UN initiative seeks to protect children from climate damage

The expert committee of the UN that ensures that the children’s rights in the world today issued a directive that, for the first time, clearly establishes that states have the obligation to protect minors from weather damage and environmental effects caused by economic activities.

It is also stated that the authorities have a duty to preserve children’s rights in the face of climate change caused by business activities, which implies that they must rapidly reduce emissions.

For all this, states must have laws and means that guarantee that companies, whether national or foreign, will respect the rights of children in their businesses, particularly that of living in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child clarifies in this legal opinion how the right of children to environmental protection is applied, which -it affirms- is implicit in the international Convention on this matter and that 196 countries have legally committed to respect.

It is considered that without a healthy environment it is impossible to respect the right of children to life, development, health, an adequate standard of living or education.

“Immediate action must be taken when children are identified as victims to prevent further damage to their health and development, and to repair the damage done.”indicates the instance of the United Nations.

The Committee recognizes that children encounter obstacles to claiming their rights and therefore recommends that governments create channels so that minors can access Justice when they suffer environmental damage.

Those channels consist of mechanisms that are easily accessible to children.

The Committee said it had received more than 16,000 contributions from children from 121 countries who shared and denounced the negative effects of climate change and the degradation of their natural environment both on them and on their communities.

The Colombian boy Francisco Vera, thirteen years old, was named a few weeks ago by as the first youth defender of the environment and climate action for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Source: EFE