{"id":8488,"date":"2026-10-28T16:46:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T13:46:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/achrs.org\/english\/?p=8488"},"modified":"2026-10-28T16:46:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T13:46:23","slug":"achrs-statement-on-the-special-event-of-the-president-of-the-general-assembly-a-planet-fit-for-the-future-restoring-trust-through-climate-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/achrs.org\/english\/2026\/10\/28\/achrs-statement-on-the-special-event-of-the-president-of-the-general-assembly-a-planet-fit-for-the-future-restoring-trust-through-climate-action\/","title":{"rendered":"ACHRS Statement on the Special Event of the President of the General Assembly \u201cA Planet Fit for the Future: Restoring Trust through Climate Action\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Date: 27 October 2026<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On 16 October 2026, the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS), represented by Amina Alayout, followed online the Special Event of the President of the General Assembly \u201cA Planet Fit for the Future: Restoring Trust through Climate Action\u201d. Held in the ECOSOC Chamber during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the event was convened by the President of the General Assembly, H.E. Khalilur Rahman, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), to be held in Antalya, T\u00fcrkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026. It brought together the representatives of the COP30, COP31 and COP32 Presidencies (Brazil, T\u00fcrkiye and Australia, and Ethiopia), Member States, the United Nations system, scientific bodies and civil society representatives.<\/span><\/p>\n

The event took place in the shadow of the catastrophe that struck Nepal on 26 August 2026. A rock and ice collapse claimed 1,451 lives, and nearly 6,000 people remain unaccounted for. Speakers agreed that COP31 must be an \u201cimplementation COP\u201d that turns existing commitments into action. Their calls converged on three demands. Finance must be predictable, accessible and grant-based, and must not deepen debt. The Fund for responding to Loss and Damage must be fully capitalised. Early warning systems must reach the \u201clast mile\u201d. Panelists stressed that a warning is only useful if people can act on it. In low- and middle-income countries, only half of those who receive a warning are able to act. Only around 1% of humanitarian financing goes to anticipatory action. In his closing remarks, the President of the General Assembly recalled that climate impacts are not felt equally, and that equity must shape how resources are mobilised and how success is measured.<\/span><\/p>\n

ACHRS welcomes these messages. Several speakers framed the climate crisis as a matter of justice and human rights. They recalled the 2025 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the obligations of States in respect of climate change. ACHRS shares this view. Floods, heatwaves, drought and water scarcity directly threaten the rights to life, water, food, health and adequate housing. These impacts fall hardest on those already marginalised: women, children, persons with disabilities, older people, refugees, migrant workers and low-income households.<\/span><\/p>\n

ACHRS notes, however, that the Arab region received limited attention during the discussions. Only a few Arab States took the floor, and the region was rarely addressed as a whole, even though it faces some of the most severe climate pressures in the world. The Mediterranean is warming about 20% faster than the global average. Water scarcity is acute: in Jordan, renewable water availability is around 100 cubic metres per person per year, far below the threshold of absolute scarcity. Tunisia reported that about a quarter of its coastline could be affected by sea-level rise by 2050. Extreme heat is a major hazard across the region, yet it was largely absent from a debate focused on glaciers and floods.<\/span><\/p>\n

The discussion on early warning speaks directly to the Arab region. The 2023 floods in Derna, Libya, and the collapse of the Arbaat Dam in Sudan in August 2024, recalled by Sudan during the event, showed how quickly a hazard becomes a catastrophe where infrastructure is weak and institutions are fragile. In the Arab region, the last mile includes refugees and internally displaced persons, migrant workers, rural communities and people living in conflict-affected areas. Warnings must reach them in a language they understand and through channels they trust. They must also be linked to the means to act, including shelters, evacuation plans and pre-arranged finance.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sudan, the United Arab Emirates and Ireland highlighted that climate change acts as a risk multiplier in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Yet these settings receive the smallest share of climate finance. This concern is central for the Arab region. ACHRS also echoes the call to ensure that no country is forced to choose between servicing its debt and protecting the lives of its people, a dilemma faced by many middle-income and heavily indebted Arab States.<\/span><\/p>\n

ACHRS calls on the COP31 Presidencies and all Parties to:<\/span><\/p>\n