Children have the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. However, the climate crisis is depriving children in Thailand and worldwide of their fundamental rights.
To promote and foster collaboration on child rights and the environment, especially climate change, Dr Sarawut Rachasrimuang, National Director of World Vision Thailand, along with the executives, met with Dr Chaiyapol Chantawang, Director of Children and Youth Environmental Promotion Section, Department of Climate Change and Environment, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, to discuss potential collaborations.
“As a Christian development and humanitarian organisation with children at the heart of our work, we recognise that climate change poses significant risks to children and youth in different dimensions. Themeeting with Department of Climate Change and Environment is part of our implementation to be in line withthe Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 26. We hope that this will lead to collaborative efforts, especially in promoting children and youth through empowering them to voice their opinions, take action, and participate in decision-making on policies that affect them at the local, national, and global levels,” said Dr Rachasrimuang.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No 26, states that children’s rights are interconnected with the environment and climate change. Children have the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, which includes the right to clean air, a rich and biodiverse ecosystem, safe and sufficient drinking water, food security, and a pollution-free environment. States are responsible not only for protecting children from immediate harm but also for preventing future violations of children’s rights that may result from the actions or omissions of all sectors.
Amidst the challenges and risks to children’s rights posed by climate change, all sectors must unite and work together towards a common goal to ensure that all children have the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
