INTERNATIONAL FORUM “CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN RIGHTS: THE ROLE OF OMBUDSMEN AND NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS” – BAKU, AZERBAIJAN (OCTOBER 2024)

The Baku International Forum on “Climate Change and Human Rights: The Role of Ombudsmen and National Human Rights Institutions” was held on October 2, 2024. The forum was attended by a total of 200 participants, including over 60 guests from around 30 countries, such as ombudsmen and representatives of NICP, information commissioners, senior government officials, leaders and representatives of civil society organisations and various international organisations and climate change experts and human rights.

The forum’s purpose was to discuss the challenges brought about by global climate change, explore solutions from a human rights perspective, and share positive experiences in this area. The forum hosted panel sessions on the following topics: “Strategies to support NICPs and ombudsman offices in climate change initiatives”, “Public access to information on climate change and its effects”, and “Perspectives for cooperation and development of cooperation”, “Climate Change and Its Intersections with Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War (ERW)” and “Encouraging Business Responsibility in the Context of Climate Change.”

The Director of the Agency for the Protection of the Right to Free Access to Public Information of the Republic of North Macedonia, Plamenka Bojcheva, gave her presentation on the topic “Public access to information about climate change and its effects”. In her speech, she referred to the necessity of self-initiated, timely and up-to-date proactive publication of information by government institutions that create policies in the field of climate change, ecology and the environment, for the entire public to be promptly and in detail informed about them policies and involved in the processes of creating and making decisions and their implementation.

Also, the Declaration of the International Forum of Ombudsmen in Baku was published and unanimously adopted. The declaration aims to improve the role of ombudsmen and NICP in solving environmental issues and increasing public awareness.

Lastly, on the sidelines of the conference, an award ceremony was held for the winners of the research essay competition on the topic “Climate Change and Human Rights”, announced for students by the Ombudsman and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).