Greta Thunberg and other young people have partly won the case with the UN, which in a decision of "historic" but not binding scope admits that countries are responsible outside their borders for the impact of carbon emissions on children.

“In a landmark decision on the adverse effects of climate change on children's rights, the Committee on the Rights of the Child ruled that a state party can be held responsible for the negative impact of its carbon emissions on human rights. children inside and outside its territory, ”said this UN body in a statement.

An unprecedented complaint lodged with the Committee on the Rights of the Child

In September 2019, 16 young people, including the Swedish Greta Thunberg - who has become the embodiment of the youth's fight against climate change - announced a new offensive against global warming, denouncing the inaction of the leaders as an attack on the convention of the UN on the rights of the child.

This unprecedented complaint lodged with the Committee on the Rights of the Child by young people, then aged 8 to 17 and from 12 countries, targeted five polluting countries - France, Germany, Argentina, Brazil and Turkey.

The complaint is based on an "optional protocol" authorizing since 2014 children to lodge a complaint before the committee, if they feel that their rights are violated.

This committee is made up of 18 independent experts and is supposed to investigate alleged violations of the convention and then make recommendations to the targeted states to put an end to them.

No constraining power

The committee has no power of constraint, but the countries which have ratified this protocol undertake in principle to respect the recommendations.

After analyzing the complaint, the committee concluded that “carbon emissions in states contribute to worsening climate change and that climate change has a negative effect on the rights of children living outside the borders of these states”.

In the present case, the committee considered that the five countries "exercised effective control over the activities which are at the origin of the programs contributing" to the negative effects endured by the children.

"The issuing States are responsible"

“The issuing states are responsible for the negative impact of broadcasts originating in their territory on the rights of children - even those children who are abroad.

The collective nature of the causes of climate change should not exonerate a state from individual responsibility, ”Committee member Ann Skelton said in the statement.

The Committee was not, however, able to say whether, in this specific case, the 5 States Parties had violated their obligations, the procedure providing that the complainants first exhaust the legal remedies in their country before turning to the law. 'UN.

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