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	Children have a right to a healthy environment by Joint Call to Action to UN Human Rights Council   Climate Crisis - 710 million children live in countries at high risk   Save the Children warns that drastic action is needed to ensure children and their families can cope with current and future climate-shocks.   An estimated 710 million children live in the 45 countries that are at the highest risk of suffering the impact of climate change, Save the Children warned today.   Floods, droughts, hurricanes and other extreme weather events will have an especially deep impact on vulnerable children and their families.   Children in these countries will for example be impacted by food shortages, diseases and other health threats, water scarcity, or be at risk from rising water levels – or a combination of these factors.   An analysis by Save the Children shows that globally, hundreds of millions of children under the age of 18 are living in regions where climate change is deeply affecting their lives.   The impact of the crisis on food production is likely to lead to local food scarcity and price hikes, Save the Children said, with devastating impacts on the poorest households.   Save the Children warned that drastic action must be taken to ensure children and their families will be able to cope with current and future climate-shocks.   The window to prevent catastrophic climate change is rapidly closing as the crisis is set to worsen, unless urgent action is taken now.   As children’s present and future are at stake, they must be heard in the climate crisis–conversation and should be involved in shaping policies, the organisation urged.   “What I really can't forget is that I saw many houses falling because of too much rain and strong winds. I got scared,” 14-year-old Baptista in Mozambique told Save the Children. He and his three siblings have struggled to recover ever since Cyclone Kenneth struck their town in 2019.   “I don't know why all that rain fell and there was a gale wind. I didn't like that because afterwards we were left homeless and without food.”   Analysis by Save the Children also shows that:   70 percent of countries facing a high risk of climate impact are in Africa; Climate change impacts are worsening the already dire situation in Yemen, where conflict has created severe food shortages, leaving millions of children at risk of hunger.   Children in Bangladesh are highly exposed to flooding, cyclones, and sea levels rise; Malaria and dengue fever already plague children in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Increasing extreme weather events can lead to new health risks while the health system is already limited.   While all children are impacted by climate change, those living in poverty, conflict or hunger, or in disaster prone areas, will suffer most as they often are already deprived of their basic needs.   Children in countries deemed at a “lower-risk” are facing threats as well, for example from forest fires, flooding, droughts and other erratic weather events.   If drastic action is not taken, the impact of the climate crisis will likely hit millions more children in decades to come.   Increasing climate shocks often make it a struggle for families to recover between each shock, especially in countries that lack social safety nets, pushing them further into poverty or forcing them to flee their homes.   “The climate crisis is the largest threat to children and the realisation of their rights across borders and generations. The COVID-19 outbreak has already pushed millions of children and families into poverty and increased hunger and malnutrition. But flooding, hurricanes and droughts are also causing children to be malnourished,” said Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International.   She added: “Children have contributed the least to the crisis we are facing, but will pay the highest price. We have seen the power of children, leading the way on climate change through a truly global movement. But much more must be done – children need to be listened to and governments take action on what children tell them. Governments need to include children’s recommendations in climate policies, including the most vulnerable children.”   Save the Children urges all governments to take immediate and drastic action to address climate injustice head on, and avoid further catastrophic impacts on children and their families. This includes:   Acknowledging that the climate crisis is a child rights crisis that affects children first and worst. Increase climate finance, particularly for adaptation, with a specific focus on children in poorer countries, given as grants. Ensure a focus on children, especially from the most marginalised communities, at upcoming Climate events. Children are equal stakeholders in addressing climate change, and their recommendations must be included in all climate-related policies.   Scale up adaptive and shock-responsive social protection systems to address the increasing impacts of climate change on children and their families. More countries need to work towards their commitment in the Convention on the Rights of the Child to ensure every child is protected from poverty, for example by providing universal child benefits to improve children’s well-being and build resilience.   http://www.savethechildren.net/news/climate-crisis-710-million-children-live-countries-high-risk http://resourcecentre.savethechildren.net/library/born-climate-crisis-why-we-must-act-now-secure-childrens-rights http://www.savethechildren.org/content/dam/usa/reports/advocacy/2021-global-childhood-report.pdf   Children have a right to a healthy environment - Joint Call to Action to UN Human Rights Council   On 1 July 2020 at the Human Rights Council's Annual Full Day meeting on the Rights of the Child, the Children’s Rights Environmental Initiative (CERI) together with the Child Rights Connect Working Group on Environment and with the support of more than 20 institutions and high-level experts from around the world, presented a joint Call to Action to the Human Rights Council demanding formal recognition of children’s right to a healthy environment.   