Event information

25 November 2020, 15:00-16:30

Our Future, Our Voice: Placing children and their rights at the centre of the drive towards a better, greener world

Right On

Banner with information about the event Banner with information about the event

The struggle for climate justice and for environmental protection and conservation is a struggle for human rights. This point, together with the reverse point – that the full enjoyment of human rights supports more effective and sustainable environmental and climate policies – has been repeatedly recognized in Human Rights Council’s resolutions and international environmental/climate agreements.

Nevertheless, around the world, 93 percent of children live in environments where air pollution exceeds WHO guidelines. According to the UN, the deaths of 1.7 million children under the age of five each year are due to environmental factors – notably air and water pollution and exposure to toxic substances. The impacts of environmental harm fall particularly hard on the youngest children, as well as on indigenous children and those from low-income and marginalized communities.

In order to raise awareness on climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, and thereby to protect their own rights and those of their communities, young people, in particular, have been at the forefront of the worldwide movements: marching peacefully and persistently; engaging in strategic litigation; helping to devise climate solutions; overturning obstacles and overcoming threats.

To find out more about children’s rights in the context of the environment, international efforts and youth engagement tune in on Wednesday 25 November at 15:00 CET.

Moderators

  • Felix Kirchmeier, Executive Director, Geneva Human Rights Platform and Manager of Policy Studies, Geneva Academy
  • Marc Limon, Executive Director, URG

Panelists

  • Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
  • Catalina Devandas, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of Costa Rica to the UN in Geneva
  • Daniel Magraw, Professorial Lecturer and Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and President Emeritus, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL)
  • Saher Rashid Baig, Youth Advocate for climate, ocean, gender and human rights and a global SDG facilitator

 

‘Right On’: The Wednesday Web Chat

‘Right On’ is a new digital initiative – co-organized by the Geneva Academy, the Geneva Human Rights Platform, the Geneva Internet Platform, the DiploFoundation, the Universal Right Group, the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex, as well as the Permanent Missions of Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands to the United Nations in Geneva  –  that will keep the human rights dialogue going during these COVID-19 times.

Video

Our Future, Our Voice: Placing children and their rights at the centre of the drive towards a better, greener world

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet discussed, along with other panelists, children’s rights in the context of the environment, international efforts and youth engagement 

Right On Partners Updated

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

neurodata graphics News

New Research Brief Evaluates the Effectiveness of GDPR in Mitigating Risks Associated with the Distinctive Nature of Neurodata

21 January 2025

Our recent research brief, Neurodata: Navigating GDPR and AI Act Compliance in the Context of Neurotechnology, examines how effectively GDPR addresses the unique risks posed by neurodata.

Read more

Human Rights Tiles News

From Signals to Action: Strengthening the UN's Conflict Prevention Efforts

31 March 2025

Our recent research brief series explores how the United Nations' human rights system can enhance its role in early warning and conflict prevention.

Read more

Asian workers working at technology production factory with industrial machines Training

Business and Human Rights

19-23 May 2025

This training course will examine how the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights have been utilized to advance the concept of business respect for human rights throughout the UN system, the impact of the Guiding Principles on other international organizations, as well as the impact of standards and guidance developed by these different bodies.

Read more

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Booklet Training

The International Human Rights Standards and System: Monitoring and Implementation Strategies at the National Level

7-11 July 2025

This training course will delve into the means and mechanisms through which national actors can best coordinate their human rights monitoring and implementation efforts, enabling them to strategically navigate the UN human rights system and use the various mechanisms available in their day-to-day work.

Read more

A session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

IHL Expert Pool

Started in January 2022

The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.

Read more

Sign: National Human Rights Commission of Nepal Project

Local Implementation of Global Human Rights

Started in May 2020

The Geneva Human Rights Platform collaborates with a series of actors to reflect on the implementation of international human rights norms at the local level and propose solutions to improve uptake of recommendations and decisions taken by Geneva-based human rights bodies at the local level.

Read more

Cover of the publication Publication

Briefing N° 25: Localizing Multilateralism

published on March 2025

Domenico Zipoli, Ludovica Chiussi Curzi, Kamelia Kemileva

Read more

Cover page of the working paper Publication

AI Decoded: Key Concepts and Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring

published on January 2025

Milica Mirkovic, Jennifer Victoria Scurrell

Read more