Time for cake today: it’s the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ 75th birthday! ECO went all out to organize a surprise party at COP28 and invited a number of important guests, but no one showed up. What a pity that due to very foreseeable circumstances, the Right to Freedom of Expression couldn’t be there, and the Right to Peaceful Assembly could barely hobble in. In typical fashion, the Right to Remedy failed to RSVP, and the Right to Life cancelled. The new kid on the block, the Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, said the fine particulate levels were too high to make it to the party.
But don’t worry! ECO found a few extra guests to invite at the last minute. The Paris Agreement showed up and brought some friends: the Global Stocktake, the Just Transition Work Programme, and the Global Goal on Adaptation. They don’t know the Declaration that well yet, but nothing like free drinks to kickstart a long-lasting relationship. Human rights must be at the operational core of the COP28 outcome for all our new guests: it will make them more effective – as confirmed by the IPCC – and in line with Parties’ international obligations.
Although ECO was pleased to fill the room on such short notice, the glaring absence of the initial invitees signals that we don’t have much to celebrate. While we commemorate this important milestone, atrocities and international crimes are happening just 2500 km away from COP28, political prisoners are being unjustly deprived of their freedom much closer, and voices are being silenced even in the Blue Zone.
Let us not forget that a human rights crisis is what gathers us here. Climate change threatens the right to life, health, water, food, and housing of billions, to name a few. The ultimate injustice? Those who contributed the least to the crisis, suffer the most.
ECO demands an immediate ceasefire, the release of all political prisoners, and climate justice. There is no climate justice without human rights, and no human rights without climate justice. Let’s hope we can have a proper party for the UDHR’s centenary.
