An Indigenous Movement to Confront Climate Change

Over the past fifteen years, a convergence has taken place among three groups of scholars: those who study international relations, those who study social movements, and the newly emerging field of indigenous studies. Increasingly, these researchers are adopting interdisciplinary approaches to the analysis of social change, and the lines between local or domestic and international or transnational events, and processes are blurring. All three fields now demand research that addresses this crossover, and it is precisely this void that Ronald Niezen's The Origins of Indigenism seeks to fill. Niezen's primary goal is to illustrate the emergence of an international indigenous people's movement and to assess its impact. He suggests that the indigenous movement has helped reshape the international arena by introducing new definitions of legal authority and legitimacy for indigenous nonstate actors. This success comes at a price, however. For indigenous peoples, participating in or reaping the benefits of the movement in terms of greater self-determination may require significant cultural adaptation. For nation-states, the activities of the indigenous movement may represent a perceived threat to sovereignty. Niezen centers his discussion on human rights and indigenous identity in order to define the latter and to place the indigenous movement within a contextual framework.

Human rights have not played a significant role in the international law and politics of climate change to date. However, there has been increasing interest among legal scholars and moral and political philosophers in a human rights approach to climate change. This review focuses on the new literature in moral and political philosophy that has begun to explore the connections between human rights and climate change. The attractions of a human rights approach to climate change are explained. The idea of a moral conception of human rights is introduced and distinguished from human rights recognized in international and national law. The key features of moral human rights are identified and an important distinction between negative and positive rights is explained. The three main arguments in the literature connecting human rights and climate change are introduced and critical discussions of them are presented. The first argument (associated with Steve Vanderheiden) claims that there is a human right to a stable climate, which can be derived from a human right to an adequate environment. The second argument (associated with Simon Caney) claims that anthropogenic climate change violates basic human (negative) rights to life, health, and subsistence. The third argument claims that there is a human right to emit greenhouse gases. This argument has two versions. The first version claims that there is a human right to equal per capita emissions. The second version claims that there is a human right to subsistence emissions. WIREs Clim Change 2013, 4:159–170. doi: 10.1002/wcc.218This article is categorized under: Climate, Nature, and Ethics > Climate Change and Global Justice Climate, Nature, and Ethics > Climate Change and Human Rights Climate, Nature, and Ethics > Ethics and Climate Change

Introduction, Ottavio Quirico and Mouloud Boumghar Part I: General Framework 1. States, Climate Change and Tripartite Human Rights: the Missing Link, Ottavio Quirico, Jurgen Brohmer and Marcel Szabo 2. Balancing Human Rights in Climate Policies, Bridget Lewis 3. Human Rights Responsibility of Private Corporations for Climate Change? The State as a Catalyst for Compliance, Anna Riddell Part II: Specific Rights 4. Climate Change and Right to Life: Limits and Potentialities of the Human Rights Protection System, Christine Bakker 5. Climate Change and Interdependent Human Rights to Food, Water and Health: the Contest between Harmony and Invention, Alessandra Franca 6. Waterworld: Climate Change, Statehood and the Right to Self-Determination, Cameron Moore 7. Two-Pronged Right to Development and Climate Change: Reciprocal Implications, Same Varyaudej . 8. Untying the Gordian Knot: towards the Human Right to a Climatically Sustainable Environment?, Francesco Francioni and Ottavio Quirico Part III: Specific Regimes 9. A Double-Edged Sword: Climate Change, Biodiversity and Human Rights, Federico Lenzerini and Erika Piergentili 10. Climate Change, Migration and Human Rights: towards Group-Specific Protection?, Benoit Mayer and Christel Cournil 11. Balancing Human Rights, Climate Change and Foreign Investment Protection, Valentina Vadi 12. Linking Trade and Climate Change: What Room for Human Rights?, Olivier De Schutter Part IV - Institutional Responses 13. Systemic Integration between Climate Change and Human Rights at the United Nations?. Spyridon Aktypis, Emmanuel Decaux and Bronwen Leroy 14. Climate Change and Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific: a Fragmented Approach, Ben Boer 15. A Wider Human Rights Spectrum to Fight Climate Change in Africa?, Faustin Ntoubandi and Roland Adjovi 16. Missing Opportunities to Shed Light on Climate Change in the Inter-American Human Rights Protection System, Mouloud Boumghar 17. European Legal Systems, Climate Change and Human Rights: Paradoxical Inconsistencies in the Jigsaw Puzzle?, Ottavio Quirico 18. Challenging the Human Rights Responsibility of States and Private Corporations for Climate Change in Domestic Jurisdictions, Tineke Lambooy and Hanneke Palm Conclusion, Ottavio Quirico and Mouloud Boumghar

