In February, our Legal Officer, Dominika Leitane, represented Opportunity Green at the United Nations Office at Geneva during the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ periodic review of the UK. In this blog, she explains why OG took part, how the UN review process works and what the landmark outcome means for housing, the climate crisis and human rights.

*Dominika Leitane and Sam Freeman at the United Nations Office at Geneva*

Back in January, Opportunity Green, together with The Shift, made a written submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The submission focused on the lack of adequate measures to decarbonise the housing sector and its effect on human rights in the UK.

The Committee is responsible for supervising the compliance of states with their international human rights law obligations with respect to economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights. It is composed of 18 independent human rights experts from across the world. The relevant rights, including the right to housing, health and education, are set out in the International Covenant on ESC Rights (ICESCR).

Those rights are significantly affected by two of the UK’s most pressing crises: the housing and climate crises. Decarbonising the housing stock is essential to addressing both crises. The UK’s housing stock is especially poorly-insulated, and Opportunity Green and The Shift argued that the country is falling short of its human rights obligations by not doing enough to decarbonise its homes. We covered this argument in detail in a previous blog – Climate change, buildings and human rights: what’s the deal?

The UN review process: holding States accountable on human rights

Our written submission was part of the Committee’s ‘periodic review’. During this procedure, each state party to the ICESCR is assessed by the Committee on its human rights track record, which takes place every five to seven years.

The Committee starts by asking the government to submit a report explaining how it believes it is complying with its human rights obligations. Members of civil society can also submit ‘shadow reports’, setting out their perspectives on human rights in the country. National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), like the Equality and Human Rights Commission in England, will also make submissions.

Based on these initial submissions, the Committee produces a List of Issues, which serves to focus the discussion on key questions or concerns. Further submissions responding to the List of Issues can then be made – which is where Opportunity Green and the Shift came in with our written submission.

Next there is a Session in Geneva, where members of the Committee come together at the UN Office, lasting several weeks and dealing with multiple countries. The Committee meets with the country’s delegation to ask questions arising from the List of Issues, or any of the written submissions. This is referred to as a ‘dialogue’ between the Committee and the country. Separately, the Committee will meet with civil society organisations (CSOs) to hear their oral submissions.

Finally, the Committee considers the information provided to it over the span of the review procedure. It then releases its findings in a document called Concluding Observations, which includes positive observations, areas of concern and specific recommendations for improvement.

OG at the UN: advocating for housing and climate justice

I attended the Session with Sam Freeman, Director of Legal Research and Advocacy at The Shift. At the CSO meeting, we had the chance to give a brief speech to emphasise the points made in our written submission. The meeting was attended by over 30 organisations, joining in person and virtually. It was sobering to see the shortcomings of the UK’s human rights track record made clear in powerful testimonies from people with lived experience of human rights issues, as well as organisations working across many different issues facing the country.

In this regard, as a climate change NGO in a human rights space, it was crucial to ensure that Opportunity Green’s messages aligned with the interests of those directly affected by the relevant issues. This is why we are particularly grateful to have worked with The Shift, who not only have in-depth expertise of the international human rights law framework, but also work on the frontline of the global housing crisis.

We also attended the subsequent dialogue between the Committee and the sizeable UK delegation, which included representatives from many different government departments. Having the opportunity to be in the room during the discussion enabled us to identify the key tension points and build on our speech by offering brief follow-up analysis to individual members of the Committee.

It was reassuring to see how receptive the Committee members were to the thoughts of the NHRIs and CSOs on the dialogue: they expertly weaved the points emphasised by the numerous organisations into their questioning of the UK delegation, making sure to accurately and sensitively reflect as many perspectives as possible.

*Dominika at the United Nations Office at Geneva*

UN recognises buildings’ decarbonisation as a human right issue

A few weeks later, the Committee published its Concluding Observations on the UK. In a significant development, the Committee explicitly recognised the obligation of States to effectively decarbonise the housing sector to comply with international human rights law. This recognition sends a powerful signal to the UK government that climate inaction is not just an environmental failure, but a human rights issue as well – and needs to be urgently addressed.

The Committee recommended that the UK “take all measures necessary to meet its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement and implement its net-zero strategy, particularly in the energy, transport, land use, agriculture and building sectors,” and that the country improves “its decarbonization policy for dwelling stock.”

These recommendations are not legally binding, partly because the UK’s constitution prevents international law from becoming directly enforceable in national courts. However, the Committee’s recommendations are authoritative and influential from a policy perspective. They help build international consensus on important issues and enable NHRIs and civil society to hold governments accountable for their shortcomings at the national level.

Furthermore, this outcome is vital in keeping the link between buildings, climate change and human rights on the Committee’s radar. In doing so, it can influence the subsequent work of the Committee, as well as the activities of other human rights treaty bodies and national and international institutions. So, while this change will not have an immediate legal effect at the national level, it will have an important incremental influence on the development of the international legal framework.

We’re proud that Opportunity Green contributed to securing this breakthrough: a clear acknowledgment that failing to decarbonise homes is not just an environmental issue, but a violation of human rights. This recognition strengthens the foundation for holding governments accountable for climate inaction and underscores the crucial link between buildings, climate change and human rights.