Cities meet in Gwangju to discuss climate crisis, human rights

Participants at the 12th World Human Rights Cities Forum pose together on stage in Gwangju, Oct. 10. / Courtesy of Arlo Matisz

By Arlo Matisz

The sun broke through the clouds to shine on the Kimdaejung Convention Center in Gwangju on the afternoon of Oct. 10, putting an end to a chilly rain that had threatened to darken the mood at the 12th World Human Rights Cities Forum (WHRCF). The grim theme of "Climate Crisis and Human Rights," combined with dark suits and jetlag, could have demoralized any crowd. Instead, the heavens offered a ray of hope, one badly needed with serious issues at stake.

The opening ceremony and ensuing first plenary session included a gathering of dignitaries from near and far, in person and digital, to share their outlooks and experiences regarding this year's subject. A cello quartet's heartwarming performance of Western and Korean songs "Heal the World" and "Don't Worry, My Dear" set an inspirational tone for the evening and indeed the week's events, while their group effort itself could be seen as a metaphor for a result being greater than the sum of its parts, a theme repeated throughout the conference.

Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung's opening remarks drew focus to the city's own role as a birthplace of Korea's democratization. Alongside many other mayors and city officials from across the world at the roundtable discussion that followed, the recently elected mayor of Gwangju proudly shared the city's stories of supporting human rights during not only May 1980, but also the 1894 Peasant Revolution and 1929 Student Independence Movement, and the need to now become a role model of supporting human rights in the context of climate change.

Following his opening, Gwangju Metropolitan Council Chairperson Jeong Mu-chang gave congratulatory remarks, presenting a stirring statement: "The solution to address the most pressing issue of humanity, climate crisis, is truly crystal clear. That is to act together."

The keynote speech of the opening was given by Peggy Hicks, director of the Thematic Engagement, Special Procedures and Rights to Development Division of the U.N. Human Rights Council. She articulated the intersection of human rights and the environment by drawing focus to the 2022 U.N. General Assembly resolution recognizing "the right to a sustainable and healthy environment." Video panelist Francisco Vera, an inspirational Colombian climate activist aged just 12 years old, described the need for cities to lead in climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Following him was video panelist U.N. Special Rapporteur Ian Fry on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, who illustrated the crisis with examples of people threatened by climate change events being driven from farmlands to urban slums, exposing them to other human right threats.

Santiago Mayor Irasi Hassler, who had journeyed from quite literally the other side of the world to speak as a panelist, gave a very relatable example of how to integrate tradition with progressive policy by using gas instead of charcoal barbecues for one of Chile's biggest traditional celebrations.

Youth activist Lee Nagyung from Youth Climate Emergency Action looked at the familiar obstacle of economic development being prioritized over the environment, giving the example of new coal power plants still being developed in the country.

Morten Kjaerum of Denmark, director of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, explained the importance of linking human rights and climate change policy. "Human rights are rarely systematically integrated into disaster policy," he said. He then provided examples of relocation projects which address one set of problems but then create new ones for the relocated, stressing the importance of engagement with citizens in terms of participation and consent for such policies to be broadly effective.

Following the opening ceremony was the first plenary session with the theme of "Local Solutions to a Global Problem." Moderated by Pradeep Wagle, chief of the Human Rights and Economic and Social Issues Section of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), city officials from around the globe shared different policy initiatives. "What if we wrote a new story?" asked Strasbourg Deputy Mayor Veronique Bertholle, who along with Utrecht Co-Mayor Linda Voortman and Lyon Deputy Mayor Sonia Zdorovtzoff shared their European cities' progressive policies on developing easily commutable cities with significant green spaces, including urban orchards and gardens at schools and nurseries, while developing energy conservation strategies, made all the more important by Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine.

Etornam James Flolu, district chief executive of Ghana's Afadzato District, succinctly described Africa's vulnerability to climate change and its role in driving a migration crisis, and he and Emile Gros Raymond Nakombo, mayor of Angui in Central African Republic, both gave detailed explanations of reforestation efforts in their respective countries.

Park Yong-soo, head of the Democracy Human Rights and Peace Bureau in Gwangju, drew attention to recent extreme weather events such as Seoul's heavy flooding and recent droughts, as well as responses such as Gwangju's commitment to Carbon Neutrality and Energy Self-Sufficiency by 2045.

Sonia Francine Gaspar Marmo, secretary of human rights and citizenship from Brazil's Sao Paulo City, illuminated the government's roles in creating some of the problems they are trying to solve, such as residential development at the margins of cities creating commuting and service problems. Their solutions of reclaiming abandoned and unfinished buildings as urban residences better situated for commuting held lessons for Korea as well. In a Q&A period that followed, directions for future policy were shared, such as reducing rural flight and its resulting human rights problems by building institutions for less-developed regions rather than capitals and other large cities, and allowing cities to have direct dialogue with large entities providing aid such as the U.N. rather than working through the national level.

As the session drew to a close, a theme had emerged of working together, not in a developed-versus-developing power structure, but by exchanging and transposing solutions. In her closing remarks, Amanda Flety Martiniz, coordinator of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), described "sharing responsibilities as a common good," coming back full circle from Mayor Kang's opening speech where he said, "Overcoming the climate crisis will not be possible by only one nation or one city's efforts. It requires solidarity to build a sustainable and resilient society."

Arlo Matisz is an economics professor at Chosun University and the host of GFN's talk show "This Morning Gwangju," which broadcasts from 8:05 a.m. to 9 a.m. weekday mornings.