The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is warning of a “human rights nightmare” in the face of climate change.
In an open letter, Volker Türk says climate change has already caused “human suffering” in countries such as Pakistan, where flooding has affected 30 million people, reports AllAfrica.
He warns that it will become “a recurring nightmare for people across the world if we do not take dramatic, rights-based action to respond to climate change, minimize its impacts, and address the human suffering it has already caused.” Türk’s letter comes as the 27th annual UN climate summit kicks off in Egypt, and it’s the fifth time an African nation has hosted.
Organizers expect more than 40,000 people to attend, the highest number ever for a climate summit on the continent.
The Turkish Presidential Letter said it was telling that this year’s conference would take place at a continent “millions on the climate change frontline are just victims, not contributors to rising emissions.” Türk’s letter calls for human rights to be at the center of efforts to combat climate change.
