COMMUNICATION TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE In the case of ANNE POELINA; BARRY TRAILL; BRENDON DONOHUE; CATHERINE ; JACK EGAN; LATISHAMARIE FRANCIS; PAMELAROSE FRANCIS; MELISSA FISHER; SAMA YOUHANA; RIKKI DANK, Authors V. AUSTRALIA, Respondent

The document is a legal communication submitted by ten Australian citizens alleging that the Australian government's fossil fuel export policies violate their rights to life, privacy, family, home, and culture. It argues that Australia's role as a leading exporter of coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG) materially contributes to the climate emergency, causing specific harms to the authors, including extreme heat, bushfires, flooding, and toxic algal blooms. The authors contend that Australia has failed its due diligence obligations under international law and that domestic legal remedies are inadequate, requesting the Committee to declare these actions incompatible with human rights obligations and recommend a phase-out of fossil fuel exports.

• Australia is a major global contributor to climate change through its fossil fuel exports; as of 2024, it was the second largest exporter of coal and the third largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the world.
• Approximately 80% of Australia's total fossil fuel carbon dioxide footprint was generated by its exports as of 2022, accounting for roughly 3.5% of annual global fossil fuel CO2 emissions.
• Australia's projected fossil fuel exports for the next decade are incompatible with the global carbon budget required to limit warming to 1.5°C, and are not even aligned with a 2°C pathway.
• The Australian government continues to approve long-term fossil fuel projects, such as the North West Shelf gas plant extension until 2070, which is expected to release nearly 4.4 billion tonnes of CO2e.
• Australia provides substantial financial support to the fossil fuel industry, totaling AU$16.3 billion in subsidies for 2025-2026, including AU$10.8 billion through the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme.
• The authors argue that Australia's failure to regulate exported emissions violates the right to life (Article 6) by exacerbating life-threatening events like the 2019-2020 Black Summer Bushfires and extreme heatwaves.
• Climate change is infringing upon the right to privacy, family, and home life (Article 17), specifically through the destruction of homes by bushfires and the displacement of Aboriginal communities by flooding, such as the 2023 Mardoowarra River floods.
• The right to culture (Article 27) for Aboriginal authors is being violated as climate change disrupts the intergenerational transmission of knowledge and the ability to perform ceremonies on Country.
• A massive toxic algal bloom in South Australia starting in March 2025, driven by a marine heatwave, has caused catastrophic marine mortality and disrupted the cultural practices of the Narungga, Ngarrindjeri, and Kaurna peoples.
• The authors claim that Australian law provides no effective domestic remedies, as there is no constitutional or federal statutory bill of rights and courts cannot compel the government to align exports with a 1.5°C pathway.

APA

POELINA, A., TRAILL, B., DONOHUE, B., CATHERINE, EGAN, J., FRANCIS, L., FRANCIS, P., FISHER, M., YOUHANA, S., & DANK, R. (2026). COMMUNICATION TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE In the case of ANNE POELINA; BARRY TRAILL; BRENDON DONOHUE; CATHERINE ; JACK EGAN; LATISHAMARIE FRANCIS; PAMELAROSE FRANCIS; MELISSA FISHER; SAMA YOUHANA; RIKKI DANK, Authors V. AUSTRALIA, Respondent. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/unhrc-poelina-et-al-v-australia-20-06-2026_redacted.pdf

Chicago

POELINA, ANNE, BARRY TRAILL, BRENDON DONOHUE, CATHERINE, JACK EGAN, LATISHAMARIE FRANCIS, PAMELAROSE FRANCIS, et al. COMMUNICATION TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE In the case of ANNE POELINA; BARRY TRAILL; BRENDON DONOHUE; CATHERINE ; JACK EGAN; LATISHAMARIE FRANCIS; PAMELAROSE FRANCIS; MELISSA FISHER; SAMA YOUHANA; RIKKI DANK, Authors V. AUSTRALIA, Respondent. Earthjustice, 2026. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/unhrc-poelina-et-al-v-australia-20-06-2026_redacted.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=POELINA |first1=ANNE |last2=TRAILL |first2=BARRY |last3=DONOHUE |first3=BRENDON |last4=CATHERINE |last5=EGAN |first5=JACK |last6=FRANCIS |first6=LATISHAMARIE |last7=FRANCIS |first7=PAMELAROSE |last8=FISHER |first8=MELISSA |last9=YOUHANA |first9=SAMA |display-authors=etal |title=COMMUNICATION TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE In the case of ANNE POELINA; BARRY TRAILL; BRENDON DONOHUE; CATHERINE ; JACK EGAN; LATISHAMARIE FRANCIS; PAMELAROSE FRANCIS; MELISSA FISHER; SAMA YOUHANA; RIKKI DANK, Authors V. AUSTRALIA, Respondent |publisher=Earthjustice |date=20 June 2026 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/unhrc-poelina-et-al-v-australia-20-06-2026_redacted.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{poelina2026communication, author = {POELINA, ANNE and TRAILL, BARRY and DONOHUE, BRENDON and CATHERINE and EGAN, JACK and FRANCIS, LATISHAMARIE and FRANCIS, PAMELAROSE and FISHER, MELISSA and YOUHANA, SAMA and DANK, RIKKI}, title = {{COMMUNICATION TO THE HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE In the case of ANNE POELINA; BARRY TRAILL; BRENDON DONOHUE; CATHERINE ; JACK EGAN; LATISHAMARIE FRANCIS; PAMELAROSE FRANCIS; MELISSA FISHER; SAMA YOUHANA; RIKKI DANK, Authors V. AUSTRALIA, Respondent}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/unhrc-poelina-et-al-v-australia-20-06-2026_redacted.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }