UN: States Must Safeguard Children’s Rights from Climate Change

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child released a new guidance on Monday that calls for governments to take action to protect boys and girls in the face of the deepening climate crisis.

In this regard, Amnesty International’s Climate Advisor, Ann Harrison, emphasized that children are the most vulnerable to the impacts of this global crisis, despite being the least responsible for it.

"Amnesty International agrees with the UN Committee’s conclusion that there is an urgent and collective need for higher-income countries, which have historically been the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, to meet climate finance commitments to avoid further negative impacts on children’s rights in lower income states and elsewhere, Harrison said.

The guidance highlights that children have the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, as well as the right to life, survival, development, education, and an adequate standard of living.

This is a legally significant reminder that countries have an obligation to protect the rights of children, including Indigenous children, from environmental harm and climate change and provide remedies for harms already caused. It also reinforces the responsibility of states to take necessary measures to protect children's rights from the harmful activities of businesses.

The UN Committee's guidance also recognizes the importance of children's activism to protect the environment and their right to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.