The flood waters in Pakistan have ebbed but the devastation caused by this once-in-a-lifetime disaster remain. Millions of people have lost their homes and livelihoods and the federal and provincial governments need to do a better job in helping these people.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) called on both the federal and provincial governments “to accelerate their efforts to rehabilitate the thousands of people who have lost their homes and livelihoods in the recent floods. While the scale of the disaster was overwhelming, it is now essential to focus on resettling those displaced in habitats that are better adapted to the effects of climate change.”
The HRCP also reiterated “its call for urgent land reforms, which are critical not only to reducing poverty and realising rights such as equal access to food and housing, but are also necessary if the state is to rehabilitate vulnerable communities affected by the floods.”
According to HRCP instead of focusing on “climate reparations” Pakistan needs to “look within and articulate a strategy to ensure that its most vulnerable groups receive climate justice and to secure all people’s right to food, shelter and health amid the economic crisis.”
