The 48th Session of the Human Rights Council Item 3: EOV on Draft Resolution L.27 titled: Mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of human rights in the context of climate change by Ambassador OKANIWA Ken, Permanent Mission of Japan (8 October 2021)

 
 
Japan has been paying attention to potential impacts of climate change on human rights and recognizes that it is important for the international community to work together on this issue. 
 
As to the contents of this resolution, there remains a wide divergence among the positions of the concerned parties. It could hardly be said that we have fully discussed the Special Rapporteur’s mandate itself in the informal consultations during this session. In addition, climate change-related issues are being addressed in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Therefore, Japan is concerned that the mandate of the Special Rapporteur newly created by this resolution could overlap with that of existing fora. We would like to request that substantial and useful information on the future activities of the Special Rapporteur and any relevant outcomes be provided to the Human Rights Council.
 
For these reasons, Japan is not able to fully support this resolution and will abstain.
 
Having said that, Japan will continue to actively engage in the discussions on climate change and human rights to ensure that the new Special Rapporteur will be able to appropriately fulfill his/her mandate.
 
Thank you.