High Commissioner for Human Rights: the Environment is Dying and the Right to Food is Comprehensively Threatened by Climate Change - the World Demands Action Now

MORNING 3 July 2023

Council Discusses the Impact of Casualty Recording on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Hearing that Casualty Reporting is Important for Pursuing Accountability

The High Commissioner for Human Rights this morning warned that the environment was burning, melting, flooding, depleting, drying and dying, adding that addressing climate change was a human rights issue and the world demanded action now.

Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that on the current course, the average temperature increase by the end of this century would be 3° Celsius, and the world’s ecosystems – the air, the food, the water, and human life itself – would be unrecognisable. The right to food was comprehensively threatened by climate change.

Mr. Türk said that globally, there had been a 134 per cent increase in climate-fuelled, flood-related disasters between 2000-2023. More than 828 million people faced hunger in 2021 and climate change was projected to place up to 80 million more people at risk of hunger by the middle of this century, creating a truly terrifying scale of desperation and need. Yet the world was still not acting with the urgency and determination that was required.

Mr. Türk was addressing the Human Rights Council’s annual panel discussion on the adverse impacts of climate change on human rights, focusing on the adverse impact of climate change on the full realisation of the right to food.

Four panellists then took the floor. Benyam Dawit Mezmur, Member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, said recent projections suggested that children born in 2020 would likely endure nearly three times the number of droughts and crop failures as their grandparents faced, with children in lower income countries bearing the burden of the environmental crisis. Therefore, climate change was exacerbating children's food insecurity, particularly in climate-vulnerable regions. The impact of environmental harm had a discriminatory effect on certain groups of children, especially indigenous children, children of minority groups, children with disabilities, children living in disaster-prone or climate-vulnerable environments, and girls.

Ana Maria Suarez Franco, Geneva Representative of FIAN International, said the industrial food system was the biggest contributor to climate change and environmental degradation. Various United Nations institutions had recognised the urgent need to transform industrial food systems: agro-ecology played a vital role in this, and in the transition towards a just system. Adopting binding transition plans that were predictable and included support mechanisms for rural populations and indigenous peoples were part of this. Small-scale peasant farmers must be given the support and training they needed to implement agro-ecology.

Gian Carlo Cirri, Director of the Geneva Global Office of the World Food Programme, said the impacts of climate change were increasing vulnerabilities worldwide - 3.6 billion people lived in areas that were highly vulnerable to climate extremes, accounting for over 40 per cent of the global population. By 2030, the number of climate-related disasters was projected to rise by 30 per cent to around 560 disasters every year. Climate change was limiting access to food. Anticipatory actions were critical to mitigating further climate change impacts on lives and livelihoods. Investing in early warning systems was growing even more crucial.

Pasang Dolma Sherpa, Executive Director of the Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Research and Development, said indigenous peoples, representing 6.2 per cent of the total population, had been contributing towards safeguarding 80 per cent of world biodiversity. Indigenous and local communities’ knowledge, experience and practices were the bottom line of climate resilience and dealing with the present crisis. However, despite the emerging thoughts on the crucial role and contributions of indigenous peoples in climate resilience, indigenous resilience to deal with climate change, economy and external threats had been decreasing day by day.

In the discussion, speakers among other things, said today’s panel discussion highlighted the urgency and the need for action to address the adverse impacts of climate change and to protect the human rights of current and future generations. The increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as flooding and cyclones, coupled with slow-onset challenges like rising sea levels, had a direct impact on food security. Around 345 million persons were projected to be acutely food-insecure in 2023, according to the World Food Programme – more than twice the number in 2020. Speakers underscored that urgent support from the international community was crucial to address this great challenge.

