Human Rights Council Discusses Reparations for Child Victims and Survivors of Sale and Sexual Exploitation, and the Importance of Climate-Resilient and Carbon-Neutral Housing for All

The Human Rights Council this afternoon held an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children on reparation as a crucial component of meaningful remedy and recovery for child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation.  It then started an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing on the climate crisis and the right to housing, who spoke of the importance of a just, human rights-based, climate-resilient and carbon-neutral housing for all.

Mama Fatima Singhateh, Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, said her thematic study examined the scope and importance of reparation for children who had been affected by sale, sexual exploitation, and abuse both in conflict and non-conflict settings.  It provided a set of concrete recommendations for States and other stakeholders with a view to contributing towards the design and implementation of national and international frameworks on providing reparation to child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation.  Reparation was a crucial component of meaningful remedy and recovery for child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation. 

The Special Rapporteur also spoke of her visit to Mauritius.  Mauritius spoke as a country concerned.

In the discussion on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, speakers said that integrated child protection systems where all relevant services cooperated according to a coordinated and multidisciplinary approach, in the best interests of the child, were the best tools to ensure prevention, protection and remedy for child victims.  Sale and sexual exploitation of children had a long-term impact on victims, and strong policies should be implemented that focused on goals, such as a path of care and strengthening psychosocial care, whilst also integrating a gender perspective.  States should adopt and undertake restorative justice measures in order to provide a life of justice to child survivors of sexual exploitation, allowing the child to participate in decision-making processes on all matters, including reparation.  All efforts should be made to ensure that there was no secondary victimisation.

Speaking in the discussion were: European Union, Latvia on behalf of a group of countries, Uruguay on behalf of a group of countries, United Nations Children’s Fund, Côte d’Ivoire on behalf of the Group of African States, France, Sovereign Order of Malta, United States, Tunisia, Belgium, Israel, Luxembourg, Togo, Paraguay, China, India, Costa Rica, Burkina Faso, Russian Federation, Venezuela, Iraq, Egypt, Nepal, Malaysia, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Bangladesh, Republic of Malta, Kenya, Lesotho, Georgia, Gambia, Philippines, Algeria, Afghanistan, Malawi, Australia, Namibia, Thailand, Botswana, Panama, Cuba, Timor-Leste, Pakistan, Montenegro, Ukraine, Chad, Benin, and Iran.

Also speaking were: National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms of Cameroon, Caritas Internationalis (International Confederation of Catholic Charities), Rencontre Africaine pour la defense des droits de l'homme, Association Culturelle des Tamouls en France, Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII, International Bar Association, Promotion du Développement Economique et Social – PDES, Elizka Relief Foundation, Chongqing Centre for Equal Social Development, Institute for Human Rights, and AATASSIMO.

The Council then started an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing.

Balakrishnan Rajagopal, Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, presenting his report entitled “Towards a just transformation: the climate crisis and the right to housing”, said that the climate resilience of housing was critical; however, housing was also a significant contributor to climate change.  The housing deficit experienced in many countries required more housing units to be built, but doing this alone would result in more carbon emissions and further deepen the climate crisis.  The Special Rapporteur called for urgent steps to be taken towards a just, human rights-based, climate-resilient and carbon-neutral housing for all.  States’ obligation to realise the right to adequate housing should require both ensuring the resilience of housing against climate events and reducing the carbon footprint of housing.

In the ensuing discussion on the right to adequate housing, speakers said the climate crisis was also a housing crisis.  The impacts of climate change disproportionately affected persons in vulnerable situations and their homes.  Therefore, the international community must ensure that persons in vulnerable situations were involved in climate responses at all levels, including participation in decision-making, implementation and monitoring of climate actions and policies.  It was also essential to recognise and address the contributions of unsustainable housing practices to climate change and to ensure housing sustainability.  A fair transition to climate-resilient housing required financial support, allowing to adapt the housing sector, in particular for developing countries, which had been disproportionately affected.  The right to adequate housing was essential for the dignity and well-being of individuals and families alike and should be fully respected, including in conflict and crisis situations.

