Thread by @duycks

🎇⚖️PATHBREAKING CLIMATE JUSTICE WIN TODAY! The #UN Human Rights Committee finds that Australia violated its #humanrights obligations by failing to take adequate climate action and requests full remedy for impacted Torres Strait Islanders
theguardian.com/australia-news…
A thread 🧵1/19

2-📌The case is particularly important in the context of an emerging groundswell of judicial victories for #ClimateJustice as it breaks new grounds with regards to the duty of the States to provide remedy in the context of climate-related #LossAndDamage

3-🗣️Let us celebrate the courage and boldness of plaintiffs and lawyers who brought their complaint to the UN after decades of inaction by the Australian government. This case will have ripple effects beyond what one can imagine today.
👏@SMarjanacCE @MferiaTinta @ClientEarth

4-⚖️I will now review key elements from this “Billy et al. v. Australia” decision made public today by the 🇺🇳UN Human Rights Committee – body mandated to monitor States’ compliance with International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights
📄Full decision: tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/tr…

5-🗣️📢The communication was brought to the UN Human Rights Committee by eight individuals and their children, all of them belonging to Indigenous People from the Torres Strait Islands.
Read more about their reactions here: clientearth.org/latest/press-o…

6-⚠️🌐NB : the decision provides a precedent regarding the interpretation of the human rights protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - one of the core UN human rights instruments ratified by 173 countries (so yes, that’s a really big deal!)

7- The communicants argued that the failure by the Australian government to take adequate mitigation and adaptation action violated their rights protected under:
Art 6 (right to life)
Art 17 (privacy, family, home)
Art 27 (cultural rights of minorities)

8- In its decision today, the UN Human Rights Committee built upon its 2019 General Comment 6 in which it provided authoritative guidance regarding the scope of States obligations with regards to the right to life, incl. protection from enviro threats refworld.org/docid/5e5e75e0…

9- The Human Rights Committee could also build upon a prior decision in which it found that failure by the State to regulate environmentally harmful substances constituted a violation of the rights protected under the Covenant (Portillo Cáceres v Paraguay)
escr-net.org/caselaw/2020/p…

10- now unpacking today's decision. first, adaptation: Committee finds that by failing to take sufficient protective measures, Australia has violated rights of Indigenous Peoples on Torres Islands to Art 17 (privacy, family and home) as well as their cultural rights as a minority

11- 🧑‍⚖️As a consequence of this finding, the Committee stresses the obligation for the State to make full reparation to the individuals affected as well as to take measures to prevent future harm and requests the State to report on these measures within 180 days.

12- 🔥While many #ClimateLitigation victories focus on duty for govs to cut emissions, effective remedy provided by Committee today is breaking new ground + offers critical clarification of States’ obligations as civil society/vulnerable States request funding for #LossAndDamage.

13- However the Committee finds no violation of right to live (Torres Islands might only be submerged in 10-15 yrs, gov has time to take protective measures so not imminent threat). This finding is similar to prior decision in climate migration case (Teitiota v New Zealand)

14- Several members of the Committee disagreed with this analysis, reminding that the Committee previously stated that the effective protection of the right to life requires the State to take preventive and precautionary measures.

15- 🔍Regarding mitigation action: the Committee begins by affirming that it is competent to review whether failure by the States to reduce adequately fossil fuels related emissions is a breach of their human rights obligations.

16- The Committee further recalls that States parties should take all appropriate measures to address the general conditions in society that may give rise to direct threats to the right to life or prevent individuals from enjoying their right to life with dignity.

17- ⁉️Yet the Committee falls short of addressing how Australia’s inadequate mitigation measures to date have failed to protect the Torres Strait Islanders and contributed to the harms suffered. ⁉️Without any reasoning for this gap in reasoning.

18- Given climate urgency, human rights institutions must hold governments truly accountable & recognize that reducing emissions from fossil fuels is a prerequisite for the fulfilment of their human rights obligations. Today’s decision constitutes a real missed opportunity.

19/19- Main take away: today’s finding offers key precedent for future judicial decisions and opinions related to linkages betw. human rights obligations and duty to remedy climate related harms, eg. in context of ICJ Advisory Opinion that Pacific States & CSOs are seeking #ICJAO