A look at Human Rights in the climate agenda
Expectations for this Conference of the Parties, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, are that countries will show that they have done their homework. According to the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the focus of COP27 is on delivering on the promises made by countries under the Paris Agreement, which have resulted mainly in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The obstacle, however, is not the presentation of the results of the promises made, but rather the insufficiency of the results. The Nationally Determined Contributions Synthesis Report, recently published by the UNFCCC, shows that the current promises and efforts of countries remain insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century.
However, in addition to climate obligations, another issue that is being discussed at COP27 is the allegations of systematic violations of human rights by the host country in relation to its prison policy. There are an estimated 60,000 political prisoners in the country, almost half of the country’s prison population, and many of them have never even been tried.
The issue is becoming more evident because Alaa Abdel Fattah, one of the main figures in the popular uprising that led to the fall of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak in 2011, was sentenced by the current government to five years in prison for “spreading false information”, after spending most of the last decade also in prison. He is considered by many to be a political prisoner. Fattah began a hunger strike more than 200 days ago and is trying to draw the world’s attention to his case during the Climate Summit. In addition to Alla Abdel Fattah, the day after the start of COP 27, three Egyptian journalists said they had also begun a hunger strike in support of Fatah, who stopped drinking liquids on Sunday, the opening day of the event.
Hosting an event of this importance in a country outside the core countries serves to make a statement that these nations are also protagonists in the fight against climate change. However, it is clear that the fight against the environment cannot be dissociated from the protection of human rights, since true sustainability lies in the tripod that involves the environment, social rights and the economy. However, it is difficult to find a country that is impeccable in the issue of human rights violations, and a Eurocentric vision can lead to strong sanctions on some countries to the detriment of others. Therefore, global monitoring and demand for action from all countries are necessary so that human rights are fully guaranteed.
Author: Jaciele Davi