This ICHRP report addresses issues central to technology policy at a critical time. Following the June 2008 ICHRP report, Climate Change and Human Rights: A Rough Guide, the latest report addresses the concerns of both environmental activists and human rights advocates, so shared principles might be found and a common position forged. Technology is central to the challenge of climate change. Making technologies available where they are needed is vital both to reducing greenhouse gases worldwide and to adapting to climate change in vulnerable places. The transfer of technologies has long been recognised as an indispensable element of a stable future and is central to any global deal. But beyond all this, as the latest ICHRP report shows, technology is a principal means by which to pursue basic human rights standards for the world’s most vulnerable people in a climate-constrained future. This report shows the way ahead for a vital policy tool that has been stalled for too long. The information in this report was a key element of a September 2011 panel discussion at the UN Human Rights Council that included the President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives; the Deputy United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kyung-Wha Kang; and Mary Robinson, President of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice (MRFCJ). The report is intended for policy-makers in local, national and international bodies; civil society organisations; and others concerned with technology policy, human rights, and the impacts of a changing global climate. A supplement to the full report is also available, condensing the key themes discussed and providing a concise checklist of recommendations for further action. The purpose of the Discussion Paper is to open up a set of issues for consideration by human rights groups and scholars and also to encourage those in the privacy field to think about human rights. It is intended as a platform for further investigation and research and, as such, is deliberately dilatory rather than comprehensive and conclusive. The paper indicates a number of areas where further research will be indispensable to understanding the full implications of current trends in information technology for human rights and to determine how those concerned by these impacts might orient themselves in the future. This paper lays the foundation for the next phase of our work on issues of privacy and data technologies.

The paper is aimed to examine the impacts of climate change on the legal protection of human rights in developing countries. Climate change has already variedly affected human rights, such as the right to live, the right to food, the right to water, the right to health, the right to enjoy a healthy environment and the right to self-determination. The various kinds of human rights are disturbed by the impacts of climate change. Climate change affects all aspects of human life, including social, economic, and cultural rights. Developing countries are more vulnerable and suffering if compared to developed countries due to the impacts of climate change. The research aims to comprehensively examine the protection of human rights in developing countries due to the effects of global warming, examine the obstacles, and find solutions to the protection of human rights. The research is normative juridical research by employing conceptual and statutory approaches. The result of the study indicates that: first, climate change affects the protection of all human rights; second, the protection of human rights in developing countries due to the impacts of climate change needs the assistance of developed countries; third, there are some solutions to address the protection of human rights in developing countries. Keywords: Climate Change, Developing Countries, Impacts, Human Rights, Protection

It is widely recognized that anthropogenic climate change will have harmful effects on many human beings and in particular on the most disadvantaged. In particular, it is projected to result in flooding, heat stress, food insecurity, drought, and increased exposure to waterborne and vector-borne diseases. Various different normative frameworks have been employed to think about climate change. Some, for example, apply cost-benefit analysis to climate change. The Stern Review provides a good example of this approach. It proceeds by comparing the costs (and any benefits) associated with anthropogenic climate change with the costs and any benefits of a program for combating climate change. On this basis, it argues that an aggressive policy of mitigation and adaptation is justified. Whereas the costs of combating climate change, according to Stern, are quite low, the costs of “business of usual” would be considerable. Other analysts adopt a second perspective and conceive of climate change in terms of its impact on security. For example, the High Representative and the European Commission to the European Council issued a statement on Climate Change and International Security, which argues that climate change is “a threat multiplier which exacerbates existing trends, tensions and instability.” It argues that climate change will contribute to the following kinds of insecurities: tensions over scarce resources; land loss and border disputes; conflicts over energy sources; conflict prompted by migration; and tensions between those whose emissions caused climate change and those who will suffer the consequences of climate change. In addition to the “economic” approach and “security-based” approach, some adopt a third different perspective, according to which the natural world has intrinsic value. This ecological approach condemns human-induced climate change because it is an instance of humanity’s domination and destruction of the natural world. For all of their merits, these three perspectives omit an important consideration: the impact of climate change on persons’ fundamental human rights. In this chapter, I argue that it is appropriate to analyze climate change in terms of its impact on human rights.