Speaking in the discussion on climate change were Viet Nam, Lebanon on behalf of a group of Arab States, Trinidad and Tobago on behalf of the Caribbean Community, Philippines on behalf of a group of countries, Peru on behalf of a group of countries, Dominican Republic on behalf of a group of countries, Belgium on behalf of the States members and observers of the International Organization of la Francophonie, Maldives on behalf of a group of countries, Lithuania on behalf of a group of countries, European Union, Oman on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Costa Rica on behalf of a group of countries, Mali on behalf of a group of countries, Cameroon, United Nations Population Fund, Timor-Leste, Mauritius, Oman, Niger, Senegal, Germany, Benin and Brazil.

Also speaking was the Commission on Human Rights (Philippines), as well as the following non-governmental organizations: Associazione Comunita Papa Giovanni XXIII, Centre for International Environmental Law, Procuraduría para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (El Salvador), and Centre Europe - tiers monde.

The Council then held an interactive dialogue on the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the impact of casualty recording on the promotion and protection of human rights.

Peggy Hicks, Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said casualty recording was a painstaking, arduous and essential form of human rights monitoring. It was important to establish the facts as best as possible, and to pursue accountability. The Office’s stringent verification of casualty counts meant they were often recognised by all actors as one of the few reliable sources of information available. The identification of patterns of harm also informed decisions for planning, operational response and policy making by humanitarian partners.

In the discussion, speakers said that casualty recording information was not just numbers: it was the lives of individuals. Casualty recording was particularly valuable as it could provide an indication of the severity and scale of conflicts and situations of violence, and guide the efforts to protect civilians and prevent or address violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Thorough casualty recording was crucial in many aspects, helping to focus the attention of the international community on the human cost of violence and war, expose disinformation, contribute to accountability, and provide a victim-centred approach, including by facilitating access to remedy and reparations. Providing full access for the international organizations was essential for identification and documentation of all casualties and in order to ensure that human remains were handled respectfully and returned to families.

Speaking in the discussion on casualty recording were the European Union, Lithuania on behalf of a group of countries, Sierra Leone on behalf of a group of countries, Luxembourg on behalf of a group of countries, Liechtenstein, Germany, Luxembourg, Armenia, Costa Rica, France, United States, Iraq, Malta, Venezuela, South Africa, China, Switzerland, Romania, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Argentina, Panama, Croatia, Serbia and State of Palestine.

Also speaking were Every Casualty Worldwide, Indigenous People of Africa Coordinating Committee, Association MIMAN, Peace Track Initiative, Friends World Committee for Consultation, Amnesty International, Centre for Global Nonkilling, iuventum e.V., Elizka Relief Foundation, and Syrian Centre for Media and Freedom of Expression.

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-third regular session can be found here.

The Council will next meet this afternoon at 3.p.m to hold an interactive dialogue on the report of the Secretary-General on the adverse impact of climate change on the full realisation of the right to food, followed by a panel discussion on the role of digital, media and information literacy in the promotion and enjoyment of the rights to freedom of opinion and expression.

Annual Panel Discussion on the Adverse Impacts of Climate Change on Human Rights, Focusing on the Adverse Impact of Climate Change on the Full Realisation of the Right to Food

Opening Statement by the High Commissioner for Human Rights

VOLKER TÜRK, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the environment was burning, melting, flooding, depleting, drying and dying. The predictable, regular swing of the seasons was wildly off course. Cyclones of unprecedented proportions whipped up lethal storm surges. A heatwave pulsated across the ocean, threatening marine life, fisheries and coral. Inland seas and lakes, which had nourished generation upon generation of farmers, were turning into dust bowls. Yet the world was still not acting with the urgency and determination that was required. At the current course, the average temperature increase by the end of this century would be 3° Celsius, and the world’s ecosystems – the air, the food, the water, and human life itself – would be unrecognisable. Vast territories would disappear under rising oceans, or become effectively uninhabitable, due to heat and lack of water.

