Women’s Human Rights and Climate Change: State Obligations and Standards

8 Pages Posted: 21 Jul 2020

See all articles by Christine Chinkin

Christine Chinkin

London School of Economics - Law School; University of Michigan Law School

Keina Yoshida

Centre for Women Peace and Security, LSE; Doughty Street Chambers

Date Written: July 16, 2020

Abstract

The year 2020 is a significant year for women’s human rights. It marks the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and 25 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. These anniversaries have led to significant mobilisation by women’s movements around the globe to implement the rights set out therein and to advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which are at their half way point. However, the anniversary marking 40 years of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) - the UN’s blueprint for the advancement of women’s human rights - has passed, relatively speaking, under the radar. With this in mind, this briefing paper provides an overview of some of the CEDAW Committee’s most recent work since the opening of the Convention for adoption by States in Copenhagen in 1980.

The purpose of the briefing paper is to alert readers to the significant work that the CEDAW Committee has undertaken in relation to the gender-related dimensions of disaster-reduction and climate change. As CEDAW Committee member Nahla Haidar has commented, the CEDAW Committee first issued a statement on natural disasters and climate change in 2009, 11 years ago. Despite this the important standards set by the Committee in relation to state obligations under the Convention and how they relate to disasters and climate change remain relatively unknown.

Keywords: Human Rights, Climate Change, Women, Discrimination, United Nations

Suggested Citation

Chinkin, Christine and Yoshida, Keina, Women’s Human Rights and Climate Change: State Obligations and Standards (July 16, 2020). LSE Law - Policy Briefing Paper No. 43, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3653520

Christine Chinkin (Contact Author)

London School of Economics - Law School ( email )

Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

University of Michigan Law School ( email )

625 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1215
United States

HOME PAGE: https://www.law.umich.edu/FacultyBio/Pages/FacultyBio.aspx?FacID=cchinkin

Keina Yoshida

Centre for Women Peace and Security, LSE ( email )

London WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

Doughty Street Chambers ( email )

10 Doughty Street
London WC1N 2PL
United Kingdom

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