SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Greta Thunberg, Iris Duquesne, and Alexandria Villasenor attend a press conference where 16 children from across the world presented their official human rights complaint on the climate crisis to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child at the UNICEF Building on September 23, 2019 in New York City. (Photo: Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images)
'We Want to Show Them We Are Serious': 16 Youth Activists File Suit Against Major Nations for Failing to Act on Climate Crisis
"The climate crisis is a children's rights crisis."
Sep 23, 2019
More than a dozen youth activists from around the globe filed a "groundbreaking" legal complaint on Monday accusing five major nations of violating the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child by failing to act on the climate crisis.
The complaint (pdf), presented to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child in New York, names France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Turkey--the biggest polluters among signatories of the Rights of the Child Treaty.
"I am standing in front of you because I care about my generation."
--Carlos Manual, 17-year-old petitioner from Palau
The United States and China, the world's biggest polluters, were not named in the lawsuit because they have not ratified the portion of the treaty that allows victims to pursue justice for alleged violations.
A total of 16 youth activists from 12 nations joined the legal action, including 11-year-old Ridhima Pandey from India, 17-year-old Ayakha Melithafa from South Africa, 14-year-old Alexandria Villasenor from the U.S., and 16-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden.
"People who are older aren't paying as much attention because they will not be as affected," Melithafa said in a statement. "They don't take us children seriously, but we want to show them we are serious."
\u201cToday at 11:30 I and 15 other children from around the world filed a legal complaint against 5 nations over the climate crisis through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.\nThese 5 nations are the largest emitters that have ratified the convention.\nhttps://t.co/ZSyDMTYFSF\u201d— Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg) 1569258451
The complaint alleges the five nations' failure to act on the climate emergency constitutes a violation of the basic human rights of children around the world.
"The 1.1degC rise in global average temperature is presently causing devastating heat waves, forest fires, extreme weather patterns, floods, and sea level rise, infringing on the human rights of millions of people globally," says the complaint. "Because children are among the most vulnerable to these life-threatening impacts, physiologically and mentally, they will bear the burden of these harms far more and far longer than adults."
"Petitioners, children from around the world, already carry that burden," the complaint continues. "Climate change is exposing them to life-threatening dangers and harming their health and development. For the indigenous petitioners, their thousand-years-old cultures are threatened by climate change. The climate crisis is a children's rights crisis."
During a press conference unveiling the complaint, Carlos Manual, a 17-year-old petitioner from the island nation of Palau, said his community's "homes are being swallowed by the ocean" due to rising sea levels caused by a warming climate.
"I am standing in front of you because I care about my generation," said Manual.
Earther's Brian Kahn called the youth-led suit "potentially world-changing" because, if successful, "the United Nations would classify the climate crisis as a children's rights crisis."
"And more importantly," wrote Kahn, "it would compel Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey... to work with other nations to forge binding emissions' reduction targets, a sharp change from current international efforts that have so far basically rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic."
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
More than a dozen youth activists from around the globe filed a "groundbreaking" legal complaint on Monday accusing five major nations of violating the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child by failing to act on the climate crisis.
The complaint (pdf), presented to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child in New York, names France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Turkey--the biggest polluters among signatories of the Rights of the Child Treaty.
"I am standing in front of you because I care about my generation."
--Carlos Manual, 17-year-old petitioner from Palau
The United States and China, the world's biggest polluters, were not named in the lawsuit because they have not ratified the portion of the treaty that allows victims to pursue justice for alleged violations.
A total of 16 youth activists from 12 nations joined the legal action, including 11-year-old Ridhima Pandey from India, 17-year-old Ayakha Melithafa from South Africa, 14-year-old Alexandria Villasenor from the U.S., and 16-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden.
"People who are older aren't paying as much attention because they will not be as affected," Melithafa said in a statement. "They don't take us children seriously, but we want to show them we are serious."