The following statement calls on governments to strengthen their commitments to adopt a child rights-based approach to environmental and climate-related initiatives, and identifies 7 concrete measures for action:   'At a time when the world is in a deep health crisis, and as children’s rights globally suffer severe setbacks due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, attention must not be diverted from the environmental emergency that is undermining children’s rights and future prospects around the world.   Each year more than 1.7 million children under the age of five lose their lives as a result of avoidable environmental degradation, while millions more suffer disease, disability, and an array of other forms of harm, some of which can result in lifelong effects.   Children’s rights are under threat due to insufficient government measures to address the climate crisis, unprecedented levels of biodiversity loss, exploitation of natural resources, exposure to toxic substances and waste, and widespread pollution of the air, water and soil.   Negative effects are disproportionately experienced by girls, children in poverty, indigenous children, children with disabilities and others in vulnerable situations, exposing them to intersecting risks and often violating the principle of non-discrimination.   In light of this, millions of children and youth across the world are calling for more urgent and ambitious action to tackle the root causes and impacts of the global environmental crisis.   For the annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child, Member States should ensure that children’s voices are not only heard, but acted upon, by placing children’s rights and best interests at the core of ambitious and concrete environmental actions and policies, including recognition of a human right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The time is ripe for action.   Recommendations   Place children’s rights at the heart of environmental policies and action   A general lack of awareness of the many links between a safe and healthy environment on the one hand, and children’s rights on the other, combined with weak political will, represent fundamental obstacles to the respect, protection and fulfilment of children’s rights in the context of environmental measures.   The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) provides a clear normative framework for realizing children’s rights through a healthy environment, but consideration of the treaty remains largely absent from environmental or climate-related policies, laws, and action.   We call on States to:   Respect, protect and fulfil children’s rights when adopting and implementing environment-related agreements, policies and action to address environmental harm including biodiversity loss and ecosystem destruction, pollution, exposure to hazardous substances and wastes, and climate change, underpinned by a precautionary and preventive approach.   Particular attention must be paid to the most marginalised and vulnerable children, and public resources - including regional and international development aid - must be mobilised and allocated accordingly.   Adequately regulate businesses to ensure that they comply with all applicable environmental laws and the General Comment No. 16 of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, including mandatory child rights due diligence and environmental impact assessments in order to identify, prevent and mitigate their environmental impact on child rights, including across their supply chains and within global operations.   Support and constructively engage in the further development of authoritative guidance on children’s rights and the environment, including through a future General Comment on Child Rights and the Environment to be elaborated and adopted by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.   Recognise the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment   The right to a healthy environment should be formally recognised by the United Nations as soon as possible. Such a step would be of particular relevance to children, as well as for future generations, who shoulder a disproportionate share of the burden of environmental harm.   It is beyond debate that children are wholly dependent on the natural environment to lead dignified, healthy and fulfilling lives, including a safe climate, clean air, safe water and adequate sanitation, healthy and sustainably produced food, non-toxic environments to learn and play in, and healthy biodiversity and ecosystems.   We call on States to:   Support the formal recognition of the human right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment by the UN   Protect and support child environmental human rights defenders   In too many instances, the views, rights and interests of children go completely unheard in decisions on the environment, leading to adverse outcomes in terms of children’s well-being and development.   Furthermore, when acting and speaking out on environmental issues, children often face condescension, intimidation, harassment, reprisals and even violence from authorities or corporations. Children in all their diversity must be empowered to defend their right to a healthy, safe and sustainable environment.   