Our international partners the Kiribati Climate Action Network (KiriCAN), Edmund Rice International and Franciscans International, prepared a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review of Kiribati.
The Human Rights Council session is taking place in Geneva from 20-31 January 2020.
The human rights of the I-Kiribati (population of Kiribati) have been affected directly and indirectly by climate change, including economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to health, the right to water and right to food.
Kiribati faces very serious developmental issues with regard to poverty, over-crowding, child mortality, food security and water. Climate change acts as a ‘multiplier effect’ that makes all of these things worse. Therefore action on climate change will fundamentally contribute to enabling Kiribati to deal with development and human rights challenges.