United Nations A/HRC/RES/44/7

General Assembly Distr.: General

23 July 2020

Original: English

Human Rights Council

Forty-fourth session
30 June–17 July 2020
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

on 16 July 2020

44/7. Human rights and climate change

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action,
Recalling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its commitment to leave
no one behind, including, inter alia, its Goal 13 on taking urgent action to combat climate
change and its impacts,
Reaffirming the Addis Ababa Action Agenda as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda,
Reaffirming also that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and
interrelated,
Recalling all previous Human Rights Council resolutions on human rights and climate
change,
Reaffirming the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
objectives and principles thereof, and emphasizing that parties should, in all climate change-
related actions, fully respect, promote and consider their respective obligations on human
rights,
Recalling that the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change1 acknowledges that climate change is a common concern of
humankind and that parties should, when taking action to address climate change, respect,
promote and consider their respective obligations on human rights, the right to health, the
rights of indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants, children, persons with disabilities

1
See FCCC/CP/2015/10/Add.1, decision 1/CP.21, annex.

GE.20-09798(E)

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and people in vulnerable situations, and the right to development, as well as gender equality,
the empowerment of women and intergenerational equity,
Reaffirming the commitment to realize the full, effective and sustained
implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Paris Agreement adopted under the Convention, including in the context of sustainable
development and efforts to eradicate poverty, in order to achieve the ultimate objective of the
Convention,
Stressing the importance of holding the increase in the global average temperature to
well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and of pursuing efforts to limit the temperature
increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, while recognizing that this would significantly
reduce the risks and impact of climate change,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, the global nature of climate change calls for the widest possible cooperation
by all countries and their participation in an effective and appropriate international response,
in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities and their social and economic conditions, and acknowledging also that article 2,
paragraph 2 of the Paris Agreement states that the Agreement will be implemented to reflect
equity and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective
capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances,
Noting the importance of the work of the scientific community and the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its assessment reports and special
reports, in support of strengthening the global response to climate change, including
considering the human dimension, and indigenous peoples’ and local communities’
knowledge,
Acknowledging that, as stated in the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, responses to climate change should be coordinated with social and
economic development in an integrated manner with a view to avoiding an adverse impact
on the latter, taking into full account the legitimate priority needs of developing countries for
the achievement of sustained economic growth and the eradication of poverty,
Recognizing that poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty,
is one of the greatest global challenges, and that poverty eradication is critical to the
implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, climate change resilience and the
promotion and protection of human rights, including the rights of older persons who are
disproportionately affected by the negative impact of climate change,
Recalling the commemoration of the International Day of Older Persons in October
2019, with the theme “The journey to age equality”, which emphasized the importance of
reducing inequality in line with Sustainable Development Goal 10,
Recalling also the First and Second World Assemblies on Ageing, as well as the
Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing and the Political Declaration,
Commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform
for Action on the rights of women, and stressing the importance of the participation of
women, including older women, and girls in climate action,
Stressing that human rights obligations, standards and principles have the potential to
inform and strengthen international, regional and national policymaking in the area of climate
change, thereby promoting policy coherence, legitimacy and sustainable outcomes,
Emphasizing that the adverse effects of climate change have a range of implications,
which can increase with greater global warming, both direct and indirect, for the effective
enjoyment of human rights, including, inter alia, the right to life, the right to adequate food,
the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,
the right to adequate housing, the right to self-determination, the rights to safe drinking water
and sanitation, the right to work and the right to development, and recalling that in no case
may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence,

