Children’s Human Right to Be Heard at the Ocean-climate Nexus

Abstract

This article aims to clarify the obligations of States under the law of the sea to put children’s human rights at the heart of decision-making on the protection of the marine environment, particularly at the ocean-climate nexus. The relevance of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and in particular, children’s human right to be heard in the context of existing provisions on deep-sea mining activities under the International Seabed Authority and the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction are discussed. Reflections on more ambitious approaches to integrating intergenerational dialogue within international ocean fora, as ways to implement intergenerational equity and protect humankind at the ocean-climate nexus, on the basis of good practices in the area of children’s human rights are offered.