Children have a right to a clean, safe and healthy environment!

The Committee on the Rights of the Child just issued their General Comment 26 on children’s rights and the environment with a focus on climate change (GC26). It confirms that States must protect the right of every child to a clean, safe and healthy environment as a matter of their legal obligations under the Convention of the Rights of the Child. More than 16,300 children from 121 countries gave their input. One of them was Yael Feliz, a World Vision Youth Advocate from the Dominican Republic. The following are her reflections and recommendations.

The voices of children and adolescents in the regional consultation in Buenos Aires were key for the GC26, and expressed the current concerns and future aspirations we all share in Latin America.

We spoke about how climate change affects our daily lives and the realities described by participants were worrying. Each child expressed their reality, their needs, and their problems, and how climate change is a consequence of the damage caused to the environment.

Children are forced into vulnerable conditions without any solutions in hand. Regardless of the place or country, we all face severe deficiencies and lack of commitment by the States which violate our fundamental rights. The experiences shared by the participants showed that no matter the place in the world, concerns and problems are the same, as described by the children from Colombia, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Argentina.

Determined to see significant changes in the near future, we proposed solutions suitable for us, the next generations, and governments.

The children who participated in the consultation expressed their desire to exercise the right to live in a healthy environment. We talked about the various forms of environmental degradation, including the effects of climate change. For example, many expressed sadness and disappointment due to deforestation, inappropriate solid waste management, and air and water pollution.

The commitment of governments and States must be of utmost importance to restore what they have allowed to happen, reaching a point of no return. But there is still hope.

Three things we ask States to do through the General Comment:

1. States must commit to implement and monitor existing policies and regulations to prevent environmental degradation.
2. Governments and companies must comply with due diligence and assess their impact on children's rights before putting into place new plans.
3. States should also require companies to establish greenhouse gas emission mitigation targets, under normal control, so that environmental commitments are not reduced to corporate social responsibility plans or "greenwashing" practices, but are effective plans that respond to the magnitude of the damage caused.

Children have already shared their experiences, challenges, and needs in a world where the damage caused by climate change is deeply impacting our quality of life. In every corner of Latin America and the Caribbean, the story is the same: environmental degradation and climate change are affecting our ability to live in a healthy, adequate, and safe environment.

Finally, since children and adolescents do not limit ourselves to describe problems, but propose solutions, my expectations are that States do not limit themselves to knowing or signing the General Comment, but implement and promote effective controls.

 I also hope that the voice of the most vulnerable children will continue to be heard so that we can be advocates of our own rights.

Yael is a young climate justice advocate from the Dominican Republic. She grew up near a highly polluted village and doesn't want other children to have the same experience. Considering a healthy environment for children a fundamental right, she is involved in climate advocacy and participated in the regional consultation on General Comment No. 26.

Photo caption:  Yael with other young leaders and Luis Perdernera, the Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, at the Buenos Aires Consultation on GC26.