Speaking in the discussion were: Finland on behalf of a group of countries, European Union, Paraguay on behalf of a group of countries, Pakistan, France, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Burkina Faso, United States, Bahrain, Colombia, Luxembourg, China, India, Viet Nam, Russian Federation, Cameroon, Armenia, Morocco, Venezuela, Egypt, Iraq, Nepal, Tanzania, Malaysia, South Africa, Spain, and Maldives.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council heard States exercise their right of reply on the High Commissioner’s global report on the situation of human rights around the world.  Speaking were Cyprus, Israel, Cambodia, Thailand, Nicaragua, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Bahrain, Pakistan, Algeria, United States, Eritrea, Türkiye, 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-second regular session can be found here.

The next meeting of the Council will be at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 9 March, when it will conclude its discussion with the Special Rapporteur on the right to housing, after which it will hold an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to food.

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children

Reports

The Council has before it the report by the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, Mama Fatima Singhateh, addressing reparation for child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation (A/HRC/52/31), and the report on her visit to Mauritius (A/HRC/52/31/Add.1).

Presentation of Reports
MAMA FATIMA SINGHATEH, Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, said her thematic study on reparation for child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation examined the scope and importance of reparation for children who had been affected by sale, sexual exploitation, and abuse both in conflict and non-conflict settings.  It consisted of an analysis of the overall issue of children’s right to reparation and access to justice, current gaps and challenges, and the good practices and experiences of various stakeholders on this issue.  It also provided a set of concrete recommendations for States and other stakeholders with a view to contributing towards the design and implementation of national and international frameworks on providing reparation to child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation.

Reparation was a crucial component of meaningful remedy and recovery for child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation.  Despite unified commitments under international legal norms and standards on reparative justice measures, only a handful of States had fully operationalised legal and regulatory frameworks, including the adoption of legislation and the implementation of child-friendly services.  There were, however, examples of good practices that highlighted efforts to ensure victims and survivors access to much needed reparative schemes and services.  The co-creation model of encouraging the participation of child victims and survivors in the process of determining harm suffered and reparation due with a view to restoring dignity was also a prime example of a good practice worth emulating.

The report also contained a number of recommendations for the consideration of governments and other stakeholders.  These included the formulation of comprehensive legislation on reparation for child victims and survivors of sale and sexual exploitation, with accountability measures, to ensure that the offences covered in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the first two Optional Protocols, were included in these legislations.  The implementation and operationalisation of reparative measures could be more effective if governments worked with civil society through partnerships and joint funding to provide support services for child victims and survivors.  It would also be important to intensify multi-agency collaboration to develop and implement age-appropriate, gender and culturally sensitive reparation measures for child victims and survivors to access justice.

Regarding the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Mauritius, Ms. Singhateh said her visit came at a unique time, against the backdrop of the recently promulgated legislation on children’s rights, which effectively changed the child protection landscape by creating new and increased responsibilities for virtually all child protection actors, and the Government was commended for significant efforts made to improve legislation, policies, and practice to protect children from sale and sexual exploitation.  Despite various positive steps, there was a need to urgently address issues such as the growing number of teenage pregnancies within the country, poverty and inequality, especially within marginalised communities, as well as ensuring access to inclusive education for all children.

Additionally, there was a need to address the multiple and intersectional discrimination experienced by vulnerable groups of children from Creole background and of African descent, children with disabilities, and street children.  With the new child protection framework in place, it would be important to formulate regulations and guidelines on the new responsibilities of various actors in a cohesive and collaborative manner, in order to avoid duplications, and spell out steps and responsibilities at different stages of the prevention and response structure, as well as encourage coordination and information sharing for all child protection actors.

Statement by Country Concerned
Mauritius, speaking as a country concerned, thanked the Special Rapporteur for her visit to Mauritius in June 2022 and the report which she submitted to the Human Rights Council.  The report underscored the progress made by the Mauritian Government in combatting the sale and sexual exploitation of children, as well as challenges which needed to be tackled and recommendations which required further action.  This was the second visit of a Special Rapporteur in Mauritius and the recommendations made had been instrumental in strengthening the State’s approach to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography over the past decade.  Over the last few years, Mauritius had adopted a holistic approach to address the sale and sexual exploitation of children through policies, legislation, institutional reforms, protective services and preventive measures. 

