Amnesty International

Alok

Sharma

COP26

Rt Hon Alok Sharma,
Ir. H. Joko Widodo,
Your Excellency Andry Rajoelina,

The southern region of Madagascar is currently experiencing the worst drought in history. The drought has had a disastrous impact on the human rights of people in the region, including on the right to life, right to health, right to adequate food and rights to water and sanitation. Droughts in the south of Madagascar are chronic, and have been part of the collective memory of the region.  Climate change, however, poses further risks, as it has likely contributed to the worsening of droughts we are seeing in the south of Madagascar, and will continue to make such weather events more severe and recurrent.

The severe impacts of the drought in southern Madagascar are illustrative of the deep-rooted injustices being driven by the climate crisis globally. G20 countries are responsible for 78% of global annual emissions over the past decade, with the wealthy industrialised countries among them responsible for disproportionately high emissions since the beginning of the Industrial revolution. It is a grave injustice that impacts of climate change are felt by people in poorer countries, such as Madagascar, which have contributed the least to the climate crisis.

With climate change projected to worsen the severity and occurrence of droughts in southern Madagascar, it is urgent for the international community to respond to the current emergency.

To address this growing crisis, I am calling on you, Rt Hon Alok Sharma, to use the UK’s Presidency of COP26, and on you Ir. H. Joko Widodo, to use Indonesia’s Presidency of the G20 in 2022 to influence world leaders to:

•	Adopt new or enhanced short and long-term emission reduction pledges, that will collectively limit the global average temperature rise to 1.5°C and reflect each state’s responsibility for the climate crisis and their capacity to tackle it;
•	Provide the people in Madagascar affected by the drought and local civil society with increased humanitarian relief and additional funding for the losses and damages suffered; and
•	Make available to the Government of Madagascar climate finance that is new and additional to existing commitments for overseas development assistance, in the form of grants, not loans, to meet Madagascar’s national climate policy priorities, and particularly to support adaptation measures to the impacts of climate change, such as increasingly severe and prolonged droughts.

I also urge the Government of Madagascar to:
•	Increase humanitarian relief efforts to southern Madagascar, in collaboration with local civil society, including providing sustained and regular emergency food assistance and access to clean and safe water for personal and domestic use and consumption;
•	Invest in social protection and social services to reduce vulnerability to and mitigate the risks of disasters and climate-induced stresses, ensuring that men and women have equal access to those and the needs of women and marginalised groups are taken into account; and
•	Seek international assistance and co-operation to take sufficient adaptation measures to ensure at least minimum essential levels of economic, social and cultural rights.

Joko

Widodo

Indonesia

Rt Hon Alok Sharma,
Ir. H. Joko Widodo,
Your Excellency Andry Rajoelina,

With climate change projected to worsen the severity and occurrence of droughts in southern Madagascar, it is urgent for the international community to respond to the current emergency.

Mr.

Andry

Rajoelina

Madagascar

Rt Hon Alok Sharma,
Ir. H. Joko Widodo,
Your Excellency Andry Rajoelina,

With climate change projected to worsen the severity and occurrence of droughts in southern Madagascar, it is urgent for the international community to respond to the current emergency.

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