We call on States to:   Take concrete action to protect the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly of child environmental human rights defenders, including online, by providing a safe and enabling environment for initiatives by young people and children to defend human rights relating to the environment, and by promoting a positive narrative around their activities. Pay particular attention to the rights of girls and young woman defending the environment.   Increase children’s awareness of environmental issues, and strengthen their respect for the natural environment and capacity to respond to environmental challenges, at all stages of education, including by ensuring the availability and accessibility of age-and gender-responsive information on the effects of environmental harm.   Facilitate public participation in decision-making on the environment, with a particular emphasis on fulfilling children’s right to be heard, including from a young age, and ensuring that their views are given due weight in all environmental processes.   Ensure that children have access to justice, including effective remedies for and reparation of human rights violations due to environmental harm, for example climate change and exposure to toxic substances and pollution, through child-friendly complaint mechanisms at all levels, including by ratifying the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure.   Address the climate crisis   The climate crisis is a children’s rights crisis. Yet, just 20 per cent of national climate policies mention children, and only 2 per cent of them refer to children’s rights. We call on States to align with the Intergovernmental Declaration on Children, Youth and Climate Action and implement the following commitments:   Undertake the urgent and transformative action required to limit global temperatures to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in line with best available science and as pursued by the Paris Agreement. This includes the rapid replacement of fossil fuels with rights-respecting renewable energy projects to reduce emissions, and an urgent shift to a circular economy that significantly reduces waste and pollution.   Respect, protect and fulfil the specific rights of children and young people in the implementation of the Paris Agreement at all levels, including targeted measures in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans and long-term low-carbon emission development strategies   Urgently scale up and accelerate investment in child-responsive adaptation, disaster risk reduction and mitigation measures, with particular attention to marginalized children   End childhood exposure to pollution and toxic substances   Government failure to address exposure to pollution and to toxic substances and wastes unambiguously violates a wide range of children's rights. Children are born “pre-polluted”. Due to their extremely and uniquely sensitive periods of development, they are not only victims of poisoning that is immediately visible, they also suffer or endure latent impacts from chronic exposure to pollution, to hazardous chemicals and to toxic wastes, causing disease, disability and child mortality later in life.   We call on States to:   Uphold their duty to prevent childhood exposure to pollution and toxic chemicals as part of States’ obligation to protect children, and ensure that this is reflected in laws and policies based on the child's best interests, as well as through business activities   Ensure a just and green recovery from COVID-19, and take urgent steps to prevent future pandemics   Environmental degradation is one of the root causes of zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19, which has caused more than 475, 000 deaths to date, and inflicted untold suffering on children. States now have an unprecedented opportunity to implement transformational recovery plans that protect children’s rights and the environment, while addressing the drivers of climate change, biodiversity loss, toxic pollution and zoonotic diseases. Children must also have access to knowledge and skills that can support them in the future in accessing decent jobs in a green economy, including by tackling discriminatory gender norms that prevent girls and young women from accessing STEM education and jobs.   We call on States to:   Focus recovery plans and investment on fulfilling children’s rights through ‘building back better’ to achieve a just, healthy and sustainable future, accelerating efforts to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement   Strengthen rather than weaken environmental regulations and protections, including policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.   Improve access to transformative green skills for children and young people, ensuring such efforts reach girls and young women, through formal and non-formal education and training.   Strengthen monitoring and reporting on children’s rights and the environment   Monitoring and reporting on the impacts of environmental harm on children’s rights, as well as progress made to fulfil children’s rights in this context, are essential for raising awareness and underpinning more effective and targeted policies and measures.   We call on States to:   Strengthen monitoring on children’s environmental rights (e.g. childhood exposure-monitoring for adverse physical and mental health impacts linked to the environment), and publish and disseminate age and gender disaggregated information on the results.   Incorporate the implications of environmental harm on the full enjoyment of children’s rights in their periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, their national reports under the Universal Periodic Review, and in their reporting under environmental frameworks and the Sustainable Development Goals'.   http://www.childrenvironment.org/blog/a-joint-call-to-action http://www.childrenvironment.org/blog/a-big-win http://alliancecpha.org/en/worldchildrensday2021 http://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/taxonomy/term/175/2020/07/human-rights-council-begins-its-annual-full-day-meeting-rights http://reliefweb.int/report/world/human-rights-council-holds-panel-ensuring-children-s-rights-through-healthy-environment http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Environment/SREnvironment/Pages/SafeClimate.aspx http://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/ Visit the related web page
