AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC STATEMENT
AI Index: IOR 51/3028/2015
7th December 2015

Human Rights in Climate Pact Under Fire Norway, Saudis, US Blocking Strong Position A handful of countries were blocking human rights references in important parts of the climate change agreement as ministers gathered in Paris on December 7, 2015 to continue climate change negotiations, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today.

Norway, Saudi Arabia and the United States have been criticized by some countries and nongovernmental organizations for seeking to eliminate key references to rights in the document. Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and the Philippines have advocated including human rights language.

“The draft text released Saturday sets out a commitment by countries to respect human rights and gender equality in all their actions related to climate change,” said Joe Amon, health and human rights director at Human Rights Watch. “However, some countries are seeking to remove these references, and the strong emphasis in the document on human rights, from Article 2, the purpose section of the agreement.”

The important role of respecting, protecting and fulfilling human rights in relation to the impact of climate change on vulnerable populations has been increasingly recognized in international climate change negotiations. At the negotiations, groups including trade unions and coalitions representing indigenous peoples, women, youth and people in small island nations have been particularly vocal in calling for strong rights language in the treaty.
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