Call for future action plans to promote climate justice agenda
Chairperson of Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, Senator SaminaMumtazZehri, and Coordinator to Prime Minister on Climate Change, RominaKhurshidAlam, have reached a consensus to advocate for the integration of human rights into climate change policies in Pakistan.
During a bilateral meeting with PM’s aide RominaKhurshid here on Sunday, both sides also agreed to jointly work to roll out a viable action plan to ensure that climate actions not only address environmental issues but also uphold and protect the rights of vulnerable communities affected by climate change in the country, especially in the highly climate vulnerable Balochistan province.
“Integrating human rights into climate change policy is essential to ensure that actions to tackle climate risks do not exacerbate existing inequalities or infringe upon basic human rights,” Senator SaminaMumtazZehri highlighted during the meeting with the PM’s climate aide.
She said, “Climate change significantly undermines’ fundamental human rights, including the right to life, health, food, and water, reflecting an increasing awareness of these pressing issues.”
The Senator Zehri remarked, “I personally believe as various studies show that managing human rights into climate risk management action plans and discourse is crucial for creating and promoting a more just and equitable approach to tackle the climate crisis, particularly for resource-poor and marginalized communities in the vulnerable areas in Balochistan.”
She pointed out, “Being a large and arid region in the southwestern part of the country, the Balochistan province is extremely vulnerable to climate change due to a combination of its geographic features, socio-economic challenges, and existing environmental stresses.”
“The region’s vulnerability is aggravated more due to its dependence on agriculture, water scarcity, and limited and shabby infrastructure, making it highly sensitive to adverse climate risks, particularly devastating hill torrents, flash floods, cyclones, sea-level rise, heatwaves, declining rainfalls, and droughts,” Senator SaminaMumtazZehri added.
She called for strategies that prioritize equity and justice in confronting this critical challenge of climate change for both mitigating adverse fallouts of climate change and promoting a fairer society with access to equitable access to resources required for climate resilience building.
