COP28, the United Nations annual climate conference, takes place in Dubai from 30 November to 12 December. It will bring together 198 states and parties to address the global threat posed by climate change. The human rights record of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the host nation, will also be under the spotlight. Amnesty International's Secretary General Agnès Callamard will attend between 1 and 6 December.
Countries agreed to limit global warming at previous COPs, so what happened?
At COP21 in Paris in 2015 countries agreed to try to limit global warming this century to 1.5°Cabove pre-industrial levels to stave off the worst effects of climate change. We are already at about 1.4°C, and the world's climate is on course to be least 2.8°C warmer by 2100, according to the IPCC climate science advisory panel, with catastrophic implications for billions of people and ecosystems. Concentrations of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane,which are warming the atmosphere and derived mainly from the production and burning of fossil fuels, are already at record levels and increasing.
But the world's climate has changed historically, so what's the problem?
Global temperatures are rising at an unprecedented rate. The past eight years have been the hottest ever recorded. In July the world endured the hottest day on record, and 2023 will almost certainly be the hottest year. This heat is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, wiping out crops and livestock, damaging ecosystems, and wrecking lives and livelihoods. A pattern of intensifying heat, droughts and wildfires, followed by extreme rainfall events, is becoming more commonplace. Longer-term processes, such as glacial melting and retreat, polar ice sheet loss, and sea-level rise have intensified.
What has climate change got to do with human rights?
Climate change worsens droughts, damages harvests and leads to food scarcity and rising food costs, and after decades of steady decline, world hunger has risen again. This scarcity increases resource competition and can cause displacement, migration, and conflict, leading to other human rights harms.
It is often already vulnerable communities, which use fossil fuels the least, such as subsistence farmers, Indigenous peoples, and those living in low lying island states faced with rising sea levels and more powerful storms, who bear the brunt of climate change and whose rights to health, life, food, and education are most often compromised. Global warming effects many other rights in countries at all levels of income, for example by significantly worsening air pollution.
It means disease-carrying mosquitos are spreading to new areas. Extreme heat causes deaths among workers outside, and increases mortality rates in care homes and health facilities. In high-income countries, the damage caused by fossil fuel extraction and climate change often falls disproportionately in so-called 'sacrifice zones' where often already marginalized communities are subjected to harmful pollution, and disinvestment means public infrastructure is ill-equipped to survive extreme weather events.
What can be done to fix this?
Much more. An agreement on a fast, fair, and funded phase out of fossil fuels at COP28 is critical to protect human rights. Governments and business leaders can and should do far more to halt the increasing development of fossil fuel resources, which is incompatible with states' human rights obligations and the goal to limit global warming to below 1.5°C. Many countries are investing in expanding renewable energy but far more is required for a transition which provides access to sustainable energy for all. Public financing forrenewable energy, making polluters pay, and mandatory electrification are policy approaches that can have measurable impacts on emissions.
Several court cases related to climate change and infringement of rights are underway, some involving Amnesty International, and demonstrating that there are legal paths towards holding states and companies to account.
Campaigning and climate activism have notched important victories, showing that grassroots pressure on governments and business to stop investing in fossil fuelscan help us to turn the corner. Young people and minoritized communities suffering the most from the human rights violations associated with climate change are often at the forefront of these efforts.
What about human rights in the UAE? Isn't it a major fossil fuel producer?
The UAE's dismal human rights record threatens a successful summit. A pledge to allow "voices to be heard" at COP28 is inadequate and serves to highlight the UAE's normally restrictive human rights environment and the severe limits it places on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The closure of civic space, and the possibility of digital espionage and surveillance are concerns. Amnesty International has prepared a full briefing on the UAE's human rights situation.
COP must be a forum where therights to freedom of expression and peaceful protest are upheld and civil society, Indigenous peoples, frontline communities and groups affected by climate change, can participate openly and without fear. Emiratis and people of all nationalities must be able to freely criticize states, rulers, corporations and policies, including those of the UAE, so they can help shape policy without intimidation.
The UAE is also one of the world's top ten oil producing states and opposes the rapid phasing out of fossil fuels. The fossil fuel industry generates enormous wealth for relatively few corporate actors and states, which have a vested interest in blocking a just transition to renewable energy, and silencing opponents.
COP28, is chaired by Sultan Al Jaber, who is also the chief executive of the UAE state oil and gas company ADNOC, which is expanding its production of fossil fuels. Amnesty International has urged Sultan Al Jaber to resignfromADNOC, believing it is a glaring conflict of interest which threatens the success of COP28, and symptomatic of the increasing influence the fossil fuel lobby has been able to exert over states and COP.
