Harvard International Human Rights Clinic Report Launch: “When the Water Runs Dry: Human Rights, Climate Change & Deepening Water Inequality in Delhi, India”

Lunch will be served for in-person attendees.

On September 20, 2023, governments, businesses, and civil society organizations from around the word will gather at UN Headquarters to recommit to ambitious climate action. In the shadow of the summit, under-resourced populations with limited political power will continue to suffer from the harshest climate change impacts.

To highlight some of the communities most affected, the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School (IHRC) is launching a report that documents in granular detail the many ways that climate change increases water inequality in Delhi, India. Inequalities already observed in water availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality are aggravated by climate change and stand to worsen if no government action is taken. For low-income residents of unplanned colonies in the city, unequal treatment based on residency status and gender intersect with the globally unequal burden of greenhouse gas emissions to increase their exposure to climate change harms. The report also illuminates the otherwise invisible policy choices that underlie these inequalities, resulting in violations of the communities’ economic and social rights.

The event will begin with a presentation of the report by clinical instructor Aminta Ossom. Expert discussants will provide views on the report’s conclusions and offer recommendations of actions that could improve the situation.

Discussants: 

Dr. Lekha Chakraborty is an economist and professor at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi (NIPFP). She is an expert in public finance and a pioneer in the field of gender budgeting in India. In addition to teaching and research at the NIPFP, Dr. Chakraborty is an affiliate at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, New York and an elected member of the International Institute of Public Finance (IIPF) Munich, the world association of public finance economists. She holds a doctorate in economics from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India, as well as two master’s degrees in applied and analytical economics, respectively.

Ms. Alina Saba is a Program Officer for Climate Justice and Human Rights at the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR). In this role, she advocates for better economic governance that is aligned with climate justice perspectives and principles. Ms. Saba has a background in advocacy work with feminist, climate justice and indigenous peoples’ movements at national and regional levels in the Asia-Pacific region. Before joining CESR, she worked with Public Services International (PSI) in Nepal. She holds a master’s degree in Governance, Politics, and Public Policy from the University of Sheffield in England and a master’s in sociology from Tribhuvan University in Nepal.

Registration: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/95457241955?pwd=UWx1SERweEtobVpDOTRtRUlwL0pYdz09