Diritti umani e Cambiamento Climatico: Daniel Billy et al v. Australia

This final dissertation deals with the relationship between human rights and climate change, with a focus on UN Treaty monitoring bodies and environmental treaty bodies and their attention on compliance, the impact of climate change on human rights and the role and application of the International Covenants in relation to the environment. The crucial aspect of the study is represented by the case of Daniel Billy et al v Australia, which displays violations of human rights which are both climate-induced and anthropogenic. Compliance becomes fundamental when there are human rights in question: treaty bodies are the best instrument to ensure that States comply with their human rights obligations under international law. In the case of environmental treaty bodies, their role is to ensure that while also respecting human rights, norms for the maintenance and protection of the environment are being respected as well. Furthermore, the study analyzes what fundamental rights are at risk and cannot be realized fully because of climate change: the right to life, to family, to adequate housing and health are only a few examples, together with the rights protected in the Covenants. The rights of future generations and children are treated through the topic of young activism and climate activism in general. Many cases of climate litigation in the past years have been recorded, showing the relevance of climate change’s negative impacts in our economic, social, cultural, and juridical society. Finally, the study focuses on the Daniel Billy et al v Australia case, where indigenous and Aboriginal rights of Torres Strait Islanders were violated by Australia, in a striking first case in which a State was found in violation of human rights because of negligence towards action against climate change which could have saved lives and prevented cultural and economic losses for indigenous peoples. In hope that cases like this can change the approach towards the protection of the environment and human lives.