UN

The Impact of Climate Change on the Right to Food

Submission to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on the Adverse Impact of Climate Change on the Right to Food

In response to OHCHR’s call for inputs, Climate Refugees and Alight (formerly American Refugee Committee) provided this joint submission to help inform the UN Secretary General’s report on the adverse impacts of climate change on the full realization of the right to food, in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 50/9.

The collaboration between our two organizations allowed for distinct but complimentary work to better inform the adverse impacts of climate change on frontline communities. As a humanitarian organization providing assistance to millions of refugees and displaced persons around the globe, Alight undertook OHCHR questions 4 and 5, informed by their country operations in the Horn of Africa and Pakistan, now deeply affected by climate impacts. Climate Refugees addressed OHCHR questions 1 and 6 based on climate displacement research and fieldwork conducted in Kenya, Somalia and Central America, also experiencing devastating drought, floods and disasters.

Read our full submission to OHCHR below

Addressing the Human Rights Implications of Climate Change Displacement

Addressing the Human Rights Implications of Climate Change Displacement

Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Context of Climate Change

“Addressing the human rights implications of climate change displacement including legal protection of people displaced across international borders”

This submission is based on Climate Refugees’ October 2022 in-country research in Kenya and Somalia on climate-induced displacement, migration and human rights losses, and interviews with 110 impacted and displaced persons. Two country reports are forthcoming in early 2023.

This document focuses on the specific questions posed by the UN Special Rapporteur Ian Fry in the call for inputs, paying particular attention to sharing the stories, experiences and hardships displaced communities told Climate Refugees that highlight the precarity and lack of protections populations currently face.