Climate Change and Human Rights Obligations Related to the Right to Life 27. The right to life enjoys extensive worldwide recognition. According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.”21 The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) reiterates that “every human being has the inherent right to life.”22 Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)23 states that “[e]veryone’s right to life shall be protected by law”, and Article 2 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union proclaims that “[e]veryone has the right to life”.24 28. The UN Human Rights Committee, the body of independent experts appointed to review compliance with the ICCPR, has described the right to life as the “supreme right”, a right from which no derogation is permitted even in time of public emergency. “Moreover, the Committee has clarified that the right to life imposes an obligation on States to take positive measures for its protection.” 29. It has long been recognized that environmental harm threatens human rights and particularly the right to life. According to the 1972 Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (the Stockholm Declaration), “Both aspects of man's environment, the natural and the man-made, are essential to his well-being and to the enjoyment of basic human rights - even the right to life itself”.25 30. Referring to the Stockholm Declaration, the Human Rights Committee stated in its draft general comment on Article 6 of the ICCPR (the right to life) that climate change constituted one of “the most pressing and serious threats to the ability of present and future generations to enjoy the right to life.” It also concluded that obligations of States parties under international environmental law should inform the contents of article 6 of the ICCPR, and the obligation of States parties to respect and ensure the right to life must reinforce their relevant obligations under international environmental law.26 31. In his final report to the Human Rights Council in 2018, my predecessor in the role of Special Rapporteur, Professor John Knox presented a set of “Framework Principles on Human Rights and the Environment: The main human rights obligations relating to the enjoyment of a 21 UN General Assembly, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), 10 December 1948, 217 A (III), available at: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/217(III), Article 3. 22 UN General Assembly, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 16 December 1966, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 999, p. 171, available at: https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume%20999/volume-999-i-14668-english.pdf, Article 6. 23 Council of Europe, European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, as amended by Protocols Nos. 11 and 14, ETS 5, 4 November 1950, available at: https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf. 24 European Union, Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2012/C 326/02, 26 October 2012, available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:12012P/TXT. 25 Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 5 to 16 June 1972, A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1, Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, 17 June 1972, available at: https://undocs.org/A/CONF.48/14/Rev.1, para. 1 (preamble). 26 Human Rights Committee, General comment No. 36 on article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, on the right to life (Advance Unedited Version), http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CCPR/GCArticle6/GCArticle6_EN.pdf, para 65. 7