Climate Change and Human Rights System

Climate change is a continuous chain. The chain begins with development activities, particularly the consumption of fossil fuels, and has many consequences. What has been the most discussed and studied so far has been the amount of greenhouse gas production, its control and eventually its phenomena such as global warming, flooding of habitats, storms, floods or droughts. Is. While the most significant disasters will occur after this stage. These phenomena will lead to displacement and homelessness, high migration, homelessness, unemployment, poverty and insecurity.

Climate change has changed the lives of hundreds of millions of people, but most of them do not even know they are victims of climate change. Of the 262 million people estimated to be affected by climate change between 2004 and 2000, more than 98 percent were in developing countries. Following the largest meeting of the United Nations heads of state in September 2000, the biggest goals that led to the development of human societies were identified, and countries pledged to do so by 2015, but what is important is the role.

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That has the potential impacts of climate change on these goals and can serve as a major obstacle to the Millennium Development Goals in eradicating poverty, achieving education, health, and ensuring sustainable development.

The situation in Darfur in Sudan is an undeniable example of the struggle for survival and rehabilitation poverty that began and continues to this day because of the catastrophic drought of the 1980s. Long-term climate change appears to have led not only to lower rainfall in Sudan but to much of Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where life depends on rain and drought means death.

Hurricane Mitch, one of the strongest hurricanes in Atlantic history, occurred in 1998. The speed of the storm was 360 miles per hour and caused two meters of rain in Nicaragua and Honduras in two to three days. As a result, 70 percent of Honduras's fertile soil was destroyed except for homes, schools, factories, roads, bridges, etc.

The most catastrophic impact of global warming is immigration. The number of people affected by natural disasters has grown unexpectedly to an average of 231 million people a year, 98% of whom are affected by climate change disasters. In 2008, about 42 million people migrated and displaced as a result of wars and conflicts caused by climate change. The Norwegian Rescue Association has recently shown that in 2008 alone, 20 million people migrated due to sudden natural disasters due to climate change. According to other statistics, there were 25 million environmental migrants in 1995 in the world, and by 2050 the number of environmental migrants in the world is projected to reach 250 million by 2050, ie 10 times the number of migrants in half a century.

Human health threat and spread of communicable and dangerous diseases:

According to World Health Organization estimates, 150,000 people died in 2000 due to climate change impacts. There are also reports of 300,000 deaths due to an increase in malaria in 2003. Forecasts show that by 2030 this number may increase to half a million people per year (16).

The relationship between human rights and the environment

Human rights are the persistence of cultures and civilizations throughout the centuries and respect for the dignity and value of human beings and for individual freedoms. Human rights are rooted in ethics and are defined within the borders of each state within the framework of the constitution for the well-being of its people. These rights have basic and undeniable standards. The invasion of these unacceptable rights and the sensitivity of the international community towards it shows its universality. In addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the International Covenant on Social and Economic Rights, have also emphasized the rights of citizens to their freedoms. In the context of the two covenants it is stated that in order for human rights to come true, relationships must be created in which everyone enjoys economic, social and cultural rights as well as citizenship and political rights.

Major international human rights instruments were raised primarily before environmental issues, and these tools were further developed without human beings realizing that climate change is a serious threat to human security. So it is not surprising that the early human rights documents did not mention environmental issues; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted in 1948 without explicit reference to environmental issues. But most recent human rights documents have explicitly referred to environmental issues. For example, the 1981 African Charter of Human Rights and the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights on Economic, Social and Cultural Issues. But many other documents expressing this right, such as the Stockholm Declaration, the draft of the Third International Covenant on Copyright, the World Charter of Nature, the Rio Declaration, and the like, are not binding in spite of their importance. This gap has been partially remedied by the adoption of two binding regional documents, the first being the African Charter of Human Rights ratified in 1981, and the second in the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the field of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, November 5, San Salvador. Which contains the key in the field of environmental right.

However, the link between climate change and human rights system has not yet been fully developed, with insufficient attention being paid to human rights and the social consequences of climate change policies and, furthermore, their focus on emission reduction techniques. Greenhouse gas emissions. On the other hand, the quality of the environment must be such that all aspects of human rights such as: economic, social, cultural and political and civil are guaranteed and the link between human rights protection and environmental concerns must be identified. To establish international commitments, it is important to make clear the link between human rights and the environment. Human beings, along with their other fundamental rights, must enjoy the right to live in an environment of good quality, an environment that is essential for a healthy and prosperous life.

In general, international environmental law and international human rights law have similarities in purpose and differences in their nature and nature. Their most important similarity is that human beings are the turning point, the focus, and the center of concern for both rights, and the major difference is that international environmental law emphasizes the regulation of relations between states and the establishment of boundaries and laws. While international human rights law emphasizes the relationship between individuals and governments, human rights are also more concerned with real and past and present issues, while international environmental law can predict future problems. To have. It should be noted that in conditions where environmental anomalies and harms can have widespread and lasting effects on human rights violations, the threat of human rights should not be viewed solely from the perspective of the public-government relationship in the short run, but the horizons of vision must be expanded. And address the issue in a more general and long-term perspective.

The environment affects human rights in many ways. For this reason, human rights cannot be guaranteed without considering environmental factors, such as climate change. The most important environmental impacts on human rights can be summarized as follows:

According to the right referred to in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to a free and secure life, and in accordance with Article 6, paragraph 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, human beings have an inherent right to life and no one Being arbitrarily deprived of life. It is only in a healthy environment that human beings can enjoy their vital and inherent right. While the devastating effects of climate change on the environment can lead to lower living standards, inadequate access to healthy food and water, and exposure to diseases. Affects subsequent infringement.

This right is recognized in Resolution 128/41 128 of the Development Right of 1986 and the third principle is also mentioned in the Declaration of Environment and Sustainable Development. But this right in developing countries, which generally lack modern clean technologies, is damaging the environment and jeopardizing access to water, food, agriculture and so on. It is here that development and the environment are at odds. Developed countries that once went through their development process without regard for environmental considerations, today must come to the aid of developing countries and accompany them in the process of clean development.

Article 24 of the African Charter of Human Rights affirms that all peoples have the right to a satisfactory and satisfactory environment. It also states in Article 5 of the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights entitled 'The Right to the Environment' that everyone has the right to live in a healthy environment and to enjoy basic public services. Climate change, with its impact on the environment, makes human beings deprived of their fundamental right, even though that deprivation may have been created by them. It should be noted that in most cases, the direct or indirect role of the developed countries in violating this right is much more vivid.

One of the recognized human rights is the right to own property. While climate change may lead to a lack of assets, without compensation. In coastal areas, for example, underwater flooding can cause landowners to lose ownership. Lack of land quality through floods, floods and droughts is another obvious example of this right.

All human beings have the right to determine their own destiny. This right is enshrined in Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Economic and Social and Cultural Rights and Article 55 of the Charter of the United Nations. But climate change has implications for the right of individuals and governments to self-determination. Factors such as underwater coastal and island landslides, rising temperatures and droughts can completely destroy a country or damage its territorial integrity and put pressure on geographical and political boundaries.

People who have lost their habitat are forced to migrate within and sometimes beyond the borders of the country. This is out of control, threatening the right of self-determination of injured immigrants and damaged governments and, on the other hand, affecting migrant areas. In these circumstances, it is difficult to guarantee the civil, political, economic.