The Importance of Children’s Environmental Rights: Exploring the UN’s General Comment 26.
This text is authored by our project team member Daniela Dominguez (Dep. for Environment, Development and Sustainability Studies, Södertörn Univ, Sweden).
On Saturday the 22nd April we celebrated Earth Day, a date when we reflect on how are we collectively doing on environmental protection around the world. This is a day that matters for our project. We focus on the inclusion of less represented vocies e.g. children’s and youth in shaping, building, and envisioning more sustainable living environments at the center of which is nature in its many forms. Today´s blog reflects on one of the most prominent efforts by the United Nations to advance children's rights. We focus on the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the work done to include children’s voices in the ongoing policy processes in that context.
No one is more vulnerable to environmental harm than children. A report made by the United Nations Human Rights Office (OHCHR), states that every year, 1.5 million children under the age of 5 years die because of air and water pollution, exposure to toxic substances, and other forms of environmental damage. According to Human rights watch, these factors also contribute to health problems and premature death throughout a child’s life. Furthermore, climate change and the reduction of biodiversity could have long-term consequences that disrupt children’s lives for many years. Unfortunately, children and youth are often overlooked as valid and relevant interlocutors that can contribute to valuable and sustainable solutions.
But what kinds of protection do children and youth have against these kinds of harm?
The Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted in 1989 and signed by 196 countries guarantees children’s right to a safe and clean environment. Multilateral environmental agreements recognize the importance of safeguarding the environment for future generations. However, very few of these agreements explicitly acknowledge the current generation of living children. As such, they should be recognized as agents of change and human rights defenders. It is important to address their urgent and resolute calls for measures to combat the growing threat of global environmental harm and ensure that their needs are fully met. This is where the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child intends to bring change through the General Comment 26 whose final launch is scheduled for May 2023.
But what is Comment 26, how it was set-up, and what are its objective?
In 2016, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) held a global conference to raise awareness of the link between children’s rights and the environment. It was the first time that such a connection had been clearly made at the international level. Since then, the CRC and other organizations have taken steps to define the concept of children’s environmental rights and the responsibilities of States to uphold these rights. As part of this process, the Committee considered appropriate to consolidate all of the current knowledge on this topic and create recommendations that will safeguard the environment for the benefit of children and future generations. The result of this is materialised in the UN´s General Comment 26.
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) led the drafting process for the General Comment, with the support of an Advisory Team that includes children and young people, as well as partner organizations. The General Comment will draw from a range of sources, including human rights institutions, Indigenous People organizations, and United Nations agencies. However, the most critical input will come from children and young people, particularly those from communities that have been most affected by the environmental crisis. They will play a vital role in shaping the General Comment, ensuring that their perspectives and experiences are reflected in its recommendations.
To ensure that the findings are a comprehensive reflection of the global complexity of today’s environmental struggles a consultation process took place. This was an ambitious global consultation, that involved about 7,416 children from 103 countries.
The drafting process started in December 2021 and the final version of the General Comment will be launched in May 2023, incorporating all perspectives and feedback received. It is hoped that the General Comment №26 will provide a catalyst for change at both the global and national levels by offering authoritative guidance to States on implementing a child rights-based approach to addressing the environmental and climate crisis.
The General Comment has various applications. It includes informing the activities of States and local authorities, such as policies and programs. It also can serve as a guide for implementing international environmental agreements like the Paris Climate Agreement. Moreover, it can be useful for UN organizations like UNICEF and UNEP, as well as grassroots organizations. For instance, environmental and child rights defenders can leverage the General Comment to call on States to take specific measures and ensure accountability. However, the effectiveness of the General Comment ultimately depends on the willingness of States and other actors to utilize it.
What are some of the findings of the consultation process?
Some of the key demands to adults that have been identified are:
1. A clean and healthy environment.
2. To be listened to, taken seriously and play a role in environmental action.
3. Clear and transparent actions from governments, corporations and all adults.
4. Cooperation across countries and regions of the world.
5. Awareness raising and environmental education.
6. Spaces to share their ideas for potential solutions.
With regards to the topic of intergenerational justice, the committee finds that to ensure that every child can develop to their fullest potential in an optimal environment States must fulfil their obligations under the Convention, considering both the short-term and long-term effects of their actions. These effects include anticipated environmental threats that could arise as a result of States’ actions or inactions, the full extent of which may not be evident for years or even decades. In short, the commission concludes that actions must be undertaken by states to prevent present and future environmental harm that can be inflicted on present and future generations.
But several questions still need to be addressed…
What are the impacts that these kinds of outputs can have on governments and other decision-makers?
How can governments better implement measures for the protection of the environment that can assure a better world for future generations?
How much should governments be investing in measures that can benefit generations that have not yet been born?
How can children´s and youth´s voices be better heard in our adult-centred political institutions?
Are multilateral organisations such as the UN having a concrete impact on today´s climate agenda?
If you want to read more…
If you don’t want to wait for the final publication of the comment and you want to read the “Report of the first children and young people´s consultation, 2022” here. Or you can read the draft for the “General Comment 26” here. You can also read more about the process to build the comment 26, the consultation methods used and other interesting FAQs, click here.