How can countries with fewer resources be expected to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction targets?
Many countries lack resources sufficient tofix damage caused by global warming, or to adapt to its impacts and protect people's rights. Higher income states have an obligation under human rights law and the 2015 Paris Agreement to provide them with support.
In 2009 higher-income states, which have been the largest historic emitters of greenhouse gases, promised US$100bn a year by 2020 to help "developing" countries with emissions reduction and climate adaptation. So far they have failed to honour this funding commitment, but meeting all existing pledges and scaling up financing for adaptation and social protection programmes are critical to protecting rights.
For years higher-income states refused to pay for the loss and damage caused by climate change in "developing" countries but last year's COP agreed to create a Loss and Damage Fund. How this fund will be run and managed will be subject to negotiation at this year's meeting.
Higher-income states, through their roles as creditors and regulators, and via their influence over the World Bank to provide debt relief or loans with less punishing conditions, can help accelerate a just transition to renewable energy globally.
Residents walk along River Muooni along Kavuthu-Mutyambua Road. PHOTO Copied to clipboard
Eight people said to have attended First Lady Rachel Ruto's 14th Anniversary of the Joyful Women Organization (JOYWO) at the Kasarani Stadium on Thursday in Nairobi have passed away after drowning in a flooded river on their way home.
The incident occurred at 11.00 pm last night, according to an area correspondent who spoke with Kenyans.co.ke.
"Yes, the guests were from the event organised by the First Lady. It is so sad to report that some of the deceased were relatives," the correspondent stated.
Eyewitnesses stated that the eight were not on the bus at the time of the accident as the driver had refused to ferry them across the swelling river. Despite continuous warnings that their lives were at risk, the eight allegedly held hands and crossed the river together.
Area chief Norman Musyoki also confirmed that the incident occurred along Kavuthu-Mutyambua Road and warned that the death toll may rise.
"Witnesses say seven people died. We are trying to ascertain the exact number. They were sitting on a log floating in the middle of the river after being overwhelmed by the raging waters as they tried to cross.
"A sudden swelling of the river swept them away as a crowd of witnesses looked on helplessly," Musyoki told local media stations, adding that they had warned residents against crossing the river, one of the most dangerous, during the El Nino season.
Emergency services providers were immediately deployed to the accident scene to kickstart the process of retrieving the bodies. So far, only two bodies have been retrieved from the flooded river.
The total number of passengers on board the vehicle, that of dead bodies and survivors, is yet to be confirmed. Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr eulogised the victims and also lamented that the deaths occurred nearly a fortnight after three people drowned in the river.
"Yesterday in the evening, we received reports that eight people tried crossing the Muooni River. At midriver, water swelled, and currents swept them. From the reports I have received this morning, five people have already been identified. My condolences to the families who have lost the 8," Mutula mourned.
Meanwhile, JOYWO, an initiative First Lady Mama Rachel Ruto founded in 2009, aims to empower women economically through financial inclusion and skills development to meet their basic needs.
President William Ruto and Second Lady Dorcas Rigathi were among the notable guests at the Thursday event, which was attended by thousands of the organisation's members. ByTIMOTHY CERULLO, Kenyans.co.ke
NAIROBI, Kenya, November 23, 2023/APO Group/ -- With the backing of the SIDA-funded Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation Project, a meeting was led by AU-IBAR in partnership with WIOMSA and the Nairobi Convention from November 20th to 21st, 2023. This assembly convened over 20 delegates, drawing participation from the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Marine Parks and Reserve Unit (MPRU) of the United Republic of Tanzania.
The primary objective of this gathering was to develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize activities within the proposed Transboundary Marine Conservation Area (TBCA). The overarching aim is to enhance transboundary cooperation between Kenya and Tanzania, focusing on the conservation of aquatic biodiversity and environmental protection.
The meeting, held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, was guided by the framework of the SIDA-funded Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation Project. Moderated by Dr. Patrick Karani, a Technical Environmental Expert, AU-IBAR, the joint discussions addressed priority issues and actions identified in the roadmaps crafted during preceding national meetings in Tanzania and Kenya.
Specifically, the joint meeting aimed to: 1. Define the roles of each country and jointly in the proposed TBCA. 2. Specify the content of the MOU. 3. Develop a draft MOU for the joint management of the proposed TBCA area. 4. Plan bilateral engagements on the proposed TBCA process. 5. Create a harmonized roadmap for advancing the TBCA planning process.
