There is No Climate Justice Without Human Rights, Fossil of the Day is Awarded to Israel
10 December
Dubai, UAE
About the fossils: The Fossil of the Day awards were first presented at the climate talks in 1999, in Bonn, initiated by the German NGO Forum. During United Nations climate change negotiations (www.unfccc.int), members of the Climate Action Network (CAN), vote for countries judged to have done their ‘best’ to block progress in the negotiations in the last days of talks.
Every day at 18:00 local time you can watch the Fossil ceremony at Action Zone 9 (near the entrance)
There is No Climate Justice Without Human Rights, Fossil of the Day is Awarded to Israel
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the world’s most groundbreaking global pledges: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But we don’t see these rights being respected. Instead, we witness violations, hypocrisy, and double standards which completely disregard this cornerstone framework, making it an utter failure in protecting people impacted by these conflicts. We cannot achieve climate justice whilst this conflict is ongoing and people’s basic needs are being weaponised.
During the march yesterday, civil society chanted ‘no climate justice without human rights’, ‘ceasefire now’. The killing of Palestinians is occurring 2,500 km away from Dubai, where Israel claims it is defending itself. Over the past 63 days, Israel’s violence has extended beyond Gaza, to the civilians of Lebanon and Syria. They have burnt trees, land, and people, shooting and jailing civilians in the West Bank.
For the intent of genocide we are awarding Israel the Fossil of the Day.
The conflict has already taken the lives of more than 7000 Palestinian children and over 17,500 Palestinian people. In the last two days Israel bombed two hospitals, and burned the surrounding refugee tents, including the people inside them.
On Human Rights Day, we must stress that the actions of Israel seek to eliminate Palestinian people through the unfolding genocide. Indigenous leaders recognise that resistance against Israeli colonialism is on the front-line in the battle against Western geopolitical primacy which exploits the labour of racialised peoples of the global south and has brought the Earth’s ecosystems to the brink of collapse. The liberation of Palestinians is directly connected to the liberation of all Indigenous people. To address the root cause of the climate crisis we must understand, confront and dismantle the imperialist, colonialist and capitalist systems of oppression.
There is no climate justice without human rights. There is no climate justice without the rights of Indigenous People.
Dishonorable mention: USA
The USA can’t escape today without receiving a dishonourable mention. Their veto at the UN Security Council on the resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of all Israeli hostages, is a shameful act. This essentially condemns the Palestinians living in Gaza to yet more violence leading to an unfolding genocide, with dire humanitarian consequences.
The Biden administration’s support for Israel goes beyond being the honest brokers in the conflict that they claim to be by vetoing UN resolutions, continuing to provide bombs, tank shells, arms and ammunition to Israel, while continuing to circumvent Congress —all of which will be used to fuel the ongoing war crimes in Gaza.
We demand that the Biden administration reverse its current immoral stance and join the international community’s urgent call for an immediate ceasefire and the safe return of all Israeli hostages and illegally held Palestinian prisoners.
We stand with those who grieve and fear for their loved ones, and join the call for peace and safety, where the rights of all are respected without exception or distinction.
Ceasefire now.
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Contact:
About CAN: The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a global network of over 2000 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in more than 150 countries working to promote government and individual action to limit human-induced climate change to ecologically sustainable levels. www.climatenetwork.org