The UN Office for the High Commissioner of Human Rights (OHCHR) aims to promote a human rights-based approach to climate action. This requires that states take ambitious adaptation and mitigation measures that are inclusive and respectful of communities affected by climate change.

Climate change threatens a range of human rights including the rights to life, safe drinking water and sanitation, food, health, housing, self-determination, culture, work and development.

The negative impacts of climate change are disproportionately borne by persons and communities already in disadvantageous situations owing to geography, poverty, gender, age, disability, cultural or ethnic background, among others.

These are people who have historically contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions.

OHCHR wants to ensure that international and national environmental and climate policies and plans are increasingly implemented in accordance with international human rights standards.

The aim to achieve this by:

• Collaboration with partners to integrate human rights in environmental laws and policies;
• Support for the inclusion of civil society in environmental decision-making processes, access to information and effective remedies for victims;
• Assisting human rights mechanisms to address environmental issues, including climate change;
• Advocacy on behalf of environmental human rights defenders and supporting efforts by the UN system to protect them;
• Research and advocacy to address human rights harms caused by environmental degradation, particularly to groups in vulnerable situations.

OHCHR’s field presences are implementing a range of projects and activities on human rights and climate change: OHCHR field presences in Kenya and Mexico are working to catalyze rights-based environmental action including through support to networks for protection of environmental human rights defenders. In the Sahel region, OHCHR is addressing the human rights, migration and climate change nexus by building knowledge and understanding and promoting a rights-based and gender-responsive approach to migratory challenges posed by climate change. Its Regional Offices for South-East Asia and for the Pacific are advocating for human rights of persons affected by climate change and supporting environmental human rights defenders.

Further Information

OHCHR and climate change: https://www.ohchr.org/en/climate-change

The impacts of climate change on the effective enjoyment of human rights: https://www.ohchr.org/en/climate-change/impacts-climate-change-effective-enjoyment-human-rights