The overarching aim is to enhance transboundary cooperation between Kenya and Tanzania, focusing on the conservation of aquatic biodiversity and environmental protection
Mr. Joel Mokenye, representing AU-IBAR as an Aquatic Biodiversity Specialist, delivered the opening remarks on behalf of Dr. Huyam Salih, the Director of AU-IBAR. He highlighted the timely nature of the meeting, providing an opportunity for delegates to identify and deliberate on country and joint obligations within the proposed TBCA area. Mokenye expressed gratitude to the government and people of Sweden for their support and thanked the United Republic of Tanzania for hosting the workshop.
Dr. Arthur Tuda, Executive Director of WIOMSA, stressed the importance of formalizing activities within the transboundary area through the development of an MOU. He thanked AU-IBAR and the Nairobi Convention for their facilitation, acknowledging the processes involved in realizing the TBCA area.
Mr. Solomon, Head of Wildlife Multilateral Environmental Agreement Implementation at the Kenya Wildlife Service, conveyed thanks to the government of the United Republic of Tanzania for their hospitality. He expressed appreciation to AU-IBAR and WIOMSA for supporting the process of establishing a Kenya-Tanzania Marine TBCA. Solomon highlighted the commitment of the Kenyan delegation to work collaboratively with their Tanzanian counterparts to translate the TBCA concept into action.
Dr. Sware Semesi, the Managing Director of the Marine Parks and Reserve Unit (MPRU) representing the United Republic of Tanzania, officially opened the meeting. She thanked the delegates for their attendance, acknowledged the support from AU-IBAR and WIOMSA, and affirmed the full commitment of the Tanzanian government to the TBCA process.
The two-day meeting was fruitful in advancing the MOU and creating the Kenya-Tanzania Transboundary Marine Conservation Area, both of which are critical steps in strengthening transboundary cooperation for the conservation of aquatic biodiversity and environmental protection.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit has arrived in Arush, Tanzania ahead of the 23rd East African Community (EAC) Summit.
The President’s arrival is historic as he will assume the chairmanship of the regional economic bloc. Kiir and his accompanying delegation was received by Tanzania’s Minister for Constitution and Legal Affairs Dr Pindi Chana.
Speaking to reporters in Juba on Thursday morning, Lilly Adhieu Martin, the president’s press secretary said Kiir travelled to Tanzania to attend the Ordinary Summit of the EAC Heads of State and Government.
“The main purpose of the trip is not only to participate in the summit, but for H.E the president to take chairmanship of the community from his counterpart, the Burundian president,” she said.
“This is a historic achievement for the people and government of South Sudan to lead the government, achieving regional peace and economic integration,” she added.
According to the press secretary, Kiir’s one-year tenure will give South Sudan a great opportunity to advocate for policies that promote equal and effective regional integration and cooperation.
“As the chairperson for the East African Community, President Kiir will focus on enhancing customs, cross-border trade, mitigation of climate change, crisis management and enhancing regional peace ,” she stated.
South Sudan joined the regional body in April 2016.
Ealier this month, South Sudan's government paid arrears of $7 million to the regional bloc to avoid termination of its membership.
The EAC now groups Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Somalia has been awaiting membership since 2016. - Radio Tamazuj
A fuel tanker stuck in the mud just a kilometer away from Mandera town.Ibrahim Adan Ali, Standard]
The much-discussed El Niño rains have hit Kenya, causing floods that have killed over 50 people, displaced 80,000, and destroyed property worth millions.
But the question on Kenyans' mind is, where the billions of shillings allocated to mitigate the disaster? At issue is the Sh10 billion for disaster management that was to ease suffering of flood victims.
Despite allocating Sh4.4 billion to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in the 2023/24 supplementary budget, the government insists it has no money to address the floods.
Both national and county governments now say they lack funds to assist those impacted by the heavy rains that have cut off parts of the country.
On Tuesday, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua claimed the national government had released Sh10 billion to the 47 counties for flood mitigation. In the same breath, he told off Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir for doing little to help flood-hit families in his county.
The deputy president, who was distributing relief food in Kisauni, demanded Nassir put development projects on hold and focus on distributing medical and food aid.
But Mr Nassir and Siaya Governor James Orengo quickly pointed out that no flood mitigation funds were disbursed to counties.
"I have heard that the deputy president was here in Mombasa. I have also been informed of his other speech. The truth is that the national government has not given a single cent to county governments. Even Nyeri County has not witnessed a penny. Siaya County is flooded too, and residents have been forced to vacate their homes. If Mombasa had benefited, I would have known. So, those are lies," said Mr Orengo.
The Council of Governors (CoG) also refuted Gachagua's claim that counties received El Niño preparedness and mitigation funds from the national government.
The council stated that no such funds were deployed to counties where floods have killed 52, displaced over 80,000 families, and damaged farmland.