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Climate change is one of the defining problems of our time. The relationship between climate change and human rights is receiving increased attention by stakeholders, including the UN and its primary human rights body, the Human Rights Council. Discussions on the relationship between climate change and human rights are hotly contested. This article is concerned with how states advocate for or against climate change and human rights at the Council. Participant observation on climate change resolutions from 2006 to 2019 through the UN's webTV archives are used to illustrate how states frame climate change. Although passed without a vote, significant contestation occurs over the content of each resolution. During explanations of the vote, Member States make some form of three claims – using one of three dominant framings. The first focuses on equity and development. The second frames the relationship between human rights and climate change: climate change is either constructed as a problem undermining human rights or as generating a responsibility for states to protect human rights when responding to it. The final argument's framing revolves around the mandate of the Council to discuss climate change as a human right. This article helps shed light on theories of norm contestation and on the strategies and frames used in advocating for the relationship between human rights and climate change and its construction – and significance – in the UN Human Rights Council.

Reviewed by: The International Human Rights Movement: A History by Aryeh Neier Wendy H. Wong (bio) Aryeh Neier , The International Human Rights Movement: A History (Princeton University Press 2012), 379 pages, ISBN No. 978-0-6911-3515-1. A number of important books in the field of human rights have attempted to trace the long history of the phenomenon (and importance) of rights in the political and social history of human civilizations.1 Aryeh Neier's The International Human Rights Movement: A History fundamentally shifts the focus of such discussions, electing instead to focus mostly on post-World War II developments and the global shift towards a human rights oriented world. The book takes its place in the burgeoning bibliography of books that offers a history of human rights, which speaks in itself to the rising importance of the topic across a variety of academic fields. It makes two contributions. First, it adds to the understanding that human rights as we know them today have unfurled most dramatically and most relevantly since the end of World War II.2 Second, Neier's emphasis on non-state actors and, in particular, the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that helped reify the human rights project from aspirational international law to practical policies places it among the few sweeping histories of the work, highlighting the role of an international movement in disseminating the human rights regime.3 In these two senses, Neier's version of how we should understand where human rights come from and where they are going should be a primer for anyone starting the study of human rights. Given the growing interest of recent publications in the role that non-state actors play in the construction of human rights, Neier's book is a classic statement of a growing theme in both public and scholarly imaginations.4 Neier's basic thesis is that the international human rights movement has been the most important catalyst in securing human rights throughout the world in the past thirty-five years. He proceeds in the book to provide ample [End Page 804] evidence for why NGOs have affected human rights outcomes. Neier's credible analysis stems from a place of personal investment in the subject matter; after all, he served as Human Rights Watch's founding Executive Director and shaped the politics of human rights in the United States during some of the key moments of inconsistency in the Reagan administration. Neier's book brings to life the contributions of not only the organization dear to his heart, but also traces the history of Amnesty International and other lesser known human rights NGOs working in the US, including: Human Rights First, Physicians for Human Rights, The Committee to Protect Journalists, Global Rights, and others. Neier also discusses non-US-based NGOs. These stories serve to demonstrate the diversity of views and strategies within the worldwide human rights movement, and in turn, Neier gives smaller groups a platform. This is an important achievement of the book, as to date most scholarly examinations have focused on larger, politically salient groups, thereby giving a rather skewed view of international human rights work. As much as this book notes the importance of NGOs, it is also quite clear that Neier did not simply wish to tell a story of NGOs in international human rights politics; instead, he sought to draw a more complete picture by bringing in a broader discussion of human rights beyond non-state actors. In a later chapter, for instance, Neier tackles what he sees as a major goal of the international human rights movement in more recent years: how to hold states accountable for their most grave of abuses. It is in this discussion of the International Criminal Court and other such institutions of accountability that Neier's account of the role of NGOs gets a bit muddled. What exactly is the role of NGOs once tribunals like the ICC get established? Is the work of global activism pertaining to the realization of accountability for human rights abuses, at least the most atrocious of abuses, somewhat resolved now that states have decided to create their own international institutions? The desire to "go beyond" non-state actors...

