6.1.2 Obligations of State Parties Obligations of State Parties related to climate change under Article 10 intersect with obligations under a number of related international treaties, which will be briefly summarised here, with a focus on obligations flowing from the right to family life that relate more specifically to the challenge of climate change. - Ensuring equal rights to men and women in the family: One implication of Article 10 is that partners in the family unit should have an equal share and voice in making important decisions. Laws that circumscribe the role of women within the family, for example in terms of control of resources, contradict Article 10. Laws that determine the status of women in relation to male members of the family are similarly problematic in terms of Article 10. Related and more detailed obligations are found in articles 9 and 16 of the CEDAW, including rights and responsibilities within marriage and ownership of property. Issues of control of resources within the family are particularly relevant in terms of adaptation to climate change. In communities that are especially vulnerable to climate change, women tend to be responsible for gathering basic resources such as drinking water and fuel. As such, they might be more aware of the necessity and responsive to issues of sustainable resource management, for example. - Guaranteeing access to information and resources for voluntary family planning: The right of individuals and especially women to determine the number and spacing of their children was recognised in major UN conferences in Tehran in 1968 and Cairo in 1994. Article 10 of CEDAW includes a right to family planning. Importantly, rapid population growth was an issue raised by 93% of LDCs in National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) submitted to the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) between 2004 and 2009. While it has been met with some resistance, empowerment of women for family planning has repercussions both in terms of climate change mitigation and adaptation. - Protecting Children against Harmful Employment: Article 10 unequivocally circumscribes the type of labour that children can engage in, especially condemning labour harmful to their healthy development. Overall, Article 10 emphasizes state support to the family unit as a safe place for the “care and education of dependent children.” This obligation is developed in more detail in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, for example articles 28, 29, 31 and 32. The healthy development of children is an important issue in terms of integrated strategies for adaptation to climate change. - Facilitating Family Reunification: Forced migrations are a tragically inevitable aspect of climate change. Article 10 emphasizes the importance of a cohesive family unit, especially during the time it is responsible for the upbringing of children. When parents and children reside in different countries, states have an obligation to facilitate communication between them and deal with requests to enter and leave a state in an expedited and humane manner for the purposes of reunification. This right is particularly important for refugees. Similar obligations are found in article 12 49