The calm before the storm? Child rights climate change litigation in Africa

Abstract

Children, especially children in Africa, are disproportionately affected and their rights violated, as a result of the physical impacts of climate change. UNICEF has reported that 32 of the 45 countries identified globally in the Children's Climate Risk Index as the worst affected by climate change are in sub-Saharan Africa. Climate change threatens not only the immediate survival of children, but also their growth and development, as well as their ability to learn, play, and reach adulthood. Furthermore, the majority of Africa's children live in families and communities with little resilience to adapt to both climate-induced emergencies and slow-onset events. This as a backdrop, litigation is one important tool used, often as a measure of last resort, to address and expedite climate change action. The topic is of increasing interest regionally, and this article looks specifically at the convergence of child rights and climate change litigation in Africa. It is an attempt to respond to the question "what are the opportunities as well as challenges for current and future child rights-based climate change litigation in Africa"?