Climate change and the right to health of people with disabilities

Climate change is one of the most urgent environmental problems of the 21st century and one of the major challenges facing the international community as the greatest threat to human rights. The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, is the most important result of efforts to address the challenge. The Paris Agreement is the first climate change treaty to include a reference to human rights and, moreover, the first multilateral environmental agreement(MEA) that explicitly mentions human rights. The Paris Agreement, of course, is not a human rights treaty in the general sense. The Paris Agreement does not include provisions on human rights in its operative provisions, but refers to human rights only in the Preamble. The Paris Agreement, in its preamble, recognizes that “climate change is a common concern of humankind,” and “Parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights.” The Paris Convention was the first international environmental agreement to recognize that human rights obligations are an integral part of the United Nations climate system. The explicit mention of human rights in the Paris Agreement is a decade-long advocacy of the international community that has raised awareness about the adverse impacts of human rights on climate change and the human rights of actions to respond to climate change. The Paris Agreement, however, does not specifically state human rights obligations of States Parties, and their role in respecting, promoting, protecting and realizing human rights in action to address climate change is very limited. Nevertheless, by referring to human rights, the Paris Agreement will also contribute to the advancement of political narratives that justify climate action. This article first examines the Cancun Agreement and subsequent human rights discussions. secondly, It analyzes the content and legal implications of the human rights-related provisions included in the Paris Agreement adopted by the 21st Conference of the Parties(COP21) to the UN Climate Change Convention held in Paris in December 2015. Finally, I will examine and assess the importance of a human rights approach in the implementation of the Paris Convention

The scientific and policy debate on environment and human rights linkages increasingly perceives climate change as a risk multiplier and a key crosscutting issue. Recent research has shown that climate change is putting both human security and several fundamental rights at risk. Not only are the human implications of climate change serious, but also the global climate regime is not sufficiently shaped to reduce them and a large part of response mechanisms, including on domestic and regional levels, do not systematically refer to justice, equity, and human rights frameworks and, in some instances, may even exacerbate environmental damage and human rights violations. Therefore, the significant challenge currently being faced is how to ensure that human rights are widely recognized and genuinely mainstreamed in the global climate regime. A key issue is how to bring the discourses of human rights and climate change together into the climate multilateral negotiation process without importing additional burdens, setbacks or unnecessary complications. Bringing human rights into the process is also about power, ambition and resilience; further, it is about endeavoring to change the power dynamics so that the movement may be progressively propelled by vulnerable countries. This chapter intends to dissect the potential overlap, convergence, and synergies between the international human rights framework and the global climate regime. The analysis assesses the advantages of mainstreaming a rights-based approach into this regime and what should be done on the ground to effectively achieve this objective. To this end, the chapter provides many research and policy-oriented recommendations.

Human Rights and Reform: Changing the Face of North African Politics, by Susan E. Waltz. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1995. xiv + 237 pages. Notes to p. 269. Index to p. 281. $45 cloth; $16 paper. Reviewed by Maryam Elahi The human rights movement in the Maghrib has had significant impact in influencing public debate and bringing discussions on democratization and political reform to the forefront of Maghribi political society. With this book, Susan Waltz has succeeded in examining the role played by the Maghribi human rights movement in integrating the notion of civil and political rights in modem Tunisian, Algerian, and Moroccan political culture. I highly recommend Human Rights and Reform to anyone interested in North African contemporary history and politics. It examines the struggle of human rights activists and the cultural and political impediments that challenge them. This book discusses the development of modern state structures in Maghribi societies. One cannot get a sense of contemporary North African politics without understanding the role of the human rights movement-of whom it consists, what it strives for, and its undeniable influence over the substance of political discourse in the region. The author also discusses the impact that the international community has had in influencing the public debates and political measures, in some cases merely cosmetic, on human rights. In addition, these external forces, be they human rights organizations or the US Congress, have bestowed credibility and thereby protection to the domestic human rights organizations. Unlike other regions in the world where the human rights activists come from labor, indigenous movements, or political parties, the movement in the Maghrib was dominated initially by professionals: academics, doctors, and lawyers. Thus, being part of the professional elite, they had easier access to the political apparatus and developed a somewhat confusing rapport with the government, which at times they respectfully challenged and at other times they threatened. The birth of human rights organizations in each of the three countries has its own specific stories. In Tunisia, the Tunisian League for Human Rights was formally recognized by the government in 1977. Its original leadership chose individuals who had a reputation for being politically independent to head the organization and its executive committee. The League immediately proved itself to be a serious human rights group by organizing a commission of inquiry to look into detainees' situations and by sending observers to attend political trials. …

