Nome da Revista: Health and Human Rights Journal
Classificação: B2
Dossiê Temático: "Health Rights and the Urgency of the Climate Crisis” [Direitos à saúde e a urgência da crise climática]
Prazo: 31/03/2021
Titulação: não informada
Link para a chamada: clique aqui
Texto da chamada
Health Rights and the Urgency of the Climate Crisis
Guest Editors: Gillian MacNaughton and Carmel Williams
The world is facing an existential crisis. We now have less than 10 years to implement radical policy reform to keep global warming below 1.5oC, or we face catastrophe.[1] Tinkering around the edges of policy, as has been done over the past 10-20 years is insufficient, and has kept us on a path to warming the world by 3-5oC by the end of the century. What is needed now, to protect health, life, and human rights, is an economic overhaul that will halve global emissions by 2030, and achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. This requires a complete transformation of our economies, distribution of resources, energy production, food production, and, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society”.[2] At this moment of multiple interrelated crises, there is also opportunity. A new global economy must be founded on fair and legitimate principles and standards. Human rights can drive the changes needed and the resulting new order. With human rights at the heart of economic reforms, the unsustainable and grossly inequitable world of today can be turned around.
The climate crisis has been looming over us for decades. Yet, little action has been taken to address it. This paralysis is largely due to inequalities both within and between countries. High-income countries with great power have contributed most to climate change as their economies are based on fossil fuels and their global economic dominance has resulted in high rates of CO2 emissions. Those in power within high-income countries benefit from the current economic arrangements and so these countries use their power to maintain the status quo. Middle- and low-income countries that have contributed far less, if at all, to CO2 emissions do not feel any obligation to reduce emissions until they reach the level of development of high-income countries. So there is a stand-off.
The global response to the 2008 financial crisis demonstrated the extremely negative impacts – on the health and well-being of communities, families and individuals – of ignoring human rights in formulating and implementing the policy responses. More recently, the COVID-19 crisis is illuminating the potential of global action to address an even greater threat – to our health and economies. State mobilization of resources, including the private sector, families and individuals, to address the COVID-19 crisis has shown that massive changes to state-supported infrastructure, health systems and social protection are possible when there is widespread understanding across the population of the threat as well as the measures necessary to address it. States around the globe have taken actions that are having huge impacts on the global economy because the health threat was immediate for high-income countries, as well as middle- and low-income countries.
But climate change is an equally devastating crisis. And the impacts are increasing each year. What can we learn from the response to the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 threat that we can use in responding to climate change? How can we ensure that the trillions of dollars spent on reactivating economies around the globe will decarbonize it as well? What norms and standards do we apply in formulating short-term and long-term responses to the impending climate crisis?
Human rights, including the right to health, offers a legitimate, cohesive and effective legal and ethical framework for action on climate change.
This special section explores the meaning and application of a human right-based approach (HRBA) to climate change. It invites health rights scholars and practitioners to address an HRBA to climate justice under the four subtopics: (1) indivisibility, interdependency and interrelatedness of human rights, (2) vertical and horizontal inequalities, (3) transparency, participation, and accountability, and (4) economic and social rights.
Indivisibility, interdependency and interrelatedness of human rights: Crises, whether COVID-19 or climate change, demonstrate the impossibility of addressing human rights via vertical single-issue responses. Fulfilling people’s economic and social rights, especially the right to health, is dependent upon freedom to move, freedom to participate in decision making, and access to information, food, water and sanitation. Crises require holistic human rights responses.
Vertical and horizontal inequalities: Crises emphasize vertical and horizontal inequalities in each society. Those most disadvantaged have the least resources to draw upon when impacted by a large scale emergency. The financial crisis of 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 have demonstrated these unequal impacts on health rights across populations.
Transparency, participation, and accountability: In times of crisis, people need leaders they can trust. They need to know their voices are heard, that decisions are made and conveyed openly, and that there is a process of holding leaders to account for those decisions. People who are the most marginalized and vulnerable to health rights violations, Indigenous people, those with disabilities, children, women, those living remotely, must all be included in responses so they are not left even more unequal.
Economic and social rights: Crises impact differently on the rights to health care, decent work, education, housing, water, sanitation, family life, culture and science. COVID-19 has challenged enjoyment of all of these rights and responses to these challenges have varied tremendously across countries and local communities. Climate change will similarly impact all human rights and consideration of health rights requires deep consideration of how to ensure protection of all rights.
Submission details
Papers must be submitted by 31 March 2021
Full papers have a maximum word length of 7,000 words, including references. We also invite Perspective Essays of up to 3000 words, including references, on this topic.
Author guidelines are available on the website: http://www.hhrjournal.org/submissions/author-guidelines/.
Questions about this special section can be directed to Carmel Williams, Executive Editor, Health and Human Rights Journal, williams@hsph.harvard.edu, or Gillian MacNaughton, Associate Professor of Human Rights, School for Global Inclusion and Social Development, University of Massachusetts Boston, Gillian.MacNaughton@umb.edu.
[1] See the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports: https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/
[2] Ibid, p1