After one of the busiest years in the history of the Human Rights Council, President Nazhat Shameem Khan insists that the UN forum remains more relevant than ever, citing action on COVID-19 vaccine inequity, climate change and no less than five Special Sessions in Geneva.
Speaking to the UN as she prepares to step down from her one-year term at the Council at the end of the month, Ms. Khan also looked ahead to her new role at the International Criminal Court (ICC), where her appointment as Deputy Prosecutor was recently announced.
Created by the UN General Assembly in 2006, of the most important roles of the Council is to address immediate and important human rights violations around the world – not least the coronavirus pandemic and vaccine inequity – Ms. Khan explained.
Access denied
“There were some substantive issues from the COVID-19 pandemic, and one was the access to vaccines,” she said. “This is a conversation that is happening everywhere in the world, whether within countries, we have an equal access to vaccines by all communities, especially those which are most vulnerable.
“And secondly, are we having an equitable transfer of vaccines among countries. So, I think that conversation was really amplified this year.”
I think many more countries have recognized that climate change is a relevant discussion in every UN agency, in every institution
And in a year that brought nations together for the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, the Human Rights Council amplified calls for action on cutting emissions from a rights-based perspective, despite historic resistance in some quarters, Ms. Khan continued.
“There are many people in the world who believe that the only conversation you can have on climate change is in Bonn with the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), and that it is none of the business of the Human Rights Council to speak about issues which are relevant to the environment. But increasingly, I think many more countries have recognized that climate change is a relevant discussion in every UN agency, in every institution. It's the business of everyone.”
New rights focus
By way of example of this new awareness over the risks posed by climate change, Ms. Khan pointed to increased international activity and pronouncements on the issue, within the sphere of human rights.
Then came comments, recommendations and reports about climate change from specialised bodies appointed by the Council, known as UN Special Procedures and Treaty Body experts. This included the Committee on the Rights of the Child, which issued a report on the impact of climate change and children.
It was this kind of foundational work “over many, many years” in the climate change versus rights nexus that work culminated in two landmark resolutions at the Council this year on climate and environmental rights, Ms. Khan explained.