Climate Change and the Future: Discounting for Time, Wealth, and Risk

Contents: Volume I Acknowledgements Introduction Dinah L. Shelton PART I THEORETICAL APPROACHES 1. Joseph L. Sax (1990), `The Search for Environmental Rights' 2. James W. Nickel (1993), `The Human Right to a Safe Environment: Philosophical Perspectives on Its Scope and Justification' 3. Gunther Handl (1992), `Human Rights and Protection of the Environment: A Mildly `Revisionist' View' 4. Sumudu Atapattu (2002), `The Right to a Healthy Life or the Right to Die Polluted?: The Emergence of a Human Right to a Healthy Environment Under International Law' 5. Alan Boyle (2007), `Human Rights or Environmental Rights? A Reassessment' 6. Roda Mushkat (2009), `Contextualizing Environmental Human Rights: A Relativist Perspective' 7. Hari M. Osofsky (2005), `Learning from Environmental Justice: A New Model for International Environmental Rights' 8. Richard P. Hiskes (2005), `The Right to a Green Future: Human Rights, Environmentalism, and Intergenerational Justice' 9. James R. May (2006), `Constituting Fundamental Environmental Rights Worldwide' 10. Prudence E. Taylor (1998), `From Environmental to Ecological Human Rights: A New Dynamic in International Law?' PART II SPECIFIC ISSUES AND PROBLEMS 11. Malgosia Fitzmaurice (2007), `The Human Right to Water' 12. Paul L. Joffe (2009), `Conscience and Interest: Law, Rights, and Politics in the Struggle to Confront Climate Change and the New Poverty' 13. Marc Limon (2009), `Human Rights and Climate Change: Constructing a Case for Political Action' 14. Cyril Uchenna Gwam (2002), `Adverse Effects of the Illicit Movement and Dumping of Hazardous, Toxic, and Dangerous Wastes and Products on the Enjoyment of Human Rights' 15. Michael N. Schmitt (2000), `Humanitarian Law and the Environment' 16. Christopher Tracy (1994), `The Roots of Influence: Nongovernmental Organizations and the Relationship Between Human Rights and the Environment' 17. Daniel Barstow Magraw and Lauren Baker (2007), `Globalization, Communities and Human Rights: Community-Based Property Rights and Prior Informed Consent' Volume II Acknowledgements An introduction to both volumes by the editor appears in Volume I PART I VULNERABLE POPULATIONS 1. Lawrence Watters (2002), `Indigenous Peoples and the Environment: Convergence from a Nordic Perspective' 2. Cherie Metcalf (2003), `Indigenous Rights and the Environment: Evolving International Law' 3. Rebecca Tsosie (2007), `Indigenous People and Environmental Justice: The Impact of Climate Change' 4. Aurelie Lopez (2007), `The Protection of Environmentally-Displaced Persons in International Law' 5. Karen E. MacDonald (2006), `Sustaining the Environmental Rights of Children: An Exploratory Critique' PART II INTERNATIONAL TEXTS AND JURISPRUDENCE 6. Neil A.F. Popovic (1996), `In Pursuit of Environmental Human Rights: Commentary on the Draft Declaration of Principles on Human Rights and the Environment' 7. John H. Knox (2009), `Linking Human Rights and Climate Change at the United Nations' 8. Dinah Shelton (2010), `Developing Substantive Environmental Rights' 9. Stephen J. Powell (2007), `Should or Must?: Nature of the Obligation of States to Use Trade Instruments for the Advancement of Environmental, Labour, and Other Human Rights' 10. Ole W. Pedersen (2008), `European Environmental Human Rights and Environmental Rights: A Long Time Coming?' 11. Kristof Hectors (2008), `The Chartering of Environmental Protection: Exploring the Boundaries of Environmental Protection as Human Right' 12. Jona Razzaque (2007), `Linking Human Rights, Development, and Environment: Experiences from Litigation in South Asia' 13. Cesare Pitea (2006), `The Non-Compliance Procedure of the Aarhus Convention: Between Environmental and Human Rights Control Mechanisms'