The environmental and climate crisis is a children’s rights crisis and children have a human right to be heard in decision-making processes that affect their lives, families, and communities. However, despite their crucial role as stakeholders, children and young people are often underrepresented in discussions about environmental degradation, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Furthermore, while civil society and children have increasingly been integrating child rights and the environment considerations in their complementary reports and stakeholders’ submissions to UN human rights monitoring processes, this is not done consistently.
The UNCRC General Comment 26 on Child Rights and the Environment with special focus on Climate Change is an important authoritative guidance launched in 2023, that can support Civil Society Organisations in responding to children’s call to action and accountability in light of the environmental and climate crisis.
The peer-exchange session was organized as a collaboration between partners under the How-to Child Rights which include Child Rights Connect, UPR-Info, World Vision International, Forum des ONG de Cote d’Ivoire, Plan International, AEJT-CIV, CRC Cambodia, Save the Children, the Sida-funded Save the Children Civil Society Programme partners on 23 November 2024 of which INERELA+ is part of the Save the Children Civil Society Programme.
Objectives:
The overall aim of the webinar was to inspire civil society, including children, to integrate environmental harm and climate change issues in their future complementary reports to the UNCRC and in their “stakeholders’ submissions” to the UPR process, through sharing good practices, challenges, tips and tricks based on lived experiences, engaging with these mechanisms.
Specifically, the webinar:
- Facilitated peer exchange and dialogue between children in Albania who submitted a child-led report to the UNCRC and Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and had recently participated in advocacy during their country’s UPR and children in other countries preparing to engage in similar reporting with the UPR and the UNCRC.
- Facilitate dialogue between CSOs that engaged in the UNCRC and UPR through the submission of civil society reports and/or through supporting children’s involvement in these activities and those wishing to engage in these processes in the future.
- Encourage the use of UNCRC and UPR mechanisms as part of our joint action to advance the implementation of children’s right to a healthy environment including a safe climate and to make reference to UNCRC General Comment 26 “on child rights and the environment with special focus on climate change” in future reporting processes.
- Launch the How-to Child Rights case study from Albania on child-led reporting on climate change and the environment to the UNCRC
The Webinar Was designed for:
- Climate-focused organizations including child and youth-led organizations seeking to enhance engagement of children in UN human rights processes.
- Child rights organizations, child and youth-led organizations looking to expand their initiatives on environmental and climate issues.
- Organizations preparing for UPR or CRC reporting processes and seeking to integrate children’s voices particularly on climate and environmental issues.
The INERELA+ Executive Director indicated that the climate change challenge is a children’s rights crisis as it affects the fulfilment of their right to a clean and healthy environment. Children as stakeholders have the right to be heard in decision making processes that affect their lives, families and communities and hence they need to contribute to solutions children and young people are often under – represented in discussions about environmental degradation. The experience for INERELA+ is promotion of environmental education through children’s participation in events and policy advocacy which has been top on the agenda of INERELA+ work. INERELA+ also enhances networking with several stakeholder groups.
To learn more about this webinar please refer to the link below: