A group of Australians lodged a case Monday with a United Nations panel that accuses the country’s government of violating their human rights by failing to limit coal and gas exports.
The case before the U.N. Human Rights Committee is the first complaint to be filed after of its kind. It comes after the U.N.’s judicial arm, the International Court of Justice, ruled last July that countries have a legal duty to tackle climate change.
“All governments have a legal duty to act on the climate crisis,” said Ramin Pejan, deputy managing attorney of the international program at Earthjustice. The nonprofit is representing the 10 Australians, along with the Human Rights Law Centre and Environmental Justice Australia.
The Australian government, Pejan added, “is failing that responsibility by allowing unchecked exports of coal and gas. This case sends a clear message: governments must act to reduce climate pollution from coal and gas and protect their people from harm.”
