Bangladesh’s proposal on climate change and human rights accepted in UN
Bangladesh has been raising the proposal in the UN Human Rights Council since 2008
The Human Rights Council of the United Nations has approved a resolution on the adverse effects of climate change on human rights at its 47th session.
Bangladesh along with two other countries introduced the proposal before the council calling for more steps to tackle climate change.
Welcoming the move Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said, "Climate change is an existential threat to countries at risk and has become an obstacle to the protection of the fundamental rights of all peoples of the world. I thanked world leaders and international communities for approving the important resolution on climate change."
The Foreign Minister further said that while developing and least developed countries have virtually no role to play in increasing global warming, they are the ones that are being negatively affected by climate change.
Earlier on Wednesday, Bangladesh's Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva Md Mostafizur Rahman presented the proposal to the Human Rights Council.
The proposal calls for keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, implementing the Paris Agreement, providing effective assistance to high-risk countries, strengthening international cooperation, and giving more importance on tackling climate change like global challenges in the Human Rights Council and all its processes. It is called upon to give more importance to the issue of tackling such global challenges.
Bangladesh has been raising the proposal in the UN Human Rights Council since 2008. Russia tried to bring some amendments to this year's proposal, but failed in votes. However, since Russia did not oppose the proposal, it was adopted almost unanimously.