Mr. Türk said the right to food was comprehensively threatened by climate change. Extreme weather events, and disasters caused by climate change, wiped out crops, herds, fisheries and entire ecosystems. Globally, there had been a 134 per cent increase in climate-fuelled, flood-related disasters between 2000-2023. More than 828 million people faced hunger in 2021. Climate change was projected to place up to 80 million more people at risk of hunger by the middle of the century. Already, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, weather extremes related to climate change had damaged the productivity of all agricultural and fishery sectors, with negative consequences for people’s food security and livelihoods. Currently, this impact was worst for small-scale farmers, and for people in Africa below the Sahara; across Asia, in small island States, and in Central and South America.

As global heating accelerated, these repercussions would become more widespread and intense and no country would be spared. The worst hit would be people in countries where there was already food insecurity, who had benefited little from industrial development, and who had barely contributed to the industrial processes which were killing the environment. As the generation with the most powerful technological tools in history, there was an opportunity to change this. The international community needed to put an end to the subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, and start phasing out fossil fuels. It was important to make COP28 the decisive game-changer and ensure that courts around the world engaged in climate litigation cases held businesses and Governments accountable. International development and financing institutions needed to be transformed into engines of climate action, so that the countries and people most affected could gain access to climate financing.

If measures to uphold good governance were adopted, when financing became available, this would bring support and remedy to the most affected people, ensuring a just transition to a green economy. The world could fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals, realise the universal right to food and uphold the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The time to act was now and the responsibility fell on today’s leaders. Addressing climate change was a human rights issue, and the world demanded action now.

The Council then watched a video on testimonies of climate change impacts on the right to food.

Statements by Panellists

BENYAM DAWIT MEZMUR, Member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, said recent projections suggested that children born in 2020 would likely endure nearly three times the number of droughts and crop failures as their grandparents faced, with children in lower income countries bearing the burden of the environmental crisis. Therefore, climate change was exacerbating children's food insecurity, particularly in climate-vulnerable regions. There was the tendency to portray combatting hunger and malnutrition as a moral duty or a policy choice. Such an approach was not wrong, but also masked the important element that addressing hunger and malnutrition was also a legally binding human rights obligation. The obligation to ensure access to the minimum essential food which was nutritionally adequate and safe, to ensure freedom from hunger to everyone, or to ensure the right of access to facilities, goods and services on a non-discriminatory manner were non-derogable, including during situations of climate emergency.

As climate-induced food insecurity increased, the room for improvement in embracing the human/child rights framework on the topic was more urgent. Children in general and certain groups of children, in particular, faced heightened barriers to the enjoyment of their rights due to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination in the context of climate change and food insecurity. The impact of environmental harm had a discriminatory effect on certain groups of children, especially indigenous children, children of minority groups, children with disabilities, children living in disaster-prone or climate-vulnerable environments, and girls. States had obligations to effectively prevent, protect against and provide remedies for both direct and indirect environmental discrimination.

There was ample evidence of the important role that social protection programmes played in protecting the people living in poverty from destitution and in reducing vulnerability to external shocks such as localised droughts. The call for the implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption of social protection floors as basic income security and access to essential services for the whole population remained work in progress, despite its potential to address hunger. The climate crisis, which exacerbated food insecurity, could and did cause social collapse in communities and families and aggravated the risk for children to experience violence, abuse and exploitation. As families increasingly resorted to negative coping mechanisms in the context of food shortages, pre-existing child protection problems and gender-based violence risks became more acute and widespread. The education system should be empowering children about the impacts of climate change on food security, and measures to minimise risks and address challenges.

ANA MARIA SUAREZ FRANCO, Geneva Representative of FIAN International, said the industrial food system was the biggest contributor to climate change and environmental degradation. Deforestation released huge quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. The unpredictability of the climate since 2015 had been disrupting planting and harvesting plans, and causing the fall of yield. Droughts and floods had affected subsistence means of populations. Fisheries were threatened by climate phenomena. All of these affected the right to food. Marine intrusion was displacing fishing, wells were drying up, and disease was on the rise.

