UN RAPPORTEUR SPÉCIAL DE L’ONU SUR LES DROITS DE L’HOMME ET LES CHANGEMENTS CLIMATIQUES?

The report advocates for the establishment of a UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change to address the existential threat of the climate crisis and its disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations. Based on consultations with 157 participants from 55 countries, the document outlines the need for a dedicated mechanism within the Human Rights Council to ensure a coordinated approach to climate-related human rights violations. Key priorities identified include holding state and non-state actors accountable, protecting environmental defenders, and ensuring that climate actions—such as carbon trading and nature conservation—do not further violate human rights. The report emphasizes that such a mandate requires strong political support and sufficient resources to be effective, while working in synergy with existing UN mandates and institutions like the UNFCCC.

• There is a perceived need for a dedicated UN mechanism because existing Human Rights Council processes address climate change only on an ad hoc basis, which is insufficient given the accelerating pace of climate impacts.
• Regional consultations highlighted specific human rights threats: Africa focused on land and natural resource rights; Latin America and the Caribbean on access to information, justice, and risks to environmental defenders; and Asia and the Pacific on internal population displacement due to coastal locations.
• A primary priority for the proposed Special Rapporteur is to ensure accountability for state and non-state actors, including the responsibility of corporations and the adequacy of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
• The report warns that climate mitigation and adaptation measures themselves can negatively impact human rights, specifically citing climate action financing, carbon trading, and policies at the intersection of nature conservation and climate action.

APA

Schachter, C. B., & Mingrone, F. (2021). UN RAPPORTEUR SPÉCIAL DE L’ONU SUR LES DROITS DE L’HOMME ET LES CHANGEMENTS CLIMATIQUES? Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/UNSR-Report_francais.pdf

Chicago

Schachter, Clémence Billard, and Francesca Mingrone. UN RAPPORTEUR SPÉCIAL DE L’ONU SUR LES DROITS DE L’HOMME ET LES CHANGEMENTS CLIMATIQUES? Center for International Environmental Law, 2021. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/UNSR-Report_francais.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Schachter |first1=Clémence Billard |last2=Mingrone |first2=Francesca |title=UN RAPPORTEUR SPÉCIAL DE L’ONU SUR LES DROITS DE L’HOMME ET LES CHANGEMENTS CLIMATIQUES? |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=January 2021 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/UNSR-Report_francais.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{schachter2021rapporteur, author = {Schachter, Clémence Billard and Mingrone, Francesca}, title = {{UN RAPPORTEUR SPÉCIAL DE L’ONU SUR LES DROITS DE L’HOMME ET LES CHANGEMENTS CLIMATIQUES?}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/UNSR-Report_francais.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }