A first hearing is scheduled for Wednesday, September 27, before 22 judges at the European Court of Human Rights, which was established in September 2020. Al-Shabaab accuses 32 countries, most of them European, including France, of not respecting the Paris Convention on human rights. Human. Climate, signed in 2015.
September 27, 2023 | withdrawn from International mail
Sofia and Andre Oliveira, two of the six young Portuguese men who attack 32 countries for climate inaction before European justice. Sofia and Andre Oliveira, two of the six young Portuguese men who attack 32 countries for climate inaction before European justice. Photo by Carlos Costa/AFP
Their names are Katarina, Claudia, Martim, Marianna, Sofia and Andrei. On Wednesday, these six young Portuguese men, aged between 11 and 24, are preparing to “face the legal teams of 32 European countries united to drop their arguments in the first climate case heard by the European Court of Human Rights (CEDH)”. In Strasbourg, he agreed to the instructions. Confirms general.
In the columns of the Portuguese newspaper, Gearóid O Quinn, director of the Global Legal Action Network (Glan), the British NGO that provides legal support to young people, assessed the enormous challenge that awaits them:
“This is truly a case of David versus Goliath, unprecedented in its scope and consequences.”
The young people have appeared before the European justice system in the 27 EU member states, as well as Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Norway and the United Kingdom (the complaint against Ukraine was withdrawn after the Russian invasion). Their goal: to convict them of climate inaction and non-compliance The Paris Agreement signed in 2015. According to them, these countries will fail to achieve the goal of preventing global temperatures from rising by 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era.
“The challenges that will define our era”
They also hope to use this first hearing, Wednesday, to make clear that “the forest fires that have occurred in Portugal every year since the particularly deadly fires in 2017 are a direct result of global warming.” Maria Teresa Gollo reports on site A prefix meaning environment.
Read also: Judgment. Acquittal in Portugal’s horrific 2017 fire trial: ‘Culture of impunity’?
In her column on the increase in the number of environmental complaints filed before the courts, the sustainable development specialist concludes:
“The climate crisis and climate lawsuits are challenges that will define our times, and how we address them will shape our future.”
“Ensuring the defense and respect of children’s rights”
In the youth camp. The Portuguese Environmental Association Zero confirms to the observatory websiteThat the lawsuit they filed – “Biggest climate lawsuit ever” – “may force Europe to act quickly and take more action”. For them, the climate ambition of European governments in particular is insufficient to protect the fundamental European rights of these young people, especially the right to life and the right to physical and mental well-being.
Read also: Fires. Portugal is burning or the “drama of helplessness” in the face of climate change
In the columns of SabadoThe NGO Save the Children announces that it has also joined the struggle of Portuguese youth, in the voice of Ida Strömso, its legal advisor:
“We believe that this case addresses a very important topic and raises relevant questions to ensure the defense and respect of children’s rights.”
The decision of the European Court of Human Rights may not come for several months, while the summer of 2023 was the hottest ever in the world.
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