UAE gives 69 countries a key statement on how climate change affects human rights.

At the 56th sitting of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) spoke for more than 69 other countries in a joint statement. The message talked about how climate change is having very bad effects on human rights.

Counsellor at the UAE office in Geneva, Khalifa Almazrouei, said that the effects of climate change are clear and getting worse. These effects have a big effect on every part of the economy. Using a method based on states’ duties under international human rights law to deal with the unfair effects of climate change on the weakest people was very important, he said.

Climate Change and Human Rights in the UAE

Almazrouei said that communities that rely on farming and fishing have to deal with bad housing, long hours of work outside, and income drops caused by climate change without any way to adapt. To successfully deal with these problems, we need to put an emphasis on their resilience.

When making and carrying out climate policies and programmes, member states were told to make sure that human rights were respected, promoted, and protected. The statement said that growth and climate justice are inextricably linked. To reach the Sustainable growth Goals (SDGs) and keep growth moving forward, we need to make people more resistant to climate change.

The statement praised the historic decision made at COP27 to create the loss and damage fund as a new way to pay for specific things. It also praised the success of the UAE’s COP28 presidency, which led to pledges of more than US$600 million.

Getting the climate change regime better

It also said that the current climate change system should be improved, especially in areas like adaptation, resilience, loss and damage, so that developing countries can benefit. Almazrouei reaffirmed that the countries were still committed to working together with all important partners and stakeholders in a way that would help them reach their common goals.

The UAE’s joint statement made it clear that all countries need to work together to stop climate change. It showed how important it is to put the resilience of vulnerable groups first in order to find good solutions. Focusing on human rights in climate policies helps ensure long-term growth in development while protecting those who will be most affected by climate change.