Various United Nations institutions had recognised the urgent need to transform industrial food systems: agro-ecology played a vital role in this, and in the transition towards a just system. Adopting binding transition plans that were predictable and included support mechanisms for rural populations and indigenous peoples were part of this. Small-scale peasant farmers must be given the support and training they needed to implement agro-ecology. There must be support for agro-ecological producers, and increased purchase of their produce, as they were given access to markets, including just prices. Measures must be adopted to reduce interference in the industry in transition. Peasant farming innovation and that of indigenous peoples must be recognised, as they were vital for ensuring this transition.

Unlike the analyses submitted by the Special Rapporteurs on the right to food and on the environment, the report of the Secretary-General on the right to food was not clear on how it was the food systems that had caused serious impact on the environment and caused all the phenomena affecting the agricultural system. It did not refer to the global trade paradigm. Food systems based on global value chains were extremely fragile: it was vital to design and implement systems that ensured regional and local markets were supported, including indigenous markets. It was also vital to ensure support for those working in rural areas, including women. A human rights-based approach must be ensured whilst transiting from the industrial food system. The two Special Rapporteurs should be involved further in the follow-up to the Secretary-General’s report.

GIAN CARLO CIRRI, Director of the Geneva Global Office of the World Food Programme, said the impacts of climate change were increasing vulnerabilities worldwide - 3.6 billion people lived in areas that were highly vulnerable to climate extremes, accounting for over 40 per cent of the global population. In the past decade, over 80 per cent of all disasters were climate-related, affecting 1.7 billion people globally and costing an average of over 150 billion United States dollars annually. The number of extreme weather events in developing countries had more than doubled since the early 1990s. By 2030, the number of climate-related disasters was projected to rise by 30 per cent to around 560 disasters every year. Climate change was one of the leading causes of the unprecedented rise in global hunger. In 2023, 345 million people were projected to be acutely food insecure across 79 countries, an increase of almost 200 million people since 2020.

In 2022, the World Food Programme and its partners reached 158 million people, the largest number assisted in one year throughout its 60-year history. But this barely scratched the surface when it came to meeting the needs of all those experiencing food insecurity globally. Climate change was limiting access to food. Last summer’s drought in the Horn of Africa, covering Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia, was directly attributable to climate change, caused by five consecutive failed rainy seasons. An estimated 43,000 people died in Somalia and around 6.5 million people were expected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse in 2023 due to a predicted sixth failed rainy season. This was all further exacerbated by conflict and instability.

Anticipatory actions were critical to mitigating further climate change impacts on lives and livelihoods. Investing in early warning systems was growing even more crucial. One in three people still lacked access to early warning systems. Strengthened social protection systems were a pathway to improved food security. The World Food Programme was also looking at ways to scale up innovative programming to build resilience. In the Sahel, multi-year investments in integrated resilience programming allowed previously vulnerable communities in Niger to cope without needing assistance during the 2022 food crisis in the country. Like many partners across the humanitarian system, the World Food Programme was facing a year like no other – needs were persistently dire, while the current funding gaps were nearing an overwhelming 60 per cent - the highest recorded in the organization’s six-decade history. Mr. Cirri urged everyone to join forces to make a difference in alleviating the suffering caused by the impacts of climate change on the full realisation of the right to food.

PASANG DOLMA SHERPA, Executive Director of the Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Research and Development, said the world had already experienced the disproportionate impacts of climate change and realised how important it was to address the common but differentiated responsivities to minimise the adverse impacts of climate change before it became too late to respect human rights, especially those of indigenous peoples, through protection, promotion and continuation of knowledge, skills and cultural values, the foundation for sustaining natural resources, ecosystems, traditional livelihoods and food security.

Indigenous peoples, representing 6.2 per cent of the total population, had been contributing towards safeguarding 80 per cent of world biodiversity. This was enough of an indicator as to how they were contributing to climate adaptation and resilience. Moreover, more than 70 per cent of indigenous peoples lived in Asia, with many in rural communities on their lands, where they practiced customary governance in resource management and continuation of traditional livelihoods. Indigenous and local communities’ knowledge, experience and practices were the bottom line of climate resilience and dealing with the present crisis. It was important to respect indigenous people’s experiences and knowledge for dealing with the climate change.

