Geneva Pledge signatories exchanged ideas and discussed opportunities for the operationalisation of the Geneva Pledge at a workshop co-hosted by the Republic of Costa Rica and the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice in the margins of ADP 2.10.
Representatives of Geneva Pledge signatory countries and some supporting experts met in Bonn to further discuss how to support the promotion the respect of human rights in climate action. 30 August 2015, Bonn.
In order to facilitate and motivate national implementation of the Geneva Pledge for Human Rights in Climate Action, the Republic of Costa Rica and the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice hosted a workshop for signatories of the Geneva Pledge on the eve of the Ad Hoc Durban Platform (ADP 2.10) to meet and reflect on the operationalisation of the Pledge.
The Geneva Pledge sets out to support ways of working at national level that result in increased collaboration between the climate change and human rights communities, thus supporting the promotion and respect of human rights in climate actions.
During the workshop, representatives from signatory countries had the opportunity to exchange experiences and ideas on how to operationalise or support the realisation of the Geneva Pledge at a national level, and also how to better collaborate at the sub-regional and regional level.
During the lively dialogue around the challenges and opportunities that signatory countries are faced with, the participants highlighted once again the importance of integrating human rights into climate action.
Participants also discussed a number of steps and actions that could be taken in the near future to strengthen the operationalisation of the Pledge, which would support a people-centred approach to climate actions that lead to better outcomes for vulnerable people and communities.
The Geneva Pledge on Human Rights and Climate Action was first announced by the Republic of Costa Rica, and supported by 17 other countries, at the closing plenary of the ADP2.8, which took place from 8-13 February in Geneva. The Pledge is a voluntary initiative undertaken by countries to enable meaningful collaboration at the national level, to increase an understanding of how human rights obligations inform better climate action, to deliver responses to climate change that are good for people and the planet, and to work on behalf of people in defence of a climate system that is safe for all humanity, and allows for the benefits of development to be reaped by all.
21 countries have signed the Geneva Pledge since February.