopardizing the fulfillment of people's right to food.
Administrator Dalisay added that the Philippines, as a developing country and a frontline state in the battle against climate change, is mainstreaming policies to address critical climate change issues such as adaptation and mitigation. He specifically discussed the Department of Agriculture’s Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative in Agriculture (AMIA), a climate-change adaptation and mitigation program launched in 2013, to complement efforts to achieve agricultural development.
He said that AMIA involves, among others, “capacity-building programs to empower our farmers and fisherfolk, improved climate information systems to reduce risks from weather-based disasters, financing and risk-transfer instruments (insurance) and climate-resilient agriculture infrastructure.”
During the interactive dialogue, Administrator Dalisay emphasized that developed countries must make the true commitment to limit their emissions of global warming gases and fulfill their historical responsibilities. He said that developing countries, especially the least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS), must be assisted as they try their best to transition to clean energy.
The morning panel, which was moderated by Mr. Martin Khor of the South Centre, comprised Kiribati President Anote Tong, Bangladeshi Foreign Affairs Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice President Mary Robinson, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Coordinator and Principal Legal Adviser Dan Bondi Ogolla, and UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, among others.
Ms. Mary Robinson is a former Irish President who is serving as Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General on Climate Change.
The afternoon panel included a video message from Ms. Hilal Elver, Special Rapporteur on the right to food, and presentations by Tuvalu Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga and Food and Agriculture Organization-Geneva Director Xiangjun Yao, among others. Mr. John Knox, independent expert on the issue of human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, served as a moderator.
The Human Rights Council held this full-day panel discussion pursuant to HRC Resolution 26/27 on Human Rights and Climate Change adopted in June 2014, which was mainly co-sponsored by the Philippines and Bangladesh. END