The Children’s Act 2020, set the age of marriage to 18 years and established a dedicated court for matters relating to children.  The Child Sex Offender’s Register Act 2020 established a Child Sex Offender Register to assist in the monitoring and tracking of persons in the community who had been found guilty of committing sexual offences against children.  A Child Services Coordinating Panel was established in September 2021 to ensure close monitoring, coordination, and follow-up actions regarding the protection of children.  Community Child Watch Committees set up across the island also provided a local service to ensure early detection and reporting of cases of children at risk of sexual abuse.  The sixth and seventh combined periodic report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child was submitted before the Committee in January 2023.  The recommendations of the Committee were being carefully examined and pursued.  Mauritius was committed to combatting the sale and sexual exploitation of children.

Discussion
In the ensuing discussion, speakers said, among other things, that integrated child protection systems where all relevant services cooperated according to a coordinated and multidisciplinary approach, in the best interests of the child, were the best tools to ensure prevention, protection, and remedy for child victims. 

The efforts of the Special Rapporteur were commended, and her concerns shared that despite the efforts of the international community, the phenomenon of sale and sexual exploitation of children continued to grow.  Her thematic study on reparation for child victims and survivors of such exploitation was, a speaker said, a valuable contribution to the ongoing global discourse on protecting the rights of children.  Further, her recommendations to States and other stakeholders for designing and implementing national and international frameworks that provided reparation to child victims and survivors of such exploitation would prove to be of great use for all stakeholders, including State and non-State actors.

Many child victims of sale and sexual exploitation were unable to access justice.  States should take the crucial first step of strengthening national legislation to ensure support for survivors.  The sale and sexual exploitation of children remained a significant challenge for governments, non-governmental organizations, and all other involved parties.  It happened notably through online clandestine networks.  All of this was a problem which was complex in nature, and had many causes.  Reparation was a key component for the effective recovery of child victims of sale and sexual exploitation.

Children were the future, as well as the most vulnerable members of society, and countries that did not have sufficient recourse for victims were urged to remedy the situation.  The COVID-19 pandemic had increased children’s vulnerability, notably online, and the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations should be followed in this regard.  The process to receive reparations should be empowering and focused on the victim.  There was a long-term impact on victims, and strong policies should be implemented that focused on goals, such as a path of care and strengthening psychosocial care, whilst also integrating a gender perspective.

Child friendly, gender informed and culturally sensitive policies must be implemented, as well as ensuring that child victims could receive all the services they needed in one place.  The issue of accountability and responsibility for States and stakeholders should also be taken into account.  Child trafficking was not decreasing, and must be documented by the United Nations and by the mandate of the Special Rapporteur.  Children’s agency and voice must remain central while considering their need for protection and their ability to speak out without fear of retaliation.  Full programmes must include all forms of exploitation of children.

The provision of compensation as part of sentencing was aimed at easing the victim's suffering and preventing the need to conduct a separate civil procedure for compensation, and from enduring once again the difficulties of the legal process, including testifying and cross-examination.  There should be greater cooperation between countries in order to pursue perpetrators and ensure the re-integration of victims, including social and cultural re-integration. 

To achieve recovery, there was a need for all parties to work together to ensure that victims could rebuild their lives and recover from the harm done, with an appropriate legal framework with sufficient budgetary resources to guide the implementation of the right to reparation.   States should adopt and undertake restorative justice measures in order to provide a life of justice to child survivors of sexual exploitation, allowing the child to participate in decision-making processes on all matters, including reparation.

Given the vulnerable situation of children, special measures of support should be applied to victims in the judicial context, with the presence of appropriate adults.  The stigmatisation of survivors of sexual exploitation should be avoided through targeted measures.  One speaker said that compensation did not necessarily mean reparation, noting that further steps were necessary to access justice and redress.