"We note with concern public utterances that suggest that county governments have received funds from the national government to support the mitigation of the devastating impact of the El Niño rains," CoG chair Anne Waiguru said yesterday.
"We take the position that such utterances are against the spirit of cooperative and collaborative governments as envisioned under the provisions of Article 6(2) of the Constitution."
Ms Waiguru said 13 counties are owed Sh10.17 billion for September, 27 counties are owed Sh19.64 billion for October, while all counties are owed Sh32.76 billion for November.
"It is in such times we call upon the two levels of government to come together and intensify response strategies to mitigate against the complex risks arising from the heavy rains and flooding, in addition to the existing humanitarian challenges," she added.
In response, Mr Gachagua, who was speaking during the launch of the Development Partnership Forum in Karen, Nairobi, advised the counties to utilise their own funds to address the effects of El Niño.
And in a marked shift from his earlier statement on Tuesday, he said that the national government would not provide additional funds to the counties.
"We are therefore shocked to see governors complaining that they are yet to receive money for El Niño from the national government. Such money is not forthcoming. They are expected to use emergency money within their financial provision and to re-allocate money within their budget to intervene for the people that they govern," he said.
Several residential areas marooned by floodwaters in Mombasa.[Sammy Omingo, Standard]
The council's admission has added to the confusion, especially after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) issued a prior warning about an 'impending scandal' in the mitigation measures for the El-Nino rains.
In a letter addressed to constitutional commissions, independent offices, and all county governments, the EACC emphasised the need for strict compliance with procurement laws.
"It has come to the attention of the commission that there is disregard of the law, in the initiation and implementation of some mitigation measures, which is likely to give room for financial impropriety and embezzlement of public funds," said EACC chief executive Twalib Mbarak.
A check by The Standard traced the confusion about the El Niño rains to a weather forecast earlier this year.
In August, weather experts warned of early signs of El Niño rains starting in September and lasting until January next year across the country.
But this prediction became a political issue when the President dismissed the forecasts, instead stating that the country would only experience heavy rains.
During a church service in Dagoretti last month, the President said that the Meteorological Department had scaled down the forecast from El Niño to short rains.
He added that this would enable farmers to increase production and safeguard the nation's food supply.
Following this, the Meteorological Department revised its alert, specifying that the upcoming rains would be substantial but not classified as El Niño.
This retraction, coupled with the fact that the department has not been issuing regular disaster updates -as they have to be approved by government- has compounded the woes of Kenyans who feel abandoned.
Amidst disputes among top government officials at both the national and county levels over funds and the authenticity of El Niño, leaders from the North-Eastern region have accused the government of neglect and discrimination in distributing El-Nino relief aid.
This criticism comes despite Parliament recently allocating Sh4.4 billion to the NDMA.
The distribution of emergency resources to mitigate the impact of El Nino seemed inequitable, especially considering that two-thirds of the region is submerged, with Wajir County experiencing the most severe effects.
Led by Eldas MP Adan Keynan, the MPs expressed concern that the anticipated assistance from the national government lacked clarity and thorough planning.
They made these remarks in Nairobi after flagging off 24 tonnes of food and drugs to six sub-counties in Wajir.
“We want the national government to come out properly and assist the residents of our counties. What is being coordinated and what we have been told is been coordinated, we are not seeing it at all,” said Mr Keynan.
Wajir Senator Mohamed Abass Sheikh took issue with the fact that the national government was yet to implement interventions to aid families in flood-hit areas.
“We want to know whether we are still a part of this country. The floods in Mombasa started earlier this week and the Deputy President has already outlined measures to assist the county government of Mombasa. What about Northern Kenya?” said Mr Abass.
Wajir West MP Yusuf Mohamed Farah accused the government of "slacking in its response to the problem as the magnitude and effort put in did not match".
"As Parliament, we have appropriated money to deal with these emergencies that ravaged our country, especially in northern Kenya, in the counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera. But we are seeing nothing on the ground as our people perish,” said Mr Mohamed.
The MP also urged the Kenya National Highways Authority to promptly repair the road section washed away by floods in Modogashe, saying the damage is impeding the flow of humanitarian assistance to Wajir and Mandera.
"Even if we airlifted all goods to Wajir County headquarters, you also need to airlift the same to areas that are far, and which have been submerged,” he said.
Tarbaj MP Hussein Bare noted that despite Parliament appropriating funds to tackle emergencies such El-Nino rains, the government was slow in expediting the release of funds and relief aid.
He accused the State of abdicating its role to the Kenya Red Cross Society and the Wajir County government.
Mr Bare said President Ruto should visit the region to appreciate the plight of residents.
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