The climate activist Greta Thunberg and 15 other young people filed an official complaint with the United Nations on Monday against five countries - including Germany. They allege that their human rights are being violated by the countries’ failure to combat climate change. 

“How dare you!”: 5 countries chastised for climate failure

Alongside Germany, France, Brazil, Argentina and Turkey all stand accused of failing to uphold their obligations under the Convention of the Right of the Child, a 30-year-old, widely-ratified human rights treaty. “World leaders are failing to protect children’s rights by continuing to do nothing about the climate crisis,” said 16-year-old Thunberg at a press conference in New York. “The message we want to send is that we’ve had enough.”

The complaint was submitted only a few hours after the young activist delivered an emotional address to world leaders at the UN Climate Action Summit. With tears in her eyes, Thunberg accused politicians of failure on climate protection. “People are suffering. People are dying [...] We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can think of is money and fairytales of eternal growth. How dare you!” 

The five countries were chosen on the basis that they are some of the world’s biggest historical and current emitters of greenhouse gases that have also ratified the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. Other noteworthy climate offenders like China and the USA were not named, as neither has ratified the part of the treaty that allows children to seek justice for potential violations. 

Climate crisis violates human rights

The filing maintains that the human rights of the complainants - who are aged between eight and 17 and hail from 12 different countries worldwide - are being violated by the climate crisis. Deaths caused by environmental disasters, threats to traditional lifestyles, health risks and psychological stress are named as just some examples of this.

The countries stand accused of not using their resources “to prevent the deadly and foreseeable consequences” of the current climate crisis and not cooperating effectively with other nations to address the problem. 

The complainants further charge the countries with making “inadequate” pledges to reduce climate-damaging emissions - thus adding more voices to the claim that Germany’s recently-unveiled climate package does not go far enough. The cuts agreed to will not stop global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees, they warn. 

UN Committee will consider Thunberg’s complaint

The children do not ask for financial compensation. Instead, they request that the countries immediately adjust their climate goals and cooperate with other countries. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child will now have to decide on whether to accept the complaint and seek opinions from the governments concerned. 

You can read more about the filing, and the people behind it, on the Children vs Climate Crisis website.