The European Union, in a statement delivered at the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council on 19 June 2026, endorsed the Special Rapporteur on human rights and climate change's report on transforming food systems, linking the issue to EU corporate due diligence rules, agricultural funding conditions, and trade bans on deforestation and forced labour. The statement, published by the EEAS on 22 June 2026, also highlighted the EU's climate finance contributions and called for rights-based policies that prioritise vulnerable groups.
The EU statement thanked the Special Rapporteur for her report, which highlights adverse human rights impacts on workers, rural communities, and marginalised groups, particularly women, and points to the role of large-scale food businesses in affecting rights to health, food, water, and a healthy environment. The EU cited its Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive as a tool to identify and address adverse human rights and environmental impacts by large companies. It also noted that under the Common Agricultural Policy, labour-intensive sectors such as agriculture can access public funds only if they comply with fundamental labour standards and social rights, a concept the EU calls social conditionality. Additionally, the EU's Deforestation and Forced Labour Regulations ban products linked to deforestation, land-use conversion, or forced labour from the EU market, aiming to protect indigenous and local communities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss.
The statement described these measures as a significant shift that better protects human rights, labour rights, and the environment, including climate mitigation and adaptation. It stressed that climate adaptation must leverage synergies with disaster risk management and that nature-based solutions are essential for sustaining healthy water, oceans, and soils, and should be scaled up to increase climate resilience.
The EU also noted that it and its Member States are the world's largest provider of climate finance, with total contributions in 2024 amounting to €42.7 billion to support developing countries in combating climate change. Of that, roughly €15.85 billion is dedicated to adaptation and mitigation efforts, which the EU said are crucial to safeguarding rights to life, health, adequate food, and housing.
The statement concluded by asking the Special Rapporteur how policies on food systems can effectively uphold rights-based principles, address disparities, and ensure climate relief reaches those in vulnerable and marginalised situations first.
The EU's intervention at the Human Rights Council reinforces its regulatory approach linking trade, agriculture, and corporate accountability to human rights and climate goals, while also showcasing its financial commitments to developing countries. The statement did not announce new measures but reiterated existing EU policies and funding pledges.