IUCN welcomes today’s Advisory Opinion on “Climate Emergency and Human Rights" by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

In over 20 questions, categorised in six themes, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights was asked to clarify the obligations of states, in their individual and collective dimension, to respond to the climate emergency within the framework of the American Convention on Human Rights.

The Court was requested to pay special attention to the differentiated impacts of this emergency on individuals from diverse regions and population groups, as well as on nature and on human survival on our planet.

Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General, celebrated the issuance of the opinion. She said: “This Advisory Opinion is key in reaffirming that states have an obligation under international law to address the climate emergency. It comes at a historic moment in which climate change redefines the limits of law and justice.”

IUCN’s World Commission on Environmental Law congratulates the Court on this historical Advisory Opinion, that follows and expands on its emblematic 2018 Advisory Opinion (OC-23/2017) on the right to a healthy environment  under the American Convention - also known as the Pact of San Jose. In 2018, the Court established that human rights obligations occur within an environmental treaty system formed by over 200 Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and that adverse effects of climate change affect the effective enjoyment of human rights.

IUCN, represented by the World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), took part in the advisory proceedings with written and oral statements delivered by WCEL Chair Prof Christina Voigt and Dr Claudia S. de Windt. Both acted as IUCN legal counsel and participated in the public hearing held in Bridgetown, Barbados, on 23, 24 - and 25 April 2024 during the 166th regular session convened to receive oral arguments.

Prof Christina Voigt, Chair IUCN WCEL, commended the Court in that “it delivered an impactful opinion with far reaching consequences. By interpreting the American Convention of Human Rights in the light of the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement, it not only created harmony and consistency between different international agreements. It also established the Convention as an independent legal basis for ambitious climate obligations and a cornerstone for climate justice.”

In its written and oral Statements, IUCN through the World Commission on Environmental Law highlighted how human rights treaties, including the American Convention, should be interpreted in light of the 1.5°C climate target and underscored the need to protect the rights of present and future generations, particularly in the most vulnerable countries. Innovative remedies such as the use of nature-based solutions considering the IUCN Nature-based Solutions Standard were also highlighted in the arguments to the Court.

Dr Claudia de Windt, who attended the delivery of the Opinion in San Jose at the IACtHR, expressed that “