To: Commissioners, Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines
Hon. Jose Luis Martin C. Gascon
Chairman
chairgascon.chr@gmail.com
Hon. Karen S. Gomez Dumpit
Commissioner
kgdumpit@yahoo.com
Hon. Gwendolyn Ll. Pimentel-Gana Commissioner
gpgchroffice@gmail.com
Hon. Leah C. Tanodra-Armamento Commissioner
chrp.leaharmamento@gmail.com
Hon. Roberto Eugenio T. Cadiz
Commissioner
atty.robertocadiz@yahoo.com
Re: Amicus Submission, 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
From: Associate Professor Sara L Seck, Faculty of Law, Western University, Ontario, Canada
(in my personal capacity)
Date: November 12, 2016
Dear Honourable Commissioners:
I am an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, Western University, in London, Ontario,
Canada, with expertise in the areas of international environmental law, business responsibilities
for human rights, and extractive industries. In 2015, I was the recipient of the Emerging
Scholarship Award from the Academy of Environmental Law of the International Union for the
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), in recognition of my research contributions in these areas. I am
also a Senior Fellow with the International Law Research Program of the Centre for International
Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Canada.
I am writing in my personal capacity to provide my expert opinion with regard to the jurisdictional
issues confronting the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines in the 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.
The petitioners rely upon the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights1
in order to ground the jurisdiction of Commission on Human Rights, and in order to ground the
claim that the respondent Carbon Majors must be held to account. I will consider both of these
aspects in turn.
1
Human Rights Council, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Implementing the
United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework, John Ruggie, 21 March 2011,
A/HRC/17/31 [UNGPs], available at: https://businesshumanrights.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/ruggie/ruggie-guiding-principles-21mar-2011.pdf
1