Climate Justice and Human Rights – Can’t See the Wood for the Trees by Ciarán O’Carroll

Amnesty International prides itself on being impartial. It promotes, always, the idea that there are two sides to every story. It takes a calm, logical and rational approach to the reporting of human rights violations.

During the period 1976 -1983 the South American Country of Argentina endured a period of military rule. A period that has become known as the: ‘dirty war’ (Guerra Sucia). It was, in effect, a Junta.

During this time the right wing government were responsible for the disappearance of several thousand left – wing militants. This included revolutionaries, trade – unionists, students, journalists, and all out leftist guerrillas and sympathisers.

In 1976 Amnesty International released its report on Argentina, a breakthrough account of the ‘dirty – war’ atrocities that were being carried out by the state.

Amnesty went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize the following year.

While this report gives an accurate and unbiased report on the atrocities. It fails, to my mind, to ask the other big questions. No light was shed on ‘why’ the mass arrests and murders were actually occurring.

The 92 page report fails to mention that the military dictatorship were in the process of radically remaking the economy. That they were planning on lowering wages and increasing prices in direct contradiction of the right to food and shelter, as it is enshrined in the UN charter of human rights.

So while Amnesty’s report accounted for the Argentinean junta laws and decrees that violated civil liberties, it made no mention of why the junta needed them. Which was in order to suppress the population so they couldn't revolt at their economic decrees.

Over thirty years later, in 2009, Amnesty International began campaigning on economic, cultural and social rights with the launch of the ‘Demand Dignity’ campaign.

The mantra and aim of this campaign is to “to end global poverty by working to strengthen recognition and protection of the rights of the poor.” It rightly acknowledges that the global economic crisis is driving millions more people into poverty and placing them at increased risk of human rights violations such as food insecurity or forced eviction.

Is there not a key part of the picture missing?

In 1976 Amnesty failed to mention economic injustice as a cause of the human rights violations.

In 2010 are we failing to mention climate injustice?

There is an icon of climate change: The image in the distance of the polar bear on the melting glacier. We all have seen it at some point or other, and think to ourselves: What will happen to our planet in the future?

We all hear scientists and environmentalists talk about Caron Dioxide and global warming. But the truth is we don’t really understand much about what is being said?

However if we open our eyes, and take a look at the world around us, the effects of climate change are everywhere. It is all too easy to see that climate change and human rights are inextricably linked.

In Africa human rights issues that impact the population on a daily basis: health, food security, work issues and women’s leadership. It is clear that most, if not all, of these are linked to climate change.

The stories of what people have had to endure, are literally heart breaking:

Mukelabai, 25, is still stunned as she looks at what remains of her home. ‘We put all our children in the canoe and paddled about 25km. We could not save our crops, so we have no food. We are eating nothing.’

Mukelabai Liywalii, whose family was driven out of their home by floods, Zambia, April 2009.

‘Especially when harvests are not good, girls are used to generate income. Some are forced to get married very young so the in-laws will bring bread and butter to their homes.’

Jacqueline Ng’ambi, project officer for the Maphunziro Foundation, Malawi, 2008.

How are we as human rights activists supposed to effectively campaign for justice on housing or education for people like Mukelabai or Jacqueline, without addressing climate change as a key factor?

Mary Robinson, a leader in the climate justice movement says:

“The starting point for climate justice is to acknowledge the clear injustice of the fact that many decades of carbon emissions in richer parts of the world have led to global warming and caused severe climate impacts in the poorest countries”.

So as Amnesty now looks to the future with its exciting new Demand Dignity campaign. We must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of the Argentinean report of 1976. See the whole picture. Don’t just ask ‘what’, but also remember to ask ‘why’.

Climate justice, and human rights organisations share the same principals and must work together, if either is to achieve their goals.

The beginning of that long and winding path, to success, is for human rights groups to acknowledge that climate change is a fundamental cause of human rights violations across the globe.

We as members of Amnesty International need to call for this acknowledgement.