AFTERNOON - Special Rapporteur Tells the Human Rights Council that it is Vitally Important to Give Full Legal Protection to People Displaced across International Borders Due to Climate Change
Council Concludes Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
The Human Rights Council this afternoon began an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, and concluded an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to education.
Ian Fry, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, said that the number of people being displaced across international borders was rapidly increasing, as the effects of climate change became more severe. It was time for the international community to protect people displaced across international borders due to climate change. The level of protection given to people displaced across international borders was haphazard and signified a general lack of uniformity at the international level on this issue. It was vitally important to give full legal protection to people displaced across international borders due to climate.
Mr. Fry suggested that the Human Rights Council prepare a resolution for submission to the United Nations General Assembly requesting the development of an optional protocol under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees to define and outline legal protections to people displaced across international borders due to climate change. All nations should be encouraged to develop national legislation that provided humanitarian visas for persons displaced across international borders due to climate change. Regional human rights bodies should be encouraged to expand their definition of refugees to include such persons.
Mr. Fry spoke about his mission to Bangladesh. Bangladesh took the floor as a country concerned.
In the discussion, speakers said climate change had an increasing impact on human rights across the world. It was also a contributing factor to forced displacement, both internally and across international borders. Climate change was a significant threat multiplier and a source of instability, which must be urgently addressed to prevent conflicts, food insecurity, population displacement and forced migration. Communities already burdened by poverty and inequality bore the heaviest burden of extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and environmental degradation, leading to displacement. Rising sea levels, if unabated, could lead to permanent international displacement, as parts of territories became uninhabitable. To address these challenges, the international community must adopt a comprehensive human rights-based approach that took into account both mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and robust adaptation strategies.
Speaking in the dialogue were the European Union, Slovenia on behalf of a group of countries, Bahamas on behalf of the Caribbean Community, Costa Rica on behalf of a group of countries, El Salvador on behalf of a group of countries, Marshall Islands on behalf of a group of countries, United Nations Development Programme, International Development Law Organization, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Samoa, Egypt, Peru, Luxembourg, Armenia, Ecuador, United Nations Children's Fund, Sovereign Order of Malta, Mauritius, Iraq, Mexico, United States, Maldives, Malaysia, Morocco, Malta, Venezuela, Togo, Pakistan, Namibia, Kazakhstan, India, Malawi, Tanzania and China.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Council concluded its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to education which started in the previous meeting.
Farida Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the right to education, in concluding remarks, said this was a time for the transformation of education, and there needed to be investment in teachers and educators themselves in informal as well as formal schools. It was time to consider what was meant by the term “fundamental stages of education”- the evolving stages of education needed to be considered. Children had a right to access different forms of education, including sexual and sports education. It was important to ensure the relevance of education, including cultural relevance, and respect the rights of cultures and communities, but it should never be used as an excuse to undermine human rights. The Special Rapporteur was in touch with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, and they were searching for ways forward.
In the discussion, speakers said States needed to provide free, inclusive and lifelong education. The protection of the right to education and the rights of teachers needed to be guaranteed. Education should be considered a public good. Speakers welcomed progress in various parts of the world in advancing the right to education. Long-standing challenges, such as exclusion from education, needed to be addressed to ensure the right to education. Education was the most powerful weapon which could be used to change the world. Speakers presented measures to support the right to education, including policies for “emancipated learning”, where children could contribute to developing curricula; projects to prevent school dropouts and to encourage school-leavers to return; investments in school facilities and scholarships for higher education; and measures to support students with disabilities, among others.
Speaking in the discussion were Indonesia, Iraq, Maldives, Brazil, Malaysia, Morocco, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Cameroon, Ireland, South Africa, Togo, Jamaica, Gabon, Namibia, India, Malawi, Oman, Tanzania, China, Gambia, Djibouti, Libya, Niger, Senegal, Yemen, South Sudan, Jordan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Holy See, Mali, Benin, Cuba, Russian Federation, Romania, Algeria, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Bolivia, Poland, Thailand, Nepal, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Côte d'Ivoire, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Suriname, Ghana, Ukraine, Iran, Chile, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Azerbaijan and Cambodia.
