Human Rights and Climate Change

A/HRC/RES/35/20View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2017.

What other versions does this mandate have?

16 versions · 2008–2026

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/62/14

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2026	A/HRC/RES/62/14	Human rights and climate change	4,295	37%Compare
2025	A/HRC/RES/59/25	Human rights and climate change	5,334	65%Compare
2024	A/HRC/RES/56/8	Human rights and climate change	4,379	68%Compare
2023	A/HRC/RES/53/6	Human rights and climate change	3,721	45%Compare
2022	A/HRC/RES/50/9	Human rights and climate change	3,746	60%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

4 reports · 2022–2025

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2025	A/HRC/60/52	Synthesis report on opportunities, best practices, actionable solutions, challenges and barriers relevant to just transition and the full realization of human rights for all people report of the Secretary-General	A/HRC/RES/56/8
2024	A/HRC/57/30	Analytical study on the impact of loss and damage from the adverse effects of climate change on the full enjoyment of human rights, exploring equity-based approaches and solutions to addressing the same report of the Secretary-General	A/HRC/RES/53/6
2023	A/HRC/53/47	Adverse impact of climate change on the full realization of the right to food report of the Secretary-General	A/HRC/RES/50/9
2022	A/HRC/50/57	The impacts of climate change on the human rights of people in vulnerable situations report of the Secretary-General	A/HRC/RES/47/24

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Climate Change Conferences Displaced Persons Human Rights International Migration Migrants Report Preparation

What’s in this document?

18 operative paragraphs

Expresses concern that climate change has contributed and continues to contribute to the increased frequency and intensity of both sudden-onset natural disasters and slow-onset events, and that these events have adverse effects on the full enjoyment of all human rights;

Emphasizes the urgent importance of continuing to address, as they relate to States’ human rights obligations, the adverse consequences of climate change impact for all, particularly in developing countries and the people whose situation is most vulnerable to climate change, including migrants and persons displaced across international borders in the context of the adverse impact of climate change;

Calls upon States to consider, among other aspects, human rights within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;

Calls upon all States to adopt a comprehensive and integrated approach to climate change adaptation and mitigation policies, consistent with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the objective and principles thereof, to address efficiently the economic, cultural and social impact and challenges that climate change represents, for the full and effective enjoyment of human rights for all;

Encourages the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other relevant United Nations agencies with appropriate expertise to provide technical assistance to States, upon their request, to help to better promote and protect human rights when taking action to address the adverse impact of climate change;

Calls upon States to continue and enhance international cooperation and assistance for adaptation measures to help developing countries, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change as well as persons in vulnerable situations, including migrants and persons displaced across international borders in the context of the adverse impact of climate change;

Notes the urgency of protecting and promoting human rights of migrants and persons displaced across international borders, in the context of the adverse impact of climate change, including those from small island developing States and least developed countries;

Also notes that paragraph 13 of annex II to the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants envisages contributions to the process for the global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration from, among other international agencies, the Office of the High Commissioner;

Recognizes that climate change-related human mobility and human rights are cross-cutting in nature;

Decides to incorporate into the programme of work of the Human Rights Council, on the basis of the different elements contained in the present resolution, an intersessional panel discussion, and requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize an intersessional panel discussion prior to the commencement of phase II of the intergovernmental process leading to the global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration, with the theme “Human rights, climate change, migrants and persons displaced across international borders”, focusing on challenges and opportunities in the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights of migrants and persons displaced across international borders in the context of the adverse impact of climate change, and invites the participation of States, the Office of the High Commissioner and other relevant United Nations agencies, relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council and other relevant bodies such as the subsidiary bodies and constituent mechanisms, including the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Meteorological Organization, as well as other relevant stakeholders with appropriate expertise, including national human rights institutions;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit a summary report of the panel discussion to the appropriate mechanisms sufficiently in advance to ensure that it feeds into the stocktaking meeting of the preparatory process leading to the adoption of the global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration and to the work of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, particularly to the ongoing work of the Task Force on Displacement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, noting the potential of the panel discussion to inform these processes, and to submit the summary report also to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-seventh session;

Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to undertake research on addressing human rights protection gaps in the context of migration and displacement of persons across international borders resulting from the sudden-onset and slow-onset adverse effects of climate change and the necessary means of implementation of adaptation and mitigation plans of developing countries to bridge the protection gaps and submit a report on the research to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-eighth session;

Invites the special procedure mandate holders, within their respective mandates, and other relevant stakeholders with appropriate expertise, including academic experts and civil society organizations, to contribute actively to the panel discussion;

Encourages relevant special procedure mandate holders to continue to consider the issue of climate change and human rights, including the adverse impact of climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, particularly the human rights of migrants and persons displaced across international borders in the context of the adverse impact of climate change, within their respective mandates;

Calls upon States to integrate a gender perspective in pursuing mitigation and adaptation responses to the adverse impact of climate change on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights, including those of migrants and persons displaced across international borders in the context of the adverse impact of climate change;

Decides to consider the possibility of organizing follow-up events on climate change and human rights;

Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide all the human and technical assistance necessary for the effective and timely realization of the above-mentioned panel discussion and the summary report thereon;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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