The collection of complex data on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, involving civil society, parents and children themselves was necessary in order to successfully combat the phenomenon, as well as pursue suspects.  International collaboration could help bolster access to channels for providing reparation.  One speaker said unilateral coercive measures imposed on some States should be lifted so that they could earmark sufficient funds for reparations for victims of sale and sexual exploitation and ensure that they had access to reparations and justice.

Sexual exploitation took on different forms, in particular through the use of the Internet, a speaker pointed out, urging the protection of children through human rights-tasked institutions and national programmes protecting children from all inhumane treatment. 

International law, international humanitarian law, and international human rights law had codified protection, but many countries had not included these provisions in their legislation, which they should remedy as soon as possible.  All countries were urged to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols.  The importance of preventive and protection measures to address this grave issue should not be neglected, a speaker urged.  At a national level, governments had to ensure that survivors of sale and sexual exploitation were legally protected by State institutions through legislation and other necessary means.

How could the process of compensation be improved without risking causing greater trauma?  What avenues for additional funding on investigation and data collection did the Special Rapporteur recommend exploring?  What special measures could be undertaken to reach children who were members of particularly vulnerable groups, specifically children in rural and distant areas?  What were best ways to strengthen international cooperation to access technical expertise to design the best possible pathways to aid child victims?  What were the major challenges to forging effective mechanisms for cross-border collaboration in terms of access to justice and reparation, and what concrete steps could be done to address them?

Interim Remarks by the Special Rapporteur

MAMA FATIMA SINGHATEH, Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, stated that the report was aimed to shine a light on the survivors of sale, sexual abuse and exploitation.  Reparation meant different things for different people, but it should be enough to enable the child to thrive in spite of the trauma they had experienced.  Several delegations discussed how to ensure that victims and survivors could participate meaningfully.  One of the core components of the rights of the child was participation, which should be the cornerstone of any law or policy designed for children.  Child victims and survivors needed to be involved in the redress process. 

Ms. Singhateh said many marginalised communities were victims of sale and sexual exploitation.  It was important to provide these communities with information in the language they understood.  One of the most important things for States to consider was that reparation should be based on political commitment, which should be sustained.  States should provide adequate budgets to fund the reparation funds, and ensure that survivors had access to these funds.  Education and sensitisation were key community-based interventions to reach those who were the most marginalised and give them a voice.  It was important for States to engage in bilateral agreements and train law enforcement agencies to work with those in neighbouring countries to ensure that perpetrators were detected and apprehended.  They should also collaborate with international police agencies to ensure issues relating to such offences were easily detected.  Member States were encouraged to review the best practices from other countries incorporated in the report, to understand the standards of services available for the victims and survivors of these heinous crimes.  Child participation could only be ensured if children were aware of their rights and the opportunities available to them.

Discussion

Speakers said, among other issues, that the right to education was vital in reducing the threats of child prostitution, sale, and sexual exploitation.  Forced work of children was also a significant threat, and was further associated with increased drug use by children.  The right to justice was vital, but it was also necessary to take into account the trauma suffered by children, and to ensure that they had appropriate psychological and health care.  All States should provide for reparation for children, in line with the Convention.  All efforts should be made to ensure that there was no secondary victimisation; putting the child at the heart of remedies, taking into account their age, cultural context, and protecting their private life, was essential, as was the training of police forces and the judiciary.

It was also necessary to give provisional care to children who had suffered from situations of conflict.  All elements of society should cooperate in order to provide assistance and aid.  The gaps in the monitoring system for online security also needed to be addressed.  Abused children had to face various administrative barriers to launching judicial proceedings, and were not able to face long and distressing court cases.  All these factors and others discouraged children from making claims, allowing traffickers to continue their criminal activities and denying children justice.  Systematic changes must be made to ensure victims had access to justice, restoring their dignity and increasing their protection.  The international community must work together to locate all missing trafficked women and children and provide them with all the assistance they required in order to re-establish their lives.

Concluding Remarks

MAMA FATIMA SINGHATEH, Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, thanked the Council for the interactive and interesting dialogue.  The issue of online child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation was becoming pervasive, and technology was being misused.  Governments had a responsibility to regulate the private sector, and these companies needed to work together to ensure children were safe online. 