Also speaking were Commission nationale indépendante des droits de l'homme (Burundi), and the following non-governmental organizations: International Organization for the Right to Education and Freedom of Education, Catholic International Education Office, Society for Threatened Peoples, Centre d'études juridiques africaines, Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women, International Catholic Child Bureau, World Jewish Congress, Instituto de Desenvolvimento e Direitos Humanos, Make Mothers Matter, and Istituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice delle Salesiane di Don Bosco.
Speaking in right of reply at the end of the meeting were Azerbaijan, Armenia and China.
The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s fifty-third regular session can be found here.
The Council will next meet on Wednesday, 28 June at 10 a.m. when it will conclude the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change and, start an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children.
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
The interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to education started in the previous meeting and a summary can be found here.
Discussion
In the discussion, many speakers, among other things, said States needed to provide free, inclusive and lifelong education. The protection of the right to education and the rights of teachers needed to be guaranteed. States were encouraged to consider a new legal instrument to ensure at least one year of free, compulsory pre-school education. Education should be considered a public good. It inspired and uplifted the public. Speakers welcomed progress in various parts of the world in advancing the right to education.
Long-standing challenges, such as exclusion from education, needed to be addressed to ensure the right to education. These challenges included discrimination and the digital divide. Computer skills needed to be included in education curricula. The world was off-track to achieving Sustainable Development Goal four on education for all, said one speaker, noting that 244 million children were out of school in 2021.
The quality of teaching was a crucial factor in disadvantaged students’ education outcomes. States needed to implement measures to increase the overall quality of education for all. Education was the most powerful weapon which could be used to change the world. One speaker proposed an international instrument promoting access to free, compulsory education for all children. Technical training was an important factor in implementing the right to education. One speaker called on the Special Rapporteur to analyse the impact of unilateral coercive measures on the right to education.
Speakers presented national measures to support the right to education, including policies for emancipated learning, where children could contribute to developing curricula; projects to prevent school dropouts and to encourage school-leavers to return; programmes supporting students’ mental health; investments in school facilities and scholarships for higher education; measures for increasing teachers’ wages; policies for providing free, compulsory education and equitable access to schools; programmes for promoting digital literacy and access to digital technologies; investment in second-language education; ratification of international norms and treaties on education; investment in special needs education; measures to support girls to stay in school; national strategies for improving digital and remote education; and measures to support students with disabilities.
Questions were asked on measures to further develop the education sector; on the role of artificial intelligence in education, and on methods of minimising its risks; on how education could reinvent itself in an increasingly complex world; on how the Special Rapporteur intended to address gender-based discrimination in education; on how digital technologies could be harnessed to implement the “four A’s” framework; and on means of bridging the digital divide.
Intermediary Remarks
FARIDA SHAHEED, Special Rapporteur on the right to education, said no information had been received on Lithuanian schools, and she would be very happy to receive such information, as she would from Armenia. With regard to security and safety in schools, she would be focusing on this area. There was bullying in schools, of teachers, of students among each other, and issues on the way to and from schools. Today, with the digital world, bullying could not be left at school, but it followed students back home.
Children needed to be educated on climate change so that new habits were developed with regard to the environment. There was space within States to look at taxation structures and to readjust them so that more money was made available for essentials such as education. International collaboration could be a way forward to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Ms. Shaheed said she had been discussing forms of collaboration with the Special Rapporteurs on foreign debt and on unilateral coercive measures. There was talk of new instruments for stronger legal instruments, but the full spectrum of education in all its formats should be considered and how the instrument should look with regard to digital and informal education. Algorithms that artificial intelligence used were on the general population and thus marginalised groups were not included, and would be further marginalised. This required further consideration.
Discussion
Continuing the discussion, a number of speakers commended the Special Rapporteur on her first report and congratulated the mandate on its twenty-fifth anniversary. One speaker called on the Special Rapporteur to pay special attention in future reports to the education of refugees.
