Climate Justice and Solidarity Rights: Peace, Development, Humanitarian Assistance, and a Healthy Environment

Abstract

Taking the view that climate justice must be a primary global objective, this briefing proposes the application of a human rights-based approach (HRBA) to the humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus. In the context of new challenges arising as a result of climate change around the world, the need for new and bridging approaches is increasingly vital. This briefing argues that advancing the so-called “third-generation solidarity rights” that already include the rights to peace, development, humanitarian assistance, and a healthy environment (Minnerop et al., 2018) can serve the evolution of such an approach. Around for several decades already, solidarity rights speak to the collective objectives and rights of communities and peoples (Farooq, 1983). Solidarity rights are especially emphasized by Global South advocates for international equality between states, intent on addressing inter-state injustices and global inequality that heightens the risks of conflicts and widens poverty.