To ensure children were safe online, there needed to be the technology to screen child sexual abuse online.  The data needed to factor in the age, gender and ethnicity of the child to ensure targeted interventions, particularly for marginalised communities.  It was a good idea to create a special fund for victims of sale and sexual abuse and exploitation of children.  The mandates of existing funds for trafficking could be expanded to avoid duplication and waste of resources.  There needed to be robust laws in place to provide for the different aspects of reparation.  It was important to ensure that these laws were drafted with gender neutral language to ensure every child was factored in.    

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing as a Component of the Right to an Adequate Standard of Living, and on the Right to Non-discrimination in this Context

Report

The Council has before it the report by the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, on the climate crisis and the right to housing (A/HRC/52/28).

Presentation of Report

BALAKRISHNAN RAJAGOPAL, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, said that in October 2022, he had presented a report on the right to adequate housing in situations of conflict to the General Assembly, underlining concern about widespread violations of the right to adequate housing in many violent conflicts, and suggested “domicide” being recognised as a standalone crime. 

Presenting his report entitled “Towards a just transformation: the climate crisis and the right to housing”, Mr. Rajagopal outlined that in 2022 alone, numerous climate-induced disasters across the world had destroyed peoples’ homes, rendered them uninhabitable, or forced people to evacuate.  The climate resilience of housing was critical; however, housing was also a significant contributor to climate change.  The housing deficit experienced in many countries required more housing units to be built, but doing this alone would result in more carbon emissions and further deepen the climate crisis.  How could this dilemma be resolved? 

The report found that through energy consumption and construction alone, housing accounted for at least 37 per cent of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, and contributed to climate change through the increase in average per capita living space, the emission of pollutants, urban sprawl, deforestation and soil sealing.  In the new report, the Special Rapporteur called for urgent steps to be taken towards a just, human rights-based, climate-resilient and carbon-neutral housing for all.  Increased efforts were needed to achieve energy efficiency of buildings through improving building standards, electrifying households with green energy, and promoting life-cycle approach to buildings.  Developed countries had a responsibility to reconsider whether building new, more, and larger housing was the right solution, and whether the existing built environment could be used, upgraded or converted for the use of adequate housing.  Urban planning should be mindful of climate change and disaster risks, and care should be taken to involve communities and groups at risk of marginalisation into the planning activities aimed at post-disaster reconstruction and climate adaptation.  Resettlement and relocation should only be considered as a last resort when it was strictly necessitated.

In the context of the climate crisis, sustainability had increasingly emerged as a core requirement to adequate housing.  States’ obligation to realise the right to adequate housing should require both ensuring the resilience of housing against climate events and reducing the carbon footprint of housing.  It was possible in the foreseeable future to achieve a climate-resilient and carbon-neutral housing for all.  The report included several detailed recommendations addressed to States, local governments, businesses, architects, investors and others.  In particular, States were called upon to link climate policies to housing, to plan for migration, and to provide international cooperation in ensuring equal access to resourcing to all countries. 

Discussion

In the ensuing discussion, some speakers said the climate crisis was also a housing crisis.  Extreme weather events, desertification and rising sea levels severely affected housing around the world.  The impacts of climate change disproportionately affected persons in vulnerable situations and their homes.  Extreme weather events, including heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and floods had implications for the habitability, affordability, and availability of housing, especially when combined with high energy prices.  Climate disasters had a disproportionate impact on persons in vulnerable situations, including forced displacement and poverty.

Persons with disabilities and older persons also had less capacity to move away from exposed areas. Indigenous peoples often lived on lands heavily exposed to climate impacts.  Therefore, the international community must ensure that persons in vulnerable situations were involved in climate responses at all levels, including participation in decision-making, and implementation and monitoring of climate actions and policies.  Some speakers said the report presented a picture of the harsh realities endured by poor populations due to previous colonial and discriminatory policies of segregation which had adversely contributed to the development of inhumane informal settlements.  It was thus a joint duty to tackle the effects of climate change on the realisation of the right to adequate housing, and the comprehensive recommendations of the Special Rapporteur showed a way forward. 