Demographic dynamics in developing States presented a key challenge to promoting the right to education. The teacher to student ratio in many countries was too low. Illiteracy was another challenge in developing States. Schools also faced underfinancing, which threatened the right to education. Speakers expressed concerns about restrictions on women’s and girls’ access to education due to conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, discriminatory regulations, and a lack of political will, among other factors. It was noted that children who suffered from domestic violence often dropped out of school.
Some speakers mentioned schools in certain regions which were being targeted by militias, who used them to recruit children. Attacks on schools had continued to increase. States needed to condemn such actions and implement measures to protect children from exploitation in schools. Parents’ requests for their children to be excluded from education in certain subjects harmed those children’s right to education, one speaker said. Children should be allowed to access all forms of cultural education. Some speakers expressed concern about discrimination of students based on ethnic and linguistic grounds, calling for measures to prevent such discrimination. Every person had a right to education in their mother tongue.
Digital technologies had increased access to education, especially in rural areas, but the growing digital divide showed that access to such technologies was not equitable. The digital divide needed to be bridged to ensure that children of all regions could benefit from them. States needed to implement policies encouraging online safety. Developing countries had exerted great efforts to implement high-quality education, but education in such countries was not always up to international standards. The international community needed to strive to address challenges in accessing quality education in developing States.
Some speakers said teachers were among the most important elements of the education sector. Teachers conveyed knowledge and trained children to deal with issues they faced. Their empowerment was vital to bolstering education. A number of speakers said non-formal education was an important part of the education system. States needed to introduce the “Four A’s” framework and support non-formal education. States needed to monitor education achievements and use data to evaluate education policies. States needed to recognise the central role of parents, particularly mothers, in the education process and provide them with appropriate support.
Some speakers said education was key to addressing social inequalities. It was a public and common good that was vital for peace. Speakers expressed their commitment to providing lifelong, inclusive education for all. The transforming education summit was an important opportunity to galvanise global efforts to promote access to education. States called for a global compact on education. Support needed to be provided to developing countries on strengthening the right to education. The rights set forward in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights needed to be implemented.
Speakers presented national measures to incorporate human rights in school curricula; initiatives to protect the right of children in situations of conflict to education; strategies to provide digital education and training and promote access to online education; policies and budgets to provide free, compulsory education; measures to promote the education of women and girls and equitable access of education; measures to support education of children from vulnerable groups; vocational training programmes; schemes using artificial intelligence to strengthen learning programmes; mother language education programmes; laws prohibiting corporal punishment; and policies promoting lifelong learning.
Questions were asked on key strategies to ensure that the right to education was ensured in the context of converging crises; on how the international community could ensure equitable access to education for children; on the Special Rapporteur’s view of discrimination of members of certain groups in education; on suggestions for supporting teachers; on how States should address developments in digital technologies through education; on how to support children in conflict zones to access education; on methods of building trust between different actors within the education sector; and on means of protecting students from hatred and prejudice in the online sphere.
Concluding Remarks
FARIDA SHAHEED, Special Rapporteur on the right to education, said crises should be looked at as opportunities, particularly in the context of COVID-19, which should be looked at as an early warning sign with regard to the issue of digitalisation. There were many different issues relating to access: infrastructure, which included electricity and Internet access, as well as devices themselves; the digital divide, on the basis of gender, location, and other identities; and the dis- and mis-information available through the digital means, which needed to be addressed. It was crucial to discuss and negotiate with private companies that were producing devices and to consider access and content in terms of hate speech and others. States needed to invest in cheaper technologies which were sufficient for education, and invest in public community spaces such as libraries.
This was a time for the transformation of education, and there needed to be investment in teachers and educators themselves in informal as well as formal schools. It was time to consider what was meant by the term “fundamental stages of education”- the evolving stages of education needed to be considered. The right to education was a right of children - not the rights of parents and communities. Children had a right to access different forms of education, including sexual and sports education. It was important to ensure the relevance of education, including cultural relevance, and respect the rights of cultures and communities, but it should never be used as an excuse to undermine human rights. The Special Rapporteur was in touch with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, and they were searching for ways forward. There should be trauma counselling for learners, educators, and everybody concerned.
