BACKGROUND – THE CHALLENGES

The climate crisis is being addressed at the global, regional and national levels, through a wide range of high-level political commitments, treaties, resolutions, frameworks, policies and agreements. Despite all those initiatives and commitments, children are still left behind in policies and in mitigation and adaption measures to address the climate crisis.

The Special Representative welcomes the recent adoption of the Resolution 76/300, in which the General Assembly recognized the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, as a means to help to reduce environmental injustices, close protection gaps and empower people, especially those that are in vulnerable situations, including environmental human rights defenders, children, youth, women and indigenous peoples.

More children than ever are facing extreme poverty, discrimination and social inequalities and are forcibly displaced, fleeing conflicts, widespread violence and food insecurity. The climate crisis has aggravated these risks. Taken together, those multiple crises are exacerbating children’s vulnerabilities to violence. No country is immune, and no child is immune. Rising sea levels, devastating floods, cyclones, air pollution, global warming, extreme weather events, desertification, deforestation, catastrophic droughts, heat waves, fires, storms and loss of biodiversity are fast becoming the new normal.

According to UNICEF’s first child-focused climate risk index, 1 billion children are at extremely high risk of being affected by the climate crisis, of whom 820 million (over one third of children globally) are currently highly exposed to heatwaves, 400 million (nearly 1 in 6) to cyclones, 330 million (1 in 7) to riverine flooding, 240 million (1 in 10) to coastal flooding, and 920 million (over one third) to water scarcity.  

The cumulative shocks of the climate crisis are exacerbating pre-existing vulnerabilities and current crises, including poverty, inequalities, the socioeconomic impact of the pandemic, humanitarian and financial crises and armed conflicts,   food insecurity and aggravating risk factors for experiencing violence, abuse and exploitation, , child labor, child marriage, human trafficking and forced displacement. In that way, the climate crisis is acting as a threat multiplier for violence against children. Therefore, it is critical to draw attention to the urgent need to protect children and their rights in responses to the climate crisis, also indispensable to achieving the 2030 Agenda.

Prevention is the most effective way to end violence against children and a growing pool of evidence is available to demonstrate successful approaches that are also relatively low-cost. An integrated, multi-sectoral and coherent national development agenda will also address the drivers of violence linked to climate crisis.

The climate crisis is both strongly intersectional and deeply unequal in its impact. It disproportionately affects communities in hotspots that are hardest hit by and least responsible for the crisis. The climate crisis impacts all children, but the most disadvantaged and most vulnerable are the ones impacted the most, including children deprived of family care; children with disabilities; children living in poverty and children living in rural areas; children in humanitarian and conflict settings; and communities who rely on and have a close relationship with the natural environment and its resources, such as farmers and indigenous peoples. The disruptive effects of climate change on the capacities of social and protection services and on communities to prevent and respond to violence are felt most keenly in countries with the fewest resources to adapt and remain resilient.

In the words of  a 13-year-old girl from Kenya: "We, the children demand for urgent action and solutions to climate change. We are the most affected yet least responsible for climate change. We also need to be included or consulted when coming up with the solutions. When we are included, we learn more and in our own small way are able to take action and engage in activities that address climate change like proper disposal of garbage and planting trees."

Investing in children means involving, empowering and listening to them as part of the solution to tackling the climate crisis. Children are increasingly making their voices heard and acting at the forefront of climate action worldwide, through legal actions, social media activity, community and civic engagement, participation in climate negotiations, child-led strikes, peaceful protests and social mobilization movements, despite the barriers they face..

With less than eight years remaining to keep the promise of the 2030 Agenda, the clock is ticking. A paradigm shift is needed. Cooperation and multilateralism need to be strengthened, based on mutual partnerships and accountability, as most of the countries at greatest risk are those who are least responsible. Justice for all children including social justice are needed more than ever, for all children, leaving no one behind. This require joining forces and responsibilities with all key stakeholders including Member States and private sector. In addition, spending on integrated and cross-sectoral child- and gender-sensitive services must be seen as an investment and an essential step to ensuring the adaptation and resilience of social services in the face of the climate crisis

Given the overwhelming evidence on the dangers and causes of climate crisis, failing to take action now is an injustice to all children. This event represents a key opportunity to provide adequate responses to children and the future generations.

EVENT OBJECTIVES

I. Raising awareness and strengthening understanding of the issue, through discussing the challenges that Member States face and that  the climate crisis poses to the commitment to end violence against children .

II. Sharing of initiatives and practices already in place, including by children, to prevent violence against children while addressing the climate crisis.

III. Encouraging progress towards the achievement of the SDGs by ending violence against children with specific attention to the drivers of violence linked to climate change.

IV. Gathering political support from Member States in the dissemination and further implementation of measures aimed to protecting children and their rights, while addressing climate crisis.

V. Strengthening partnerships, and cooperation at local, national, regional and global levels in supporting actions to prevent increase of violence due to climate change. As well as contributing to the efforts ahead, including the COP 27.

“The climate crisis: a threat multiplier for violence against children”

This event aims to draw attention to the increased risks of violence against children in the context of the current climate crisis times and the most effective way to respond and advocate for an urgent action to address its impact on violence and prevent further expansion.

It is co-organized by the Permanent Missions of the European Union, the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Hybrid Side Event - Agenda