Children should be involved in decisions concerning ocean governance to safeguard not only their rights, but also those of future generations. This recommendation has been put forward in the 2024 report on the right to development of children and future generations (para 47) just published by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to development, Surya Deva. The statement relies on a One Ocean Hub submission prepared by Hub Director Elisa Morgera (University of Strathclyde, UK), Mia Strand (Nelson Mandela University, South Africa & Ocean Nexus, US) and Alana Malinde S.N. Lancaster (University of the West Indies, Barbados).  

The Rapporteur further recommends that States should “ensure active, free and meaningful participation of children and representatives of future generations in all policymaking and execution decisions, including those concerning the Sustainable Development Goals, annual budgets, climate change, ocean governance, new technologies, trade and investment agreements and public debt” (para 90). 

Children’s right to development 

The report proposed five actions to overcome ongoing challenges in realising the right to development of children: investing in child development, nurturing responsible leadership, enabling participation, ensuring safety and facilitating remediation. In addition, the Special Rapporteur recommends including children from diverse backgrounds in government delegations involved in multilateral negotiations for various human rights, environmental or climate issues and in regional and international forums relating to these issues or the Sustainable Development Goals. He also called on States to “adopt laws and policies to ensure that child human rights defenders do not face any threats, bullying or intimidation for carrying out their legitimate work” and “establish child-responsive remedial mechanisms to address effectively violations of children’s human rights.” 

The report also clarifies the role of business to: support children’s participation and consider intersectional impacts while developing new technologies; adopt responsible advertising practices in relation to children; protect children and child human rights defenders from online bullying and harassment; and establish child-responsive grievance mechanisms to handle complaints concerning violations of children’s human rights.  

All these recommendations are relevant for ocean governance and businesses involved in the blue economy. This is further supported by Hub research findings on the importance of understanding children’s right to development in light of their cultural rights and ocean cultural heritage, as well as the proposed framework for implementing children’s right to be heard in international ocean and climate-related fora. 

In the Report, the Rapporteur goes on to address multilateral development banks, asking them to: 

•conduct ex-ante assessments of the impacts of project finance on the human rights of children, and include suitable clauses in their contracts to prevent, mitigate and remediate such impacts;  

•provide grants and increase long-term, low-interest financing for child development, especially to states under debt distress; and 

•ensure that their grievance mechanisms are child-responsive to handle complaints about violations of children’s human rights effectively. 

These recommendations hold significance for the ongoing international engagements of One Ocean Hub on children’s human rights and climate finance, as part of a network of children rights organisations.  

Future generations 

UN Special Rapporteur Deva also elaborated on the concept of future generations, indicating that: 

•it should be understood to “include all organisms, not merely human beings that will exist on the Earth in the future”; 

•the principle of intergenerational equity should be embedded in impact assessment and human rights due diligence processes and the precautionary principle should be followed; and 

•financial planning and budgeting should be reoriented to build the economic capability for future generations to realise their right to development.  

The report also discusses the human rights of future generations, with two references to ocean governance: 

•First, the Rapporteur indicated that “any project to approve deep-sea mining or hydropower must consider adverse impacts also on the human rights of future generations” (para 80), taking into account “the foreseeability and severity of harm and the probability of its occurrence and irreversibility” (para 79).  

•Second, it referred to the Advisory Opinion of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea on the need for States to apply precaution “in their exercise of due diligence to prevent, reduce and control marine pollution from anthropogenic [greenhouse gas] emissions” (para 81).  

The rapporteur also indicated that business should: 

•consider the adverse impact of their activities on the human rights of future generations in the light of the precautionary principle; and

•ensure the active, free and meaningful participation of representatives of future generations and consider intersectional impacts while developing new technologies and digital games.

Outlook  

One Ocean Hub continues to advance research and international engagements on children’s rights and the ocean, including at the ocean-climate nexus. Among several initiatives, Hub Director Elisa Morgera will contribute to two upcoming conferences on children’s human rights: delivering a presentation titled “Children’s climate justice is also about biodiversity, the ocean and the human right to science” at the “Child/youth-friendly climate justice: Progress and Opportunities” conference (30 September-1 October 2024) at University College Cork, Ireland; and a keynote address at the conference “Climate (In)justice: How Climate Change Affects Children’s Access to Justice” taking place 10-11 October 2024, in Brussels, Belgium. 

For more information on children’s rights and the ocean: 

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•Check out our Learning Pathway on children and the ocean here >>