Fifth session of the Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law | Democracy and Climate Change: Focusing on Solutions

About this Event

The fifth session of the Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law will be held on 13 and 14 October 2025. In accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 52/22, adopted on 3 April 2023 the theme of the fifth session of the Forum is “Democracy and climate change: focusing on solutions”.

On 20 August 2025, H.E. Amb. Ioannis GHIKAS, Permanent Representative of Greece to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, was appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council as the Chair of the fifth session of the Forum.

Agenda and Programme of Work

• Item 1: Adoption of the agenda and organization of work
• Item 2: Climate change in a rule of law(less) context: A foresight exercise
  In this foresight exercise, a multidisciplinary panel of experts will make presentations on anticipated possible futures focusing on the interplay of climate change, their expert areas, human rights, rule of law and democracy.
• Item 3: Participation, accountability and fundamental freedoms – key enablers of a climate-just world
  Panellists will examine the right to participation and the role of key fundamental freedoms in the context of the climate crisis, particularly with respect to environmental human rights defenders. Panellists will discuss whether and how such protection of rights is an enabler for effective climate policy.
• Item 4: Reimagining climate governance: how current governance fits (or does not)
  Experts will interrogate the effectiveness, inclusivity, and adaptability of existing governance mechanisms, assess how they fit the scale, urgency, and complexity of the climate crisis, and where they fall short, including in protection of human rights.
• Item 5: Legal clarity, democratic defence, and creativity
  This panel will explore how courts and regional mechanisms are addressing the challenges of climate change through policy and legal instruments, jurisprudence, and democratic processes.
• Item 6: Harmony with nature: prioritizing solutions that advance human rights, including the right to a healthy environment.
  As countries advance climate commitments and transition pathways, ensuring that these transformations are grounded in human rights principles is important. Panellists will critically assess initiatives that may delay urgently needed climate action or be harmful to people and the planet, in the short or longer term. Panellists will also reflect on how human rights-based and inclusive approaches can maximize transition benefits.
• Item 7: Interconnected solutions for interconnected problems
  As global challenges, including the climate crisis, have become more connected, the responses cannot remain fragmented. Panellists will focus on integrated, cross-sectoral solutions that recognize the systemic nature of the crisis and avoid siloed approaches, also examining whether democracies are better equipped to identify and provide such solutions.

Highlights & Summary

At the opening of the Forum, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, stressed that effective climate action goes hand in hand with the full enjoyment of human rights, concluding, « We need fact-based governance focused on solutions, not distractions. […] We need governance that looks beyond short-term electoral cycles and power grabs and commits to change that is for the benefit of people, planet and generations to come ».

Day 1

Day One Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law: “Climate Emergency is a Wake-Up Call for More Participatory and Effective Governance,” says United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights | Meeting Summary | UN Geneva

Day 2

“Human Rights, Democracy, and the Rule of Law are the Strongest Enablers of Climate Action”, says Forum Chair | Meeting Summary | UN Geneva

Videos

Live from Palais des Nations

Day 1, AM

Day 1, PM

Day 2, AM

Day 2, PM

Participation

The event will take place in Palais des Nations, Room Tempus. In-person participation is open to those registered to the Forum.

Side Events

Various side events took place in the margins of the Forum.

Global Ethical Stocktake | 14 October 2025 | 13:15 to 14:45 CEST | Palais des Nations, Room XI

The Global Ethical Stocktake (GES) – Balanço Ético Global (BEG) in Portuguese – is a groundbreaking initiative jointly launched by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Inspired by the Paris Agreement’s Global Stocktake, the GES proposes a global and ethical dialogue on the climate crisis, bringing together social, cultural, spiritual, business, scientific, and political leaders through six intercontinental dialogues, as well as independent, society-led events. The Global Ethical Stocktake Circle aims to deliver a set of civil society contributions to COP30 to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and limit the increase in the planet’s average temperature to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels.

Structured as a listening circle, this GES will bring together reflections from a diverse range of voices. The outcome of the event will be transmitted to the COP30 Presidency.

Other side events include:

1. Screening of documentary: “Yumi: the whole world” | World’s Youth for Climate Justice | 13 October 2025 | 13:30 to 15:00 CEST | Palais des Nations, Room XII
2. Right here, right now: Children, Democracy and Climate Action | UNICEF, OHCHR, and CRIN | 13 October 2025 | 13:45 to 15:00 CEST | Palais des Nations, Room XI & Online
3. Elections for People and Planet – Intersection of elections, climate change and environmental protection | UNDP and IFES | 14 October 2025 | 13:00 – 14:30 CEST | Palais des Nations, Room XII

Photo Gallery