Saint Vincent and Grenadines: UN expert to assess effect of climate change and environmental risks on human rights

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment, David R. Boyd, will visit Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from 25 November to 2 December.

This is the first visit of the Special Rapporteur to a small island state in the Caribbean. It is also the first official visit since the Human Rights Council last month recognised the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

“I am keenly interested in the national implementation of the right to a clean, health and sustainable environment,” said Boyd. “My visit will provide a chance to evaluate how this right is translated into national implementation.”

He plans to assess the effects of climate change on the small island state, after he witnessed the major impacts of the climate crisis on a wide range of human rights in another island country on a previous UN visit.

“I am also going to look into other environmental issues such as biodiversity, pollution and sustainable development planning,” he said. “I will aim to identify good practices and challenges related to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’ human rights obligations.”

During his visit, Boyd will meet Government officials, representatives of civil society and environmental activists. He will present his preliminary observations on the visit at a news conference on 2 December at 10 am local time at the Grenadine House, Kingston Park, Kingstown. Access to the press conference is strictly limited to journalists.

The Special Rapporteur will present a comprehensive report on the visit to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2023.

ENDS

David R. Boyd (Canada) was appointed Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment on 1 August 2018. He is an associate professor of law, policy, and sustainability at the University of British Columbia.@SREnvironment

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures' experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

UN Human Rights, country page – Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

or more information and media requests, please contact: Ms Viktoria Aberg (viktoria.aberg@un.org) in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines or Ms Frederique Bourque (frederique.bourque@un.org) in Geneva.

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts, please contact Renato Rosario De Souza (renato.rosariodesouza@un.org) or Jeremy Laurence (+ 41 79 444 7578 / jeremy.laurence@un.org).

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