Thread by @cmuffett1

@CHRPhilippines inquiry into human rights responsibilities of #CarbonMajors, thread 3: Duty to Protect and Accountability.

States’ duty to protect human rights necessarily includes regulating conduct of non-State actors, & protecting individuals from abuses by such actors. (70) This includes providing effective judicial and non-judicial remedy for victims seeking accountability for such abuses. (71)

The States’ duty to prevent human rights abuses may extend beyond its territory. (73) States are obliged to act if activities in their territory cause serious human rights violations in the territory of another State. (75)

Universality principle of intl law acknowledges that actions uniformly harmful to States and their subjects necessitate authority of all States to punish such acts wherever they occur....“There is a rising consensus that this concept extends to abuses against human rights.” (79)

States have a procedural obligation, inter alia, to enable affordable and timely access to justice and effective remedies for all, to hold States and businesses accountable for fulfilling their climate change obligations. (80)

States have substantive obligations to: abstain from actions that infringe on basic human rights as a result of their environmental consequences; implement punitive laws against envtl harm to protect human rights from violation by third parties, particularly businesses. (80)

In light of critical need to stay below 1.5C, States must “drastically reduce the carbon footprint of not only State activities, but also of non-State actors. This involves drastic reductions in the use of fossil fuels and the transition to renewable energy sources by 2030.” (87)

Government failure to engage in meaningful mitigation efforts may thus constitute a human rights violation--this includes "action to address the major anthropogenic actors and factors driving global warming." (87)

Critically, a State's failure to take such measures cannot relieve businesses of their own responsibility to respect human rights. (88)

Next thread: The Conduct and Responsibilities of #CarbonMajors Companies