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Recognizing that climate change poses an existential threat for some countries
andrecognizing also that it has already had an adverse impact on the full and effective
enjoyment of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
other international human rights instruments,
Expressing concern that, while these implications affect individuals and communities
around the world, the adverse effects of climate change are felt most acutely by those
segments of the population that are already in vulnerable situations owing to factors such as
geography, poverty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status where applicable, national or
social origin, birth or other status and disability,
Recognizing that climate change, and biodiversity loss and other types of
environmental degradation, put added pressure on the environment that may in turn
exacerbate disease emergence and increase the impact of pandemics, including the spread of
diseases, thereby increasing the risk of exposure of the most vulnerable segments of society,
inter alia, older persons, especially older persons with disabilities or chronic illnesses, to the
combined negative effects and consequences of these phenomena, and put added strain on
health systems, particularly those of developing economies,
Acknowledging the efforts of States to determine the best way to strengthen the
protection of the human rights of older persons, while taking note of the various proposals
that have been made within the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, 2
Welcoming the work of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights
by older persons,
Stressing the particular vulnerabilities of older persons, including older women and
older persons with disabilities, exposed by the implications of climate change, including their
increased susceptibility to diseases, heat stress, reduced mobility, social exclusion and
reduced physical, emotional and financial resilience, as well as the need for measures to
address their specific needs and to ensure their participation in disaster response planning for
emergency situations and evacuations, humanitarian emergency response, and health-care
services, as appropriate,
Expressing concern at the adverse impact of climate change on individuals with
multiple vulnerability factors, including older persons, particularly women and those with
disabilities and/or pre-existing conditions, and recognizing that older persons are among the
most adversely affected in an emergency, as has be seen during the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) pandemic, sustaining disproportionately higher rates of morbidity and
mortality, while at the same time being among those least able to have access to emergency
support and health services,
Recalling the call for solidarity by the Secretary-General in the face of the COVID-
19 pandemic,3 and welcoming his release of a policy brief on the impact of COVID-19 on
older persons,4 that recommends, among other actions, ensuring the meaningful participation
of older persons in decision-making processes that affect their lives,
Emphasizing that sudden-onset natural disasters and slow-onset events seriously
affect the access of vulnerable segments of society, including older persons, to food and
nutrition, safe drinking water and sanitation, health-care services and medicines, social
protection, education and training, adequate housing, transportation and access to decent
work,
Reaffirming the need for the continuing implementation of the Sendai Framework for
Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, adopted at the Third United Nations World Conference
on Disaster Risk Reduction, and its references to human rights, as well as to older persons as
key stakeholders in disaster risk reduction,

2 A/AC.278/2019/2.
3 UN News, “UN chief calls for ‘solidarity, unity and hope’ in battling COVID-19 pandemic”, 30 April
2020.
4 United Nations, “Policy brief: the impact of COVID-19 on older persons”, May 2020.

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Recognizing the need for ensuring meaningful participation, inclusion and leadership
of older persons and their representative organizations within disaster risk management,
emergency relief efforts and climate-related decision-making and in the design of policies,
plans and mechanisms at the community, local, national, regional and global levels,
Expressing concern that developing countries, particularly least developed countries
and small island developing States, lacking the resources to implement their adaptation plans
and programmes of action and effective adaptation strategies, may suffer from higher
exposure to extreme weather events in both rural and urban areas,
Taking into account the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the
creation of decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development
priorities,
Emphasizing the importance of implementing the commitments undertaken under the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on mitigation, adaptation and the
provision and mobilization of finance, technology transfer and capacity-building to
developing countries, and emphasizing also that realizing the goals of the Paris Agreement
would enhance the implementation of the Convention and ensure the greatest possible
adaptation and mitigation efforts in order to minimize the adverse impact of climate change
on present and future generations,
Urging States that have not already ratified the Paris Agreement and the Doha
Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol to do so,
Welcoming the twenty-fifth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changeheld in Madrid in December 2019 under
the presidency of Chile, and taking note of the Katowice climate package agreed at the
twenty-fourth session of the Conference of the Parties, held in Katowice, Poland, in
December 2018 in connection with the Paris Agreement,
Noting the announcements and commitments made by Governments and by private
sector leaders at the Climate Action Summit held on 23 September 2019 in New York,
including the call to action for resilience and adaptation, and recognizing that the global
nature of climate change calls for the widest possible international cooperation to address the
adverse impact of climate change, to which vulnerable segments, including older persons,
are particularly at risk,
Noting also the importance of some elements of the concept of “climate justice” when
taking action to address climate change,
Noting with appreciation the continued efforts of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights in highlighting the need to respond to the global challenge
of climate change, including by reaffirming the commitments to ensure effective climate
action while advocating for the promotion and protection of human rights for all, including
older persons,
Welcoming the convening of a panel discussion on persons with disabilities, and
looking forward to the summary report on the discussion to be prepared by the Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Noting the analytical study on the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of
climate change prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner pursuant to Human Rights
Council resolution 41/21 of 12 July 2019,
Noting also that the human rights obligations and responsibilities as enshrined in the
relevant international human rights instruments provide roles for States and other duty
bearers, including businesses, to promote, protect and respect, as would be appropriate,
human rights, including those of older persons, when taking action to address the adverse
effects of climate change,
Taking note with appreciation of the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the issue of
human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable

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environment, focusing on climate change and human rights5 and on air pollution and human
rights,6 the report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, relating
to climate change and poverty, 7 the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food,
focusing on the right to food in the context of natural disasters,8 and the report of the
Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, on the human
rights of older persons in emergency situations, 9
Welcoming the work of the Climate Vulnerable Forum, which asserts that climate
change is a major threat to the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Noting the importance of facilitating meaningful interaction between the human rights
and climate change communities at both the national and international levels in order to build
capacity to deliver responses to climate change that respect and promote human rights, taking
into account the Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action and other similar efforts,
Noting also the establishment and work of regional, subregional and other initiatives,
such as the Small Island Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action (Samoa
Pathway) on addressing the adverse impact of climate change,
1. Expresses concern that climate change has contributed and continues to
contribute to the increased frequency and intensity of both sudden-onset natural disasters and
slow-onset events, and that these adversely affect the full enjoyment of all human rights;
2. Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to
States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change for all,
particularly in developing countries and for the people whose situation is most vulnerable to
climate change;
3. Calls upon States to consider, among other aspects, human rights within the
framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
4. Calls upon all States to adopt a comprehensive, integrated, gender-responsive,
age-inclusive and disability-inclusive approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation
policies, consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and
the objective and principles thereof, to address efficiently the economic, cultural and social
impact and human rights challenges that climate change presents, for the full and effective
enjoyment of human rights for all, and particularly to support the resilience and adaptive
capacities of older persons, both in rural and urban areas, to respond to the adverse impact of
climate change;
5. Calls upon States to continue and enhance international cooperation and
assistance, in particular in financing, the transfer of technology and capacity-building, for
mitigation and adaptation measures to assist developing countries, especially those that are
particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change;
6. Also calls upon States to better promote human rights in general and the access
of older persons in particular to livelihoods, food and nutrition, safe drinking water and
sanitation, social protection, health-care services and medicines, education and training,
adequate housing and decent work, clean energy, science and technology, and ensure services
can be adapted to emergency and humanitarian contexts;
7. Further calls upon States to develop, strengthen and implement policies for
the protection of the right of older persons in response to climate change, as appropriate, by,
among other actions, the inclusion of their rights, specific risks, needs and capabilities in
climate action plans and other relevant policies or legislation, the mainstreaming of climate
change action into resilient and adaptive social and health care, and the provision of
information on climate change and disaster preparedness response and planning through all
accessible means of communication;

5
A/HRC/43/53 and A/74/161.
6
A/HRC/40/55.
7
A/HRC/41/39.
8
A/HRC/37/61.
9 A/HRC/42/43.

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8. Urges States to strengthen and implement policies aimed at promoting the

participation of older persons in the design of policies, plans and mechanisms in climate-
related decision-making and disaster risk reduction and management at the community, local,
national, regional and international levels, including for preparedness, contingency planning,
early warning, evacuation planning, emergency relief, humanitarian response and assistance
arrangements;
9. Decides to incorporate into its programme of work for the forty-seventh
session, on the basis of the different elements contained in the present resolution, a panel
discussion focusing on the adverse impact of climate change on the full and effective
enjoyment of human rights by older persons and best practices and lessons learned in the
promotion and protection of the rights of older persons, and also decides that the panel
discussion will have international sign interpretation and captioning;
10. Invites special procedure mandate holders, within their respective mandates,
and other relevant stakeholders with appropriate expertise, including academic experts, and
civil society organizations, including older persons and their associations, to contribute
actively to the panel discussion;
11. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to submit a summary report on the panel discussion to the Human Rights Council at
its forty-ninth session, and to make the report available in accessible formats, including Plain
Language and Easy-to-Read;
12. Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner, in consultation with and
taking into account the views of States, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council,
including the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, the
Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, the World Health Organization, the United Nations
Environment Programme, the World Meteorological Organization and other relevant
international organizations and intergovernmental bodies, including the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change and the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, and other stakeholders, to conduct, from within existing resources, a
study on the promotion and protection of the rights of older persons in the context of climate
change, including their particular vulnerabilities, such as physical and mental health risks,
and their contributions to efforts to address the adverse impact of climate change, to be
circulated to States and other stakeholders, including older persons and their associations,
and to be submitted to the Council prior to its forty-seventh session, and further requests the
Office to make the study available in accessible formats, including Plain Language and Easy-
to-Read;
13. Encourages relevant special procedure mandate holders to continue to consider
the issue of climate change and human rights, including the adverse impact of climate change
on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, particularly the rights of older persons,
within their respective mandates;
14. Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights to provide all the human and technical assistance necessary for the
effective and timely realization of the above-mentioned panel discussion and the summary
report thereon;
15. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
27th meeting
16 July 2020
[Adopted without a vote.]