Berlin/Osnabrück – At the climate conference taking place in Bonn until June 26, Terre des Hommes together with children and young people from numerous countries, is calling for greater commitment and a clear alignment of climate policy with children's rights. The children and young people are referring in particular to the provisions of General Comment 26, a general commentary on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Terre des Hommes made a significant contribution, and are demanding a healthy and intact environment for children and young people of today and tomorrow.
At the Bonn "Interim Conference SB62," government delegations, scientists, and representatives from business associations, environmental and human rights organizations, including Terre des Hommes , are discussing the content of the climate summit to be held in Belém, Brazil, from November 10 to 21, 2025. "Children make up a third of the world's population. However, they remain excluded from climate policy, and their interests are not taken into account despite promises on paper," says Joshua Hofert, spokesperson for the board of Terre des Hommes . "The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has confirmed in General Comment 26 that environmental damage and the negligent approach to the climate crisis violate children's rights, especially the right to a healthy environment."
Terre des Hommes calls on governments to plan and implement child-friendly and rights-based measures developed in collaboration with young people. Young people, especially those most affected by climate change, should be able to participate in these decisions and exercise their right to be heard.
“If climate protection measures and national action plans fail to guarantee the right of children and young people to a clean, safe, and healthy environment, they will definitively miss the 1.5-degree target of the Paris Agreement,” said Joshua Hofert. “States have not only a moral but also a legal obligation to act. International climate policy must guarantee the rights of children.”