Working groups
 

Children's exposure to environmental toxicants

The first working group of the Day of General Discussion exchanged ideas on how exposure to environmental toxicants affected children’s rights, particularly focusing on a child’s right to survival, development, and to attain the highest available standard of health. Presentations were given by two child representatives, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Toxics Baskut Tuncak and a string of other experts on the effects of pollution and toxic waste on children’s health.

States’ obligations to children

Working group one opened with an address from Baskut Tuncak, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Toxics. Tuncak labelled pollution and toxics an “insidious threat to human rights”, noting that exposure to toxics has demonstrable effects on health including, but not limited to, the development of various cancers, serious respiratory illnesses and developmental disorders. Tuncak also presented findings from his latest report to the Human Rights Council, which focused on the impacts of toxics and  pollution on children’s rights, as well as the obligations of States and responsibilities of businesses in preventing the exposure of children to such substances.

Dr Lilian Corra of International Society of Doctors for the Environment then spoke about the differences between adults and children when considering the effects of exposure to toxic substances, stating that children were not simply small adults. Children can be exposed to harmful chemicals virtually from conception, and the effects of these chemicals often have a more pronounced effect on their smaller bodies. These points were reinforced by Juliane Kippenberg, associate director of Human Rights Watch’s children's rights division, through examples of good and bad practice in banning the use of children in work that might be hazardous to their health.

Problems and solutions

Questions from the floor produced an array of different experiences and concerns about working on children’s rights and the environment. Participants ranged from the mother of an indigenous family living in Peru who raised  fears about oil pollution, to questions about fracking from the office of the Scottish Children and Young People's Commissioner.

Corruption, a lack of effective redress mechanisms and a deficit of robust regulatory legislation were all brought up, with observations and advice being offered by several of the panelists. Participants noted that voluntary standards of regulation for businesses were too low in most cases, with the onus usually falling on victims to prove that they were harmed by toxic chemicals or pollution they were exposed to as a result of a company's activity, frequently many years after.

This burden of proof was recognised as too often presenting an insurmountable challenge in the current climate, as very little concrete data exists on the range and nature of chemicals that children are already exposed to around the world. Difficulty in bringing cases against those causing environmental damage was also mentioned as a problem, as many NGOs found the associated costs prohibitive already, with fees and the cost of representation seeming to climb ever higher. One NGO representative from Kazakhstan added that speaking about or litigating environmental complaints was a no-go area in some central Asian countries due to the draconian response that such actions had previously drawn from governments in the region. 

Data and modelling

Nicholas Rees of UNICEF and mining consultant Daniel Limpitlaw both took a more technical approach to the discussion, demonstrating ways in which data on the environment could be used to identify or prevent violations of children’s rights linked to the environment. Rees showed how air pollution was linked to increased poverty and inequality, with the long term effects of exposure particularly harming children. Rees noted that despite huge increases in pollution observed via satellite, the number of stations monitoring pollution on the ground across the entire African continent remained woefully low. While concrete links between air pollution and harm to children could be drawn in Asia, such comparisons would be impossible in Africa due to a lack of reporting on the severity of air pollution.

Limpitlaw came at the issue from a different perspective, explaining how modelling the environment and people’s interaction with it as an ‘ecosystem’ could flag up potential problems with development or mining projects near established communities. He suggested the idea of an ecosystem model revolved around anticipating what natural resources might be affected by a project and observing how they were used by the local population before construction or mining-related activities got underway.

Child participants

Two child participants also added their experience, detailing the effects of increased pollution and the presence of dangerous chemicals in their communities. Jena Ritu, a girl from India, said that dust, smoke, chemicals and fibres polluted the air in Delhi. Her home was surrounded and urbanised as the city expanded outwards, resulting in difficulties in navigating traffic on the way to school, breathing in harmful pollutants every day and an increase in the incidence of diseases such as asthma and tuberculosis among the region’s children. Ritu noted that nobody questioned children’s rights to education, health or survival, but explained that these were all being compromised by rapid and unchecked development.

Caleb Mulenga, a boy from Kabwe, Zambia, explained that he had grown up near a mine and was constantly exposed to lead in water supplies and in the soil. Hailing from one of the most polluted towns in the world, Caleb explained that millions of other children lived in similarly dangerous environments, with the runoff from the mining industry affecting young people to this day. Caleb ended with a call to those present to include information on environmental rights in their reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and to help raise awareness about environmental disasters like the contamination of Kabwe with heavy metals.

Children and the effects of environmental degradation

The second working group of the Day of General Discussion aimed to examine the impacts of climate change on children’s rights. The discussion also covered the effects of environmental degradation on children, questioning the relevance for children’s rights of access to and preservation of natural resources, ecosystems and biodiversity.

One of the biggest threats to children’s health

Joni Pegram from UNICEF UK reminded those present that States have an obligation to protect children’s rights in relation to climate change, but claimed that children’s rights were overlooked in national and international climate policies, with climate change frequently being omitted from child-related policies. This continues to happen despite the fact that children are disproportionately affected by the damage done by climate change, which the Committee on the Rights of the Child recognised as “one of the biggest threats to children’s health” in its 15th General Comment.

The session also saw powerful statements from young climate activists, including a representative of plaintiffs in a constitutional climate change lawsuit against the State of Pennsylvania in the United States. She explained that their case sought to protect their constitutional rights to clean air, pure water, and other essential natural resources upon which their lives depended, but were currently threatened by climate change.

Threats to natural resources, ecosystems and biodiversity affecting children’s rights

The working group also looked at the importance of a healthy, balanced and sustainable environment for the protection of children’s human rights, as well as the role of children’s rights in addressing diverse effects of degrading environment. The panel included a young representative of the Mekong Youth Assembly who explained how development projects around the Mekong River in Southeast Asia had impacted the livelihoods of communities largely dependent on the ecosystem of the river. “Our river is crying,” he said, stressing that it was now extremely difficult to get any food from the river.

A Colombian child representative explained the impact of large-scale coal mining on rural communities in Latin America, which affected access to natural resources and healthy environments across the continent. She told the working group about the loss of access to land, water, food and also highlighted the right of the child to cultural identity.

Children as environmental activists

Each of the panelists stressed that children needed to be included in discussions on the environment, as they agreed that threats to natural resources affected health, life, survival and development, play, leisure and the adequate standard of living of children. Participants called for child-friendly information to be made available for different age groups, adding that basic elements of a child rights-based approach to the protection of the environment needed to include a respect for children’s evolving capacities, environmental education and non-discrimination.

Clarence Nelson, a member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, noted that there were few mechanisms to support children’s meaningful participation and decision making in climate change dialogues or policies. The recommendations that followed included utilising children’s creativity and experience, and establishing platforms for peer sharing and learning among groups of children. States were advised to place children’s rights at the centre of national and international programmes and to ensure that children were fully involved in the policy dialogue on climate change.

Redress and reporting on children's rights and the environment

Looking at avenues of redress, the working group highlighted examples of effective remedies for violations of children’s rights related to ecosystems, biodiversity and natural resources. The group stressed that when harm had been caused, children might be able to access protection and redress through direct representation, class action and through complaints to the country’s Children’s Commissioner or Ombudsperson.

NGOs and States were called to address climate change in their reports to the Committee, especially environmental NGOs, which currently do not engage with the reporting process of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. It was also recalled that the complaints procedure under the third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child should be used to enable the Committee to build up a jurisprudence on climate change. Finally, the participants urged the Committee to adopt a general comment on the issue of climate change and children’s rights and to incorporate a stand-alone section on child rights and the environment in its concluding observations.