However, despite the emerging thoughts on the crucial role and contributions of indigenous peoples in climate resilience, the indigenous resilience to deal with climate change, economy and external threats had been decreasing day by day: resilience and the drivers of that resilience were not addressed either by relevant laws, policies and programmes nor by welcoming the main agenda of indigenous peoples in the main discourse on climate change and food security. It was very important to consider these, not only to internalise them, but also to make them relevant on the ground.

There was no time to talk, but it was time to put into action a paradigm shift from the business-as-usual model of development, education and climate justice. This could be done through respecting and recognising indigenous peoples customary institutions and self-governance systems to protect indigenous knowledge, values and cultural, practices, and; balancing science with indigenous knowledge on equal footing basis for sustainability and dealing with climate crises and food security.

Discussion

In the discussion, a number of speakers said today’s panel discussion highlighted the urgency and the need for action to address the adverse impacts of climate change and to protect the human rights of current and future generations. Speakers thanked the High Commissioner and panellists for providing valuable insight on the negative impact of climate change on the right to food, especially on its physical and economical accessibility, availability, adequacy and sustainability, as well as how to respond to these challenges. Many speakers welcomed the progress made at COP27, particularly the climate action and nutrition initiative presented by Egypt as the host country, which aimed to build affordable, healthy and sustainable food systems and food systems capable of facing the effects of climate change. COP27 had underscored the interconnectedness between human rights and climate change. States parties had come together in recognition of the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable communities.

Some speakers said the increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as flooding and cyclones, coupled with slow-onset challenges like rising sea levels, had a direct impact on food security. Climate change continued to increase pressure on food production, particularly in already vulnerable regions. People at the frontline of climate change, including women, children and indigenous peoples, were especially at risk. In many parts of the world, farmers and agricultural workers faced highly unfavourable conditions ranging from conflicts and weather shocks, such as desertification in dry areas, floodings, and salinisation in low-lying coastal areas. Around 345 million persons were projected to be acutely food-insecure in 2023, according to the World Food Programme – more than twice the number in 2020. It was noted that the threat was not equally distributed, disproportionately affecting certain regions, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, which were responsible for a minimal percentage of global emissions.

Many speakers underscored that urgent support from the international community was crucial to address this great challenge. A multi-sectoral, multi-dimensional approach to the right to food that wove together the threads of trade, environment, social protection, finance and education was vital. There needed to be continued technical cooperation and increased climate financing, particularly for adaptation and loss and damage. States and international financial institutions needed to take concrete actions to adapt to climate risk, including through the implementation of voluntary guidelines for the progressive realisation of the human right to food, as well as the promotion of sustainable agriculture and fisheries practices. Some speakers said it was also important to enhance support to small island developing States that were among the most affected. States should also demand the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.

It was also paramount to give full support to the United Nations framework on the prevention of climate change, and its Paris Agreement. All stakeholders from governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society organizations needed to actively contribute to the twenty-eighth climate summit to be held in the United Arab Emirates in November, to find appropriate solutions to reduce the effects of climate change on the full realisation of the right to food, including the activation of the compensation fund to finance loss and damage.

Concluding Remarks

BENYAM DAWIT MEZMUR, Member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, said the relationship between climate change and the right to food was a complex one, and a priority when reference was made to vulnerable groups, where children should be a particular focus. Increasing climate finance for adaptation measures and those that addressed loss and damage and agro-food systems were absolutely critical and should be at the core of the conversation. A number of measures should be subjected to a child rights-impact assessment: they should be scrutinised as to their impact on the right to food. Disaggregated data, including on the basis of sex, was required. On how to increase the participation of vulnerable groups, including children, this should include the recognition of the rights of children and ensuring that access to age-appropriate data was ensured. Education was also vital. Disaster-preparedness, including early-warning systems and disaster recovery, should give weight to children’s opinions and means of access to these measures.

