Human Rights and Climate Change Conference underway in Nadi, Fiji

Nadi, Fiji (5 August 2019) – A three day Human Rights and Climate Change Conference organized by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Regional Office for the Pacific, has just got underway in Nadi, Fiji.  

The conference, which focuses on the linkages between climate change and human rights is designed to help build the capacity of Pacific Island States as well as that of regional National Human Rights Institutions, the private sector, and members of civil society organizations.

“This important meeting in a region endangered by the consequences of climate change is most welcome.,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, as she opened the conference via video message this morning.

“The climate crisis is accelerating, and global heating already affects the rights of millions of people exposed to its adverse effects each year,” the High Commissioner said. “The people of small island states are amongst those immediately affected, with a daily impact on the effective enjoyment of the rights to water and sanitations, health, education, food, work, adequate housing and the right to selfdetermination.”

“In recent years, the Pacific region has taken a global lead in recognizing the realities of climate change and in taking measures for climate resilience, mitigation and adaptation,” Bachelet added.

The regional meeting is intended to facilitate meaningful and open debates on how certain measures to tackle climate change can be upscaled. It also aims to identify entry points that Pacific nations can best apply to highlight the negative impacts of climate change; help stakeholders build effective networks and alliances in order to advance the fight against the climate crisis; and to enhance knowledge of a human rights-based approach to business and human rights, climate justice and migration.  Further, the meeting will also illustrate why strong National Human Rights Institutions are needed to bring these issues to the forefront of people’s minds and Government policies.

The conference will also provide an opportunity to agree on key human rights and climate change messages which can be utilized by Pacific nations at global events such as the 50th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting (PIFLM) in August in Tuvalu, and the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in September in New York, as well as at the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the UNFCCC in December in Chile.

For more information: Benjamin Lee, National Human Rights Officer, United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Regional Office for the Pacific in Fiji. E: benjamin.lee@one.un.org. P: (679) 9983638