2.10. A recent UN General Assembly Resolution praises States that have “provided their national institutions with more autonomy and independence, including by giving them an investigative role or enhancing such a role.” G.A. Resolution 70/163, U.N. Doc. A/RES/70/163 (17 December 2015), Art. 20 (available at: http://www.asiapacificforum.net/media/resource_file/General_Assembly_Resoluti on_NHRIs_2015.pdf). The Philippines Constitution and the Paris Principles unequivocally support this Commission’s decision to conduct an investigation into the impacts of climate change on the human rights of Filipinos. V. Climate Change Is A Human Rights Issue There should be no question that climate change is a human rights issue. Any arguments claiming that climate change is not an appropriate topic for a human rights body should be disregarded. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) describes many of the threats to human rights brought on by the changing climate. Among the many statements of the OHCHR that could help the Commission in this important investigation are the following: • The negative impacts of climate change are disproportionately borne by persons and communities already in disadvantageous situations owing to geography, poverty, gender, age, disability, cultural or ethnic background, among others, that have historically contributed the least to greenhouse gas emissions. • A human rights-based approach . . . calls for accountability and transparency. It is not only States that must be held accountable for their contributions to climate change but also businesses which have the responsibility to respect human rights and do no harm in the course of their activities. The Commission will find these statements and other helpful information and resources including links to other international bodies that recognize that climate change is a human rights issue at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/HRAndClimateChange/Pages/HRClimateChangeIndex. aspx. In 2015, the OHCHR published a report, Understanding Climate Change and Human Rights, submitted to the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (available at http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/ClimateChange/COP21.pdf) that again declares that climate change is a human rights issue. This report explains how the following human rights can be impacted by climate change: the right to life, the right to selfdetermination, the right to development, the right to food, the right to water and sanitation, the right to health, the right to housing, the right to meaningful and informed 15