ANA MARIA SUAREZ FRANCO, Geneva Representative of FIAN International, said participation was very important, especially of the most affected. The accountability and obligations of States should be strengthened with clear liability measures. Non-discrimination should ensure that small food producers were encouraged with subsidies and trade rules. Transparency should ensure that science was promoted when dealing with climate change and in identifying false solutions to real problems. Empowerment was about differentiated measures, especially with an inter-sectional approach.

GIAN CARLO CIRRI, Director of the Geneva Global Office of the World Food Programme, said there was a strong consensus that the climate crisis was the crisis of our lifetime, with its impact on food security evident across the world. Without additional investment in climate adaptation, there would be starvation, destabilisation and migration. The World Food Programme was working to support vulnerable communities to adapt to the harsh reality of the climate crisis. Urgent global action was needed to scale up climate response, and anticipatory action was critical in this regard. Building resilience could also promote greater food security. The humanitarian system needed more funding that was diversified and flexible, as well as an effective financing system which could deal with the diversifying challenges.

PASANG DOLMA SHERPA, Executive Director of the Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Research and Development, said indigenous resilience to cope with the impact of climate change was decreasing, which was chaos for indigenous people. It was therefore very important to put access to fundamental human rights, especially the rights of indigenous people, at the forefront. This was the pull and basis for the protection of knowledge. This was the basis needed to address the impacts of climate change. It was important to invest in financial support for indigenous peoples, and move on to indigenous-led research. The business-as-usual model could not continue if there was hope to achieve sustainability in the future.

Interactive Dialogue on the Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Impact of Casualty Recording on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

Report

The Council has before it the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on The impact of casualty recording on the promotion and protection of human rights (A/HRC/53/48).

Presentation of Report

PEGGY HICKS, Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said casualty recording was a painstaking, arduous and essential form of human rights monitoring. It entailed systematically collecting and verifying information on individual deaths in complex situations of violence and armed conflict. This work was rooted in the conviction that every single human life mattered – as did every human death. It was important to establish the facts as best as possible, and to pursue accountability. The report showcased the profound value of the work since 2007, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan, the occupied Palestinian territory, Ukraine and Yemen.

Most of the time, confirmed information about each casualty included the date, location and circumstances of the casualty event; the sex, estimated age, and even the name of each individual victim, as well as the cause of death and status of the individual as a civilian where applicable; and the alleged perpetrator, where possible. Subsequently, each piece of information was verified – often with the families of victims, or with medical and emergency staff, survivors or witnesses of the event, or documentary information, as well as human rights defenders, civil society, Government officials, community leaders, and others directly affected. The Office’s stringent verification of casualty counts meant they were often recognised by all actors as one of the few reliable sources of information available. This helped to build some degree of dialogue and trust and led to better protection of individuals at risk. In several circumstances in conflict situations, “no-strike lists” and targeting protocols by parties to a conflict had been revised because of information on civilian casualties provided by the Office.

The identification of patterns of harm also informed decisions for planning, operational response and policy making by humanitarian partners. On a number of occasions, peacekeepers had been able to identify critical “early warning” and “hot spot” locations that called for an increase in United Nations patrols, or a new temporary operating base, using the Office’s casualty information. A rigorous requirement of individualised identification of every casualty meant the real toll of violence was undercounted. However, that rigour ensured the information confirmed was accurate and remained useful across time, contributing to early warning; prevention; response; fact-based peace-making discussions; accountability and reparations; the deterrence of future violence; and the memorialisation of all those affected by violence and conflict.

Documenting the number of dead and injured, along with their names, their locations and the circumstances of each incident, reminded all that every single one of these lives, literally, counted. The report included concrete recommendations, including that States ensured that casualty recording systems and policies were in place, and that they reported publicly on all casualties resulting from hostilities or violence. States also needed to support and facilitate the work of independent casualty recording entities, including by ensuring on-the-ground access, and access to information. It was also recommended that international, regional and State security forces and non-State armed groups established necessary channels for regular engagement with casualty recorders, to clarify the facts of incidents that resulted in civilian harm and use casualty recording to inform the conduct of their operations.

