10th Dec: Human rights10 December 2008
Today is International Human Rights Day and the 60th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights.
Indigenous people protest at the Poznan climate talks
Climate change impacts on the way we live. It affects basic human rights such as:
- food
- water
- shelter
More natural disasters may strike. Droughts make food and water scarce and people can be displaced from their homes.
Who's rights?
There is a real risk that some climate change policies could do more harm than good. Affected communities need to be properly involved to prevent this happening.
Climate change will affect different people around the world in very different ways. It is vital that solutions to climate change don't ignore basic human rights.
False solutions
Take biofuels as an example. The processing of palm oil provides a new way to power cars without using traditional fossil fuels.
But palm oil plantations can destroy the lives and environment of local communities.
Should people have the right to drive cars at the expense of other's basic human rights?
Getting things right
Quick-fix solutions like large biofuel plantations and carbon trading in forests are not the answer.
A large number of indigenous people protested inside the conference yesterday to highlight these issues.
Human rights must be a central factor in these negotiations. We need to solve climate change, but must also protect the people most affected by climate policies.
© Friends of the Earth International