Educators also required life-long learning: they could not be replaced by digital tools. Many children no longer made the difference between off-line and on-line learning. The priority was to listen to children’s voices, but there needed to be a distinction between profit and non-profit educational groups. All the actors involved needed to believe that peaceful inclusive societies were of benefit for all, and that human rights were essential for all.
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change
Reports
The Council has before it the Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, entitled Providing legal options to protect the human rights of persons displaced across international borders due to climate change (A/HRC/53/34). Also before the Council is his report on his Visit to Bangladesh (A/HRC/53/34/Add.1), and Comments by the State on the latter (A/HRC/53/34/Add.2).
Presentation of Reports
IAN FRY, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, said that in the thematic report on providing legal options to protect the human rights of persons displaced across international borders due to climate change, he drew attention to the number of people displaced across international borders due to climate change and the subsequent human rights issues these people faced. The number of people being displaced across international borders was rapidly increasing, as the effects of climate change became more severe. The report highlighted the challenges faced by people displaced across international borders and explored the various efforts being made by national governments, civil society and United Nations agencies. In 2020, 30.7 million people were displaced from their homes due to weather-related events. Droughts were the main factor. It was estimated that in 2020, 75 per cent of new displacements from Somalia to Kenya were because of climate change. The International Rescue Committee noted that in 2022, 60,000 Somalis had fled climate change and crossed into Kenya. In Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador in 2016, over 3.5 million people needed humanitarian assistance due to an extended drought. In 2020, two severe hurricanes caused considerable damage to infrastructure, crops and livestock in Honduras, forcing people to be displaced across international borders.
The human rights implications of climate change displacement were significant and disturbing. People displaced by climate change faced multiple violations of their human rights. Climate change events deprived people of their right to food, water, sanitation, housing, health, education and, for some, the right to life. Studies suggested that women and children were the most affected by disasters and the effects of climate change, as they were up to 14 times more likely to be killed than men by a climate disaster. The process of moving across international borders was fraught with rights violations. Large numbers of people displaced across borders died or went missing every year at both land and sea borders. Between 2014 and 2022, more than 50,000 people lost their lives during migratory movements. Displaced children could be exposed to a variety of risks, such as abuse, violence, trafficking, exploitation, slavery and other forms of maltreatment and human rights violations.
It was time for the international community to protect people displaced across international borders due to climate change. There were several international human rights treaties that provided protections for such persons. Transnational criminal law addressed criminal actions related to migration. However, the level of protection given to people displaced across international borders was haphazard and signified a general lack of uniformity at the international level on this issue. It was vitally important to give full legal protection to people displaced across international borders due to climate. Mr. Fry suggested that the Human Rights Council prepare a resolution for submission to the United Nations General Assembly requesting the development of an optional protocol under the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees to define and outline legal protections to people displaced across international borders due to climate change. All nations should be encouraged to develop national legislation that provided humanitarian visas for persons displaced across international borders due to climate change. Regional human rights bodies should be encouraged to expand their definition of refugees to include such persons.
Mr. Fry also reported on his country visit to Bangladesh in September last year. The primary purpose of the visit was to explore the impacts of climate change on the people of Bangladesh and to study the related human rights implications of the impacts of climate change. Bangladesh was highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and this had significant implications on the enjoyment of human rights. The international response to loss and damage and its inherent human rights implications was inadequate. Nevertheless, the Government of Bangladesh was making efforts to protect its population from the ravages of climate change through the establishment of special funding for disaster recovery and adaptation. The Bangladesh Government had built many cyclones shelters, which had saved the lives of a vast number of people. The Government had also implemented several climate change policies. However, there were domestic issues associated with the right to freedom of expression, particularly around the rights of indigenous peoples, who were not recognised in Bangladesh.