Discussion

In the ensuing discussion, many speakers said that casualty recording information was not just numbers: it was the lives of individuals. This information on individuals could be used to inform decisions by a range of actors, including the United Nations and the diplomatic community. Casualty recording was particularly valuable as it could provide an indication of the severity and scale of conflicts and situations of violence, and guide the efforts to protect civilians and prevent or address violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Thorough casualty recording was crucial in many aspects, helping to focus the attention of the international community on the human cost of violence and war, expose disinformation, contribute to accountability, and provide a victim-centred approach, including by facilitating access to remedy and reparations.

Providing full access for international organizations was essential for the identification and documentation of all casualties and in order to ensure that human remains were handled respectfully and returned to families. The wide range of examples of short- and long-term impacts of casualty recording on human rights contained in the report showed the importance casualty recording had for protection, compliance with international law, early warning, prevention, accountability, access to services and reparations. It could also serve as a valuable contribution to transitional justice processes.

Casualty data from armed conflicts and situations of violence was directly relevant to how the international community tracked progress on Sustainable Development Goal 16, a goal which should be a core focus of the new agenda for peace. Casualty recording could contribute to victim- and survivor-centred approaches to justice and accountability. Guidance by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights showed the utility of casualty recording in the context of humanitarian relief, political processes aimed at ending violence, and legislative reform efforts to ensure better protection and assistance for victims, all of which could contribute to structural atrocity prevention efforts. It was vital to maintain recording, in order to sensibilise the international community to the human costs of conflicts.

The implementation of consistent, comprehensive casualty recording initiatives in all situations of armed conflict and other violence was essential, and all parties engaged in casualty recording should work collaboratively, and continue developing harmonised methodologies and best practice. Each victim represented a grieving family and a broken community. Casualty recording should not only contribute to the preservation of historic memory related to violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law, but it had a vital role in early warning, prevention, humanitarian response and accountability.

The importance of independently gathered casualty records that could increase transparency by preventing or exposing disinformation could not be over-emphasised, particularly in volatile contexts in which there were often competing narratives and diverging information about the situation on the ground. The Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights should continue to contribute to universalising the practice of casualty recording. One speaker said that addressing this topic went beyond the mandate of the Council, noting that the integrity of both international humanitarian law and international human rights law should be protected, and victim recording should fall to the Red Cross.

Among questions raised were: a request to hear more about how disaggregated casualty records informed gender responsive interventions; what further steps should the international community take to ensure that casualty recoding became an integral part of responses to violence and conflict; how could the Council contribute to the implementation of the many recommendations contained in the report; given the unique value and impact of casualty recording in situations at risk of, or already experiencing, atrocity crimes, how could it be further mainstreamed and institutionalised across the wider United Nations human rights system; what were the main obstacles that United Nations workers and civil society actors encountered in casualty recording, and how could the Council help in this regard; what additional investigations would be useful to improve global understanding and the use of best practices in casualty recording; and could the Office of the High Commissioner provide an indication as to how the work of reporting could be systematised in a world where armed conflicts were only increasing.

Closing Remarks

PEGGY HICKS, Director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Right to Development Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, said situations of violence and armed conflict were highly volatile, and monitoring priorities needed to be established in line with the resources. Therefore, casualty recording had to be undertaken on a case-by-case basis. In the meantime, the Office of the High Commissioner continued to expand ways of work, including through developing good practices and expanding networks on the ground.

Access to location and sources of information was one of the most critical elements to do the work successfully, as well as access to the parties involved. This was a resource intensive process and sustainable funding was needed. The Council mechanisms should use available casualty reporting data in analysis. The Office of the High Commissioner was proactively engaging with governments in relation to conflicts and civilian casualties. Casualty recording was about human rights and the harm to victims. The report made a very strong human rights case on why the Council should be engaged. Ms. Hicks emphasised the need for secure civil society space.