\u201cToday at 11:30 I and 15 other children from around the world filed a legal complaint against 5 nations over the climate crisis through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.\nThese 5 nations are the largest emitters that have ratified the convention.\nhttps://t.co/ZSyDMTYFSF\u201d— Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg) 1569258451
The complaint alleges the five nations' failure to act on the climate emergency constitutes a violation of the basic human rights of children around the world.
"The 1.1degC rise in global average temperature is presently causing devastating heat waves, forest fires, extreme weather patterns, floods, and sea level rise, infringing on the human rights of millions of people globally," says the complaint. "Because children are among the most vulnerable to these life-threatening impacts, physiologically and mentally, they will bear the burden of these harms far more and far longer than adults."
"Petitioners, children from around the world, already carry that burden," the complaint continues. "Climate change is exposing them to life-threatening dangers and harming their health and development. For the indigenous petitioners, their thousand-years-old cultures are threatened by climate change. The climate crisis is a children's rights crisis."
During a press conference unveiling the complaint, Carlos Manual, a 17-year-old petitioner from the island nation of Palau, said his community's "homes are being swallowed by the ocean" due to rising sea levels caused by a warming climate.
"I am standing in front of you because I care about my generation," said Manual.
Earther's Brian Kahn called the youth-led suit "potentially world-changing" because, if successful, "the United Nations would classify the climate crisis as a children's rights crisis."
"And more importantly," wrote Kahn, "it would compel Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey... to work with other nations to forge binding emissions' reduction targets, a sharp change from current international efforts that have so far basically rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic."
More than a dozen youth activists from around the globe filed a "groundbreaking" legal complaint on Monday accusing five major nations of violating the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child by failing to act on the climate crisis.
The complaint (pdf), presented to the U.N. Committee on the Rights of the Child in New York, names France, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, and Turkey--the biggest polluters among signatories of the Rights of the Child Treaty.
"I am standing in front of you because I care about my generation."
--Carlos Manual, 17-year-old petitioner from Palau
The United States and China, the world's biggest polluters, were not named in the lawsuit because they have not ratified the portion of the treaty that allows victims to pursue justice for alleged violations.
A total of 16 youth activists from 12 nations joined the legal action, including 11-year-old Ridhima Pandey from India, 17-year-old Ayakha Melithafa from South Africa, 14-year-old Alexandria Villasenor from the U.S., and 16-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden.
"People who are older aren't paying as much attention because they will not be as affected," Melithafa said in a statement. "They don't take us children seriously, but we want to show them we are serious."
\u201cToday at 11:30 I and 15 other children from around the world filed a legal complaint against 5 nations over the climate crisis through the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.\nThese 5 nations are the largest emitters that have ratified the convention.\nhttps://t.co/ZSyDMTYFSF\u201d— Greta Thunberg (@Greta Thunberg) 1569258451
The complaint alleges the five nations' failure to act on the climate emergency constitutes a violation of the basic human rights of children around the world.
"The 1.1degC rise in global average temperature is presently causing devastating heat waves, forest fires, extreme weather patterns, floods, and sea level rise, infringing on the human rights of millions of people globally," says the complaint. "Because children are among the most vulnerable to these life-threatening impacts, physiologically and mentally, they will bear the burden of these harms far more and far longer than adults."
"Petitioners, children from around the world, already carry that burden," the complaint continues. "Climate change is exposing them to life-threatening dangers and harming their health and development. For the indigenous petitioners, their thousand-years-old cultures are threatened by climate change. The climate crisis is a children's rights crisis."
During a press conference unveiling the complaint, Carlos Manual, a 17-year-old petitioner from the island nation of Palau, said his community's "homes are being swallowed by the ocean" due to rising sea levels caused by a warming climate.
"I am standing in front of you because I care about my generation," said Manual.
Earther's Brian Kahn called the youth-led suit "potentially world-changing" because, if successful, "the United Nations would classify the climate crisis as a children's rights crisis."
"And more importantly," wrote Kahn, "it would compel Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey... to work with other nations to forge binding emissions' reduction targets, a sharp change from current international efforts that have so far basically rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.