Views adopted by the Committee under Art. 5(4) of the Optional Protocol, concerning Communication No. 3624/2019 (U.N.H.R. Committee)

Abstract

On September 22, 2022, the Human Rights Committee (HRC) published its views in the communication of Daniel Billy et al. v. Australia, originally submitted in May 2019. Although not the first case before human rights treaty bodies on matters relevant to climate change, it is the first time the Human Rights Committee has found a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in breach of its obligations under the ICCPR for failure to take mitigation and adaptation measures to combat the effects of climate change. In doing so, it made a number of comments on both procedural and substantive issues, which may well pave the way for future action.