It was also essential to recognise and address the contributions of unsustainable housing practices to climate change and to ensure housing sustainability, some speakers said.  A just transition towards climate-resilient and low emission housing based on human rights required transparency in decision-making, including the participation of affected individuals and groups. 

A fair transition to climate-resilient housing required financial support, allowing to adapt the housing sector, in particular for developing countries, which had been disproportionately affected.  Countries must act to respond to climate change in light of national circumstances, and bearing in mind that the countries that had most contributed to the situation should spearhead the efforts.  Sustainable reconstruction policies were also a pressing matter that required being dealt with.

The international community must rethink housing policies in order to make them more sustainable, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, with proactive policies aiming to avoid the least efficient houses.  The disastrous consequences of climate change on housing must be addressed both on a national and on an international level.  The focus must be on long-term quality of life within a sustainable context.  The transformation for peaceful societies, allowing access to public spaces of high quality, was essential. 

Equity and international cooperation were essential to ensure that none were left behind.  When making efforts to address the impacts of climate change on housing, to mitigate and adapt to it as well as achieve a just transition towards climate-resilient housing through implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in the housing sector, States could, inter alia, invest in affordable public housing or social housing as well as further cooperate with other States and all relevant stakeholders.  States should also take measures to reduce the numbers of homeless persons, and remain vigilant to those living in vulnerable situations.  Further, the right to adequate housing was essential for the dignity and well-being of individuals and families alike and should be fully respected, including in conflict and crisis situations.

Some speakers said it was both urgent and important for States to step up efforts in improving housing policy and urban planning, taking into account the long-term risk of climate change, while investing in carbon-neutral housing technologies.  In this context, speakers underscored the importance of international cooperation, financial support and significant investments to support Member States, especially the developing countries, on climate mitigation and adaptation measures in the housing sector.  The fulfilment of Official Development Assistance commitments, full functioning of the Green Climate Fund, provision of compensation for climate-induced impacts on housing, and establishment of a loss and damage fund as decided by the COP27 and its efficient operationalisation, were a few of the viable solutions to address the impacts of climate crisis on housing. 

One speaker said that the assertion that the climate crisis could turn into a housing crisis was so general that it could apply to any human endeavour, saying that the United Nations should not take up the climate crisis as part of its work, in particular in the Human Rights Council and in the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which did not have the mandate for such a topic.

Questions raised by speakers included: what policies could States use to fund sustainable housing; how Member States and the United Nations could better strengthen cooperation and coordination in addressing the adverse impacts of climate change on the right to adequate housing, including on post-disaster reconstruction and rebuilding efforts; how could States better ensure the participation of persons in vulnerable situations in decision-making processes; which steps should States and other actors concretely take in order to achieve a just transition towards climate-resilient urban planning; how could the international community encourage countries to adopt national housing policies that prioritised resilience to the adverse effects of climate change; what more could be done to ensure greater technical cooperation and capacity-building; how could public authorities reconcile the housing crisis and the current global economic situation; and what was the scope for South-South cooperation.

Interim Remarks

BALAKRISHNAN RAJAGOPAL, Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, said human rights defenders were critically important, as those mostly at risk were those defending climate issues, and Member States should hold each other to account by re-dedicating commitment to United Nations standards, and provide for clear legal foundations for defence work within their countries, provide mechanisms for compensation for victims, and ensure documentation for victims.  A critical role in participation belonged to local governments, which should be recognised as intermediaries between people and the State.  There was a need to recognise free, prior and informed consent, based on international law instruments such as the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, when ensuring participation. 

On transition and how to ensure that energy transition could actually happen in a practical manner, he had recommendations in his report, including on providing financial support and support for tenants’ rights.  States had human rights obligations in providing energy efficiency for households and in promoting the use of affordable and accessible net zero embodied carbon components in building, including the use of non-traditional materials.  A lot of this existed on paper but was not codified into law. 

 

Link: https://ungeneva.unog.un.org/en/news-media/meeting-summary/2023/03/le-conseil-dialogue-avec-la-rapporteuse-speciale-sur-la-vente-et

 

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