These developments reflect a global consensus that the right to a healthy environment must be protected, and that States must scale up their efforts to make it happen. Similarly, the African Commission has indicated that both the right to an adequate standard of living and the right to development are closely linked with the environment. The Inter American Court has also acknowledged the existence of an undeniable relationship between the protection of the environment and the fulfilment of other human rights. Less than a year ago, the world made history when the UN General Assembly recognized that a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right.

In the Central American “Dry Corridor,” 11.5 million people live in rural areas vulnerable to drought, intense rains and food insecurity.Īnd from 2019 to 2021, food insecurity in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua increased four-fold - affecting almost 8 million people - as a result of the economic crisis linked to the pandemic and of extreme climate events. The Andes, northeast Brazil and the northern countries in Central America are among the most sensitive regions in the world to climatic-related migration and displacements, a phenomenon that has increased in the last eight years.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the effects of climate change have been playing out for years. Last year, continuous drought in East Africa, record breaking rainfall in Pakistan and heatwaves in China and Europe affected tens of millions. The climate crisis is a human rights emergency.Īnd like many crises, it is unjust, disproportionately affects the human rights of the most marginalised, in particular children, indigenous peoples, women, older people, migrants, people of African descent, people with disabilities, coastal communities and peasants. Its devastating consequences are not only wreaking havoc on our environment, but they severely compromise our human rights and freedoms, and our very survival. Without a doubt, the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution is one of the greatest threats facing humanity. At the outset, I would like to thank the El Salvador National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) for hosting this event and also for the good cooperation with my Office. Video Statement by Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Impacts of Climate change on Human Rights International Seminar for National Human Rights Institutions

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