States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change: CRC (2019 Update)

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) examines how the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) addresses climate change within the framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC Convention). It focuses on the CRC's 2018 state reporting procedure, highlighting recommendations on mitigation, adaptation, procedural rights, and international cooperation.

• The CRC Convention, ratified by 196 States since 1989, contains several articles that relate to climate change and environmental protection. These include the right to life (article 6), the right to food, water, sanitation, and housing (articles 24 and 27), and the right to freedom of expression (article 13). Articles 24(2) and 28 specifically mention environmental matters regarding the right to the highest attainable standard of health and the right to education, respectively.
• In 2018, the CRC provided climate change recommendations to 47% of the States it reviewed. These recommendations were distributed relatively evenly across developed countries, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and other developing countries, although 'other developing States' were the most likely group to not receive a climate recommendation.
• Mitigation recommendations were rare in 2018, appearing in only 14% of the CRC's climate recommendations and limited to Norway, Spain, and Niger. The CRC expressed concerns regarding coal-fired power plants in Spain and the exploitation of fossil fuels in Norway. For Niger, the Committee focused on land regeneration and deforestation, which the document notes is an area that has received very little attention from human rights treaty bodies.
• The CRC's 2018 recommendations heavily emphasized procedural rights and adaptation. Key priorities included incorporating children's perspectives in disaster risk reduction policy, including climate change and natural disasters in school curricula to increase awareness, and developing disaster-sensitive social protection systems that account for the special needs of children.
• The CRC linked most of its climate recommendations to Goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals, specifically target 13.b regarding capacity for climate-change-related planning. However, the Committee only recommended that two States—Palau and Solomon Islands—seek international cooperation to tackle climate change, and it did not recommend that any State contribute more climate finance or international assistance in 2018.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2019). States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change: CRC (2019 Update). https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Children’s-Rights-Obligations-of-States-in-the-Context-of-Climate-Change-March-2019.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change: CRC (2019 Update). 2019. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Children’s-Rights-Obligations-of-States-in-the-Context-of-Climate-Change-March-2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change: CRC (2019 Update) |date=2019 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Children’s-Rights-Obligations-of-States-in-the-Context-of-Climate-Change-March-2019.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2019states, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change: CRC (2019 Update)}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2019}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Children’s-Rights-Obligations-of-States-in-the-Context-of-Climate-Change-March-2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }