Human rights and the impacts of climate change: Revisiting the assumptions
Keywords:
Human rights, climate litigation, state actors, non-state actors, loss and damage, Derechos humanos, litigación climática, actores estatales, actores no estatales, pérdida y dañoAbstract
The Paris Agreement acknowledges the need to tackle the permanent and irreversible impacts of climate change. It does not, however, provide means to hold state and non-state actors accountable for the harm to persons, property and the environment associated with climate change. In 2009, the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) noted that qualifying the effects of climate change as human rights violations posed a series of technical obstacles. More than a decade later, applicants around the world increasingly rely on human rights law and institutions to complain about harms associated with the impacts of climate change. National, regional and international human rights bodies stand on the frontline to bridge the accountability gap left by the Paris Agreement. This article therefore revisits the OHCHR’s assumptions, suggesting that we use human rights as an interim “gap-filler”, while we seek better tools to tackle the impacts of climate change.El Acuerdo de París reconoce la necesidad de abordar los efectos permanentes e irreversibles del cambio climático. Sin embargo, no proporciona medios para hacer a los actores estatales y no estatales responsables del daño relacionado con el cambio climático infligido a personas, propiedades y al medio ambiente. En 2009, la Oficina del Alto Comisionado para los Derechos Humanos (ACNUDH) hizo notar que calificar los efectos del cambio climático como violaciones de derechos humanos presentaba algunos obstáculos técnicos. Más de una década después, solicitantes de todo el mundo se apoyan cada vez más en la jurisdicción sobre derechos humanos y sobre instituciones para protestar por los daños relacionados con el efecto del cambio climático. Entes nacionales, regionales e internacionales sobre derechos humanos están en la primera línea de lucha para cubrir el hueco sobre responsabilidad dejado por el Acuerdo de París. Este artículo revisita los supuestos aceptados por la ACNUDH, y propone que se utilicen los derechos humanos como un “parche” provisional mientras buscamos mejores instrumentos para abordar el efecto del cambio climático.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1143
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