Blog co-authored by Pascale Muylaert and Stacy Ciulik, Soroptimist International Representatives to the United Nations in Geneva.
Soroptimist International was invited to join the panel of speakers for the Interactive Dialogue on “Climate justice and the rights to development and to a healthy environment” during the 27th Session of the Working Group on the Right to Development, held at the United Nations in Geneva.
We worked as a team: Pascale Muylaert, our representative following environmental topics, wrote the statement, and Stacy Ciulik read it on her behalf.
Many speakers highlighted the triple planetary crisis of pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss, and emphasised that the countries contributing the least to the issue are suffering the most severe consequences.
For example, rising temperatures and sea levels result in more hurricanes and tropical storms. This means island nations and countries with low-lying coastlines need to spend more on climate-related management and can therefore spend less on education and health. Matthew Wilson, Permanent Representative of Barbados, called for stronger international cooperation and increased financial commitments from the global community to respond to the challenges these countries face.
Janice Alladin, Chargée d’affaires of Suriname, stressed that the right to development goes hand in hand with climate justice and sustainable growth. Astrid Puentes, Special Rapporteur on the environment, emphasised that human rights are integral to addressing climate issues. International law and recent ICJ advisory opinions are important tools for advancing climate justice and sustainable development.
Soroptimist International’s statement was very well received:
- We highlighted that women and girls are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation and climate change, and that equality is under threat in many different areas.
- We illustrated this through the lack of access to clean water, which increases poverty, health risks and educational barriers for women worldwide.
- We also demonstrated that, when given the opportunity, women lead environmental protection, innovation and climate justice through community-based sustainable projects.
We called for stronger human rights-based environmental policies and greater participation of women and girls in climate and development decision-making.