	Surge in child mortality forecast in pandemic-hit developing countries by AFP, Unicef, The Lancet   May 2020   An additional 6,000 children could die every day from preventable causes over the next six months as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weaken health systems and disrupt routine services, UNICEF said today.   The estimate is based on an analysis by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, newly published in The Lancet Global Health journal. Based on the worst of three scenarios in 118 low- and middle-income countries, the analysis estimates that an additional 1.2 million under-five deaths could occur in just six months, due to reductions in routine health service coverage levels and an increase in child wasting.   These potential child deaths will be in addition to the 2.5 million children who already die before their 5th birthday every six months in the 118 countries included in the study, threatening to reverse nearly a decade of progress on ending preventable under-five mortality.   Some 56,700 more maternal deaths could also occur in just six months, in addition to the 144,000 deaths that already take place in the same countries over a six-month period.   'Under a worst-case scenario, the global number of children dying before their fifth birthdays could increase for the first time in decades', said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. 'We must not let mothers and children become collateral damage in the fight against the virus. And we must not let decades of progress on reducing preventable child and maternal deaths be lost'.   In countries with already weak health systems, COVID-19 is causing disruptions in medical supply chains and straining financial and human resources.   Visits to health care centres are declining due to lockdowns, curfews and transport disruptions, and as communities remain fearful of infection. In a commentary to the Lancet report, UNICEF warns these disruptions could result in potentially devastating increases in maternal and child deaths.   The paper analyzes three scenarios for the impact of reductions in lifesaving interventions due to the crisis on child and maternal deaths. It warns that in the least severe scenario, where coverage is reduced around 15 per cent, there would be a 9.8 per cent increase in under-five child deaths, or an estimated 1,400 a day, and an 8.3 per cent increase in maternal deaths.   In the worst-case scenario, where health interventions are reduced by around 45 per cent, there could be as much as a 44.7 per cent increase in under-five child deaths and 38.6 per cent increase in maternal deaths per month.   These interventions range from family planning, antenatal and postnatal care, child delivery, vaccinations and preventive and curative services. The estimates show that if, for whatever reason, routine health care is disrupted and access to food is decreased, the increase in child and maternal deaths will be devastating.   The greatest number of additional child deaths will be due to an increase in wasting prevalence among children, which includes the potential impact beyond the health system, and reduction in treatment of neonatal sepsis and pneumonia.   According to the modeling, and assuming reductions in coverage in the worst-case scenario, the 10 countries that could potentially have the largest number of additional child deaths are: Bangladesh, Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania.   The 10 countries that are most likely to witness the highest excess child mortality rates under the worst-case scenario are: Djibouti, Eswatini, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone and Somalia. Continued provision of life-saving services is critical in these countries.   In addition to the estimated potential rise in under-five and maternal deaths described in the Lancet Global Health Journal analysis, UNICEF is deeply alarmed by the other knock-on effects of the pandemic on children:   An estimated 77 per cent of children under the age of 18 worldwide - 1.80 billion out of 2.35 billion - were living in one of the 132 countries with stay-at-home policies, as of early May.   Nearly 1.3 billion students - over 72 per cent - are out of school as a result of nationwide school closures in 177 countries.   40 per cent of the world's population are not able to wash their hands with soap and water at home.   Nearly 370 million children across 143 countries who normally rely on school meals for a reliable source of daily nutrition must now look to other sources as schools are shuttered.   As of 14 April, over 117 million children in 37 countries may miss out on their measles vaccination as the pandemic causes immunization campaigns to stop to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.   http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30238-2/fulltext http://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30229-1/fulltext http://www.unicef.org/appeals/files/2020-HAC-CoronaVirus-05.11.pdf http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/covid-19-number-children-living-household-poverty-soar-86-million-end-year http://www.savethechildren.net/news/covid-19-number-children-living-household-poverty-soar-86-million-end-year Visit the related web page
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