PETITION
Requesting for Investigation of the Responsibility of the Carbon Majors
for Human Rights Violations or Threats of Violations Resulting from
the Impacts of Climate Change
Prefatory Statement
“Ito na lang ba ang aming kauuwian—ang
magbilang, o mapabilang, sa mga biktima ng
climate change?”1
In asking for available remedies, Ms. Derek Cabe2 raised this concern
at the Forum on Human Rights and Climate Change organized by the
Honourable Commission on Human Rights (Commission or CHR) in
cooperation with Greenpeace Southeast Asia on May 12, 2015.
The Petitioners trust that the Honourable Commission understands the
context of this question, considering the abundance of country statistics and
reports of disaster-related casualties. For example, despite forecasts and
warnings provided days in advance, super-typhoon Yolanda killed more than
6,000 people, affected millions of others, and devastated areas in central
Leyte in 2013. According to the World Bank, the EMDAT disaster database
shows that between 2000 and 2008, weather-related disasters accounted for
98% of all people affected and 78% of all the people who died due to
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1
English translation: Will this be our fate---to just count the victims of climate change or be counted among
them?
2
Ms. Cabe is a representative of Nuclear Free Philippines (Bataan).