related action. They made an unequivocal call for integration of human rights in COP 21 (2015 Paris) and highlighted the impacts of climate change on the enjoyment of human rights. Panellists’ comments inform the structure of this document which begins with a background discussion of the human rights implications of climate change and the global discourse so far. It then proceeds to elaborate upon the legal basis of specific human rights affected by climate change, the factual basis for alleged human rights violations caused by climate change, and recommendations for a rights-based approach to climate change. Why integrate human rights in climate change-related actions? Human rights are universal legal guarantees that protect individuals, groups and peoples against actions and omissions that interfere with their fundamental freedoms and entitlements. Human rights law obliges governments (principally) and other duty-bearers to respect, promote, protect and fulfil all human rights. Human rights are universal and are based on the inherent dignity and equal worth of all human beings. They are equal, indivisible, interrelated and interdependent, and cannot be waived or taken away. Furthermore, human rights are legally protected, and impose obligations in relation to actions and omissions, particularly of States and State actors. It is now beyond dispute that climate change caused by human activity has negative impacts on the full enjoyment of human rights. Climate change has profound impacts on a wide variety of human rights, including the rights to life, self-determination, development, food, health, water and sanitation and housing. The human rights framework also requires that global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change should be guided by relevant human rights norms and principles including the rights to participation and information, transparency, accountability, equity, and nondiscrimination. Simply put, climate change is a human rights problem and the human rights framework must be part of the solution. The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) unequivocally states that “human influence on the climate system is clear, and recent anthropogenic emissions of green-house gases are the highest in history.”4 It notes that “recent climate changes have had widespread impacts on human and natural systems.”5 AR5 found that “people who are socially, economically, culturally, politically, institutionally or otherwise marginalized are especially vulnerable to climate change and also to some adaptation and mitigation responses.6 During the Human Rights Council panel discussion, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Flavia Pansieri affirmed that “those who have contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions will be the ones who bear the greatest burden; the poorest people, in the poorest countries, their children, and all our children”. Former High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, now President of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, described climate change as “probably the greatest human rights challenge of the 21st century”. Other panellists 4 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Fifth Assessment Report: Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers (Bonn: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), p. 2 (hereinafter IPCC, AR 5). 5 IPCC, AR5, p. 2. 6 IPCC Working Group II, Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, Summary for Policymakers, (WMO and UNEP) p. 6. Page 6 of 28