Commission on Human Rights

CHR-NI-2016-0001 Supplementary Memorandum by Resource Person, Katherine Lofts Republic of the Philippines Commission on Human Rights CHR-NI-2016-0001 In Re: National inquiry on the impact of climate change on the human rights of the Filipino People Supplementary Memorandum to the Commission by Resource Person Katherine Lofts, Research Associate, Law, Governance & Society Lab at McGill University I appeared before the Philippine Commission on Human Rights on September 27th, 2018, in New York City, as part of the Commission’s 4th public hearing. I was presented by the Petitioners as a resource person, and invited to share my expertise on economic, social and cultural rights and climate change, and on how climate change acts as a threat multiplier with respect to these rights. During the hearing, the Commissioners requested further information in the form of a written submission outlining climate change-related cases that have incorporated human rights considerations. This memorandum provides a survey of these key cases, highlighting the human rights aspects of each case.1 (1) Petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Seeking Relief from Violations Resulting from Global Warming Caused by Acts and Omissions of the United States Filing date: 2005 Status: Petition denied Jurisdiction: Inter-American Commission on Human Rights This petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) was the first case to draw a link between climate change and human rights. It was filed by Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuk woman and Chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, on behalf of all Inuit of the Arctic regions of the United States and Canada. The petitioners alleged that the United States was violating their human rights through their contribution to global warming, including their rights to the benefits of culture, to property, to the preservation of health, life, physical integrity, security, and a means of subsistence, and to residence, movement, and inviolability of the home. They requested that the Commission recommend that the United States adopt mandatory measures to limit its greenhouse gas emissions, consider the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions on the Arctic in evaluating all major government actions, establish and implement a plan to protect Inuit culture and resources, and provide assistance necessary for Inuit to adapt to the impacts of climate change that cannot be avoided. 1 These brief summaries focus on human rights issues, and do not describe all the legal arguments and elements of each case. For more detailed case summaries and related case documents, see: Columbia University, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, in collaboration with Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, “Climate Change Litigation Databases”, online: <http://climatecasechart.com/>. The case summaries in this memorandum also draw from these databases. 1