PAKISTAN
Seven-year-old petitioner, Rabab Ali.
Rabab Ali v. Pakistan
In April 2016, inspired by and supported by Our Children’s Trust, Rabab Ali, a 7-year-old girl, through her father and pro bono environmental attorney Qazi Ali Athar, and on behalf of all of the Pakistani people, filed a climate change lawsuit against the Federation of Pakistan and the Province of Sindh in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The lawsuit alleges that through the exploitation and continued promotion of fossil fuels, the government has violated the public trust doctrine and the youngest generation’s fundamental constitutional rights to life, liberty, property, human dignity, information, and equal protection of the law. On June 29, 2016, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case and allowed Rabab Ali’s constitutional case to be heard on the merits.
While the case has not yet been scheduled for a hearing on the merits, it has been bolstered by a recent decision from the Supreme Court of Pakistan that recognized the intergenerational justice issues associated with climate change and the role of courts in averting climate catastrophe:
The tragedy is that tomorrow’s generations aren’t here to challenge this pillaging of their inheritance. The great silent majority of future generations is rendered powerless and needs a voice. This Court should be mindful that its decisions also adjudicate upon the rights of the future generations of this country. It is important to question ourselves; how will the future generations look back on us and what legacy we leave for them? This Court and the Courts around the globe have a role to play in reducing the effects of climate change for our generation and for the generations to come. Through our pen and jurisprudential fiat, we need to decolonize our future generations from the wrath of climate change, by upholding climate justice at all times.
Maria Khan et al. v. Federation of Pakistan et al.
In February 2019, a group of women filed a lawsuit against the Pakistani government for failing to act on climate change, thereby violating their fundamental rights to a clean, healthy environment and a climate capable of sustaining human life. They also argue that the government is discriminating against them based on their sex and is violating their right to equal protection under the law by systematically refusing to address climate change and its disproportionate impacts on women.
List of Petition Annexures: