QUEZON CITY, Philippines—Ahead of International Human Rights Day, climate activists, typhoon survivors, farmers, and fisherfolk trooped to Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to demand the issuance of the long-delayed report on the world’s first National Inquiry on Climate Change (NICC), which sought to investigate the responsibility of investor-owned fossil fuel companies for human rights harms arising from the climate crisis.
The petitioners filed their second Motion for Urgent Resolution to the Petition [1], stating that the delay in the issuance of the final report is a disservice to Filipino communities and climate survivors who continue to suffer from the impacts of the climate crisis while the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies—many of them respondents to the Petition—continue business as usual with impunity.
“The Honorable Commission, in its own words, ‘commits to deliver prompt, responsive, accessible, and excellent public service for the protection and promotion of human rights in accordance with universal human rights principles and standards [2].’ Petitioners trust that the Honorable Commission will put meaning to these words by concluding promptly what has already been a groundbreaking national inquiry,” the Motion stated.
The filing of the Motion marks the second year since Commissioner Roberto Cadiz, the focal commissioner for the NICC, announced the preliminary findings at the sidelines of COP25 in Madrid in 2019. Climate survivors and activists have since been awaiting the issuance of the final report to the landmark case.
Veronica Cabe, National Coordinator of the Nuclear and Coal-Free Bataan Movement, one of the Petitioners, said communities from coal-impacted areas are feeling abandoned due to the delay.
“Sa mga komunidad, hindi lang kami dismayado. Pakiramdam namin ay na-abandona na rin kami dahil bagama’t araw-araw naming nararanasan ang epekto ng coal plants sa aming lugar ay tila hindi inaaksiyunan ng CHR ang aming mga panawagan,” Cabe said. “Ilan na ang namatay sa aming mga kasama nang dahil sa sakit sa baga at puso na pinalalala pa ng polusyon ng mga planta, hanggang kailan ba kami maghihintay?”
Greenpeace Southeast Asia Executive Director Yeb Saño said: “The latest UN climate summit last month showed the fossil fuel industry’s influence over global efforts, setting back global ambition to curb emissions at the expense of the lives, health and livelihoods of communities at the frontlines. This is the time for the CHR to be standing tall and defending the rights of Filipinos in the face of stark climate injustice. There should be no more delays in the resolution to the inquiry.”
Philippine Movement for Climate Justice National Coordinator Ian Rivera said: “CHR’s prolonged inaction on the case against the carbon majors only speaks of the possible ‘influence’ of the fossil fuel companies on the institution mandated to protect, fulfill, and promote human rights. This is already an affront to the history of the commission, which was formed in order to prevent the occurrence of the dark years when people and human rights are trampled upon. The climate crisis threatens peoples and human rights and has already affected millions. It is unlikely for officials of the state human rights commission to remain unperturbed.”
Carlito Baclagon, 350.org Asia Regional Finance Campaigner, said: “Decisive climate action from the Commission on Human Rights is long overdue. We hope that this time around, they will act with the kind of urgency that the climate crisis demands.”
The petitioners have been calling on the CHR to issue its Report as it could give basis for more legal and political actions to protect communities amid worsening climate impacts. Once released, the Report can be used alongside other efforts, such as the Dutch court’s ruling against Shell[4], to craft climate-responsive policies and institute more legal actions to counter the fossil fuel industry’s efforts to block the just transition to renewable energy.
Von Hernandez, 2003 Goldman Environmental Prize Awardee, added: “After waiting for six years since the legal action was filed, I think the CHR will understand the inevitable impatience for this inquiry’s resolution. Every minute that justice is put on hold will only benefit those who continue to profit from the destruction of the climate.”
Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition, said the CHR is also crucial to help stop business-as-usual systems that perpetuate injustice on communities. “A strong and urgent report from CHR will help put an end to the activities of the biggest climate-polluting companies that also drive the plastic crisis. Now more than ever, we need the CHR to stand firm against polluting corporations and to enable a society that puts people first over businesses.”
Notes to editors:
More photos of the event to be shared today.
[1] Motion for Urgent Resolution of the Petition.
[2] CHR: Who are we | https://chr.gov.ph/about-us/
[3] Hundreds of fossil fuel lobbyists flooding COP26 climate talks
[4] See: Historic verdict in climate case against Shell
[5] Refresher | Executive Summary of the Petition.
Media contact:
Angeli Cantillana
Communications Campaigner, Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines
[email protected] | +63 998 595 9733