Snapshot: Climate change and Samoa ● ● ● ● Samoa is facing increasing risks from tropical cyclones, storm surges, flooding, heat waves and more severe and longer-lasting droughts. Sea levels have been rising in Samoa at a rate of 4mm per year since 1993, well above the global average, contributing to coastal erosion and impacting villages. Very hot days and high humidity are increasing the spread of mosquitoes carrying dengue fever. Climate change could cost Samoa’s economy as much as 3.8% of annual GDP. Background The human rights impact of climate change has been addressed by the Ombudsman/NHRI of Samoa in its State of Human Rights Reports: 2015, 2017 and 2019. The annual reports highlight the impacts of climate change on the human rights of all people in Samoa, as well as the additional impacts for women, children, persons with disabilities and future generations. The reports also document the human rights impacts of internal migration caused by climate change. The NHRI has highlighted the importance of strong international advocacy by the Samoan Government and other Pacific Island nations to ensure that developed nations, responsible for the vast majority of carbon emissions, deliver on their commitments to smaller nations that bear the greatest impacts of climate change. The NHRI has also stressed the importance of cooperating with the Government and its agencies to defend the human rights of the Samoan people in all climate change adaptation and mitigation actions, including relocation and resettlement efforts. The High-Level Dialogue and workshop for government executives and policymakers builds on the NHRI’s reports and its ongoing advocacy for a human rights-based approach to address the escalating impacts of climate change on the people of Samoa. High-level dialogue and workshop The High-Level Dialogue and workshop – “Advancing a human rights-based approach to climate actions” – were held in Apia, Samoa, from 12-14 April 2023. It was the first event of its kind hosted by the NHRI, in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC). Goals The High-Level Dialogue and workshop sought to: ● ��� ● ● Raise awareness of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, recently adopted by the UN General Assembly Examine the link between human rights and climate change in Samoa Promote the mainstreaming of human rights in all government climate change policies and actions Strengthen collaboration between the NHRI, government, civil society and intergovernmental mechanisms in the Pacific to address the impacts of climate change from a human rights-based approach. The presentations and discussions drew on the NHRI’s work in this area over many years, as well as materials and resources from the APF blended learning course for NHRIs in the Pacific and South-East Asia. - 23 -