Statement by Country Concerned
Bangladesh, speaking as a country concerned, said Bangladesh had been one of the key sponsors of all the resolutions on human rights and climate change, including the one creating the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, and thoroughly supported the mandate. The report did not duly reflect on the severity of climate change displacement and adaptation, instead it focused on mitigation and issues which Bangladesh did not find relevant to the purpose of the visit, or relevant to the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. It could have elaborated the link between loss and damage and the right to work and reparation for loss and damage in greater detail: this was a key element.
Other conclusions in the report were made after speaking to very small groups. The Government of Bangladesh had been promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in ways that were universally acclaimed. The report referred to climate change and human rights defenders; there were no climate change human rights defenders in Bangladesh. There were climate change practitioners, and the report did not recognise this. The report also delved into climate change issues that were relevant to another mandate. It appeared the Special Rapporteur may have been influenced by some politically motivated persons. The Government underscored in this regard that any mandate given by the Human Rights Council must be undertaken with all due diligence. The Government remained open to any further discussion that was required to support the mandate of the Special Rapporteur.
Discussion
In the ensuing discussion, many speakers said climate change had an increasing impact on human rights across the world. It was also a contributing factor to forced displacement, both internally and across international borders. The fight against climate change and its consequences might be an opportunity to enhance human rights, especially the rights of women, children, the elderly and other marginalised groups. Climate change was a significant threat multiplier and a source of instability, which must be urgently addressed to prevent conflicts, food insecurity, population displacement and forced migration.
Some speakers noted that communities already burdened by poverty and inequality bore the heaviest burden of extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and environmental degradation, leading to displacement. Women across their life course, in particular, faced heightened vulnerabilities, including increased risks of sexual and gender-based violence, abuse and exploitation, and disrupted access to education and health care services. Rising sea levels, if unabated, could lead to permanent international displacement, as parts of territories became uninhabitable. The development of agreed terminology and international norms in this area needed to take into account the unique features of climate change-induced population movements. There must be international cooperation to uphold the dignity and rights of all displaced persons across borders due to climate change, and to support population flows.
To address these challenges, the international community must adopt a comprehensive human rights-based approach that took into account both mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and robust adaptation strategies, with mitigation and adaptation initiatives that took into account gender, age and disability dimensions, and tackled the gender-specific impacts of climate change. Efforts needed to encompass more resilient infrastructure, the establishment of strong early warning systems, and the full, equal and meaningful participation and empowerment of women and girls in decision-making processes. There was a clear necessity of gender-transformative decision-making in the realm of climate change. The international community must shape a future where the effects of climate-induced displacement were minimised, and where the rights and dignity of all individuals were upheld.
The Special Rapporteur should, a speaker said, further research what set displacement in the context of climate change apart from other forms of displacement. This was a crucial gap that needed to be addressed to improve existing norms and frameworks. The Special Rapporteur should propose solutions to address the severe human rights implications of this phenomenon. Climate mobility had emerged as the human face of the climate crisis, induced increasingly by natural disasters and conflicts. Once climate migrants were on the move, they often faced violations of basic human rights, coercive violence, food insecurity, lack of access to land, water, and other natural resources, and discrimination or exclusion from vital public services. Delivering on climate change was critical, not least as it had further impact on global peace and security.
Among questions raised were: the report paid special attention to women and children, who made up the majority of displaced people, did the Special Rapporteur have any specific recommendations to share with the Council in this respect; how could the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights be better placed to address the protection of human rights in the context of internal and outward migration as a result of climate change displacement; what good practices or strategies had been implemented in South America to strengthen human rights in the context of climate change; what measures should be taken to address the human rights gaps in the context of people displaced across international borders due to climate change and provide adequate protection; how to improve the collection of data to ensure more complete statistics on this problem with the aim of guiding public policies; and, aside from developing a new legal protocol which may consume a long period of time, what else could the international community do to give support to persons displaced across international borders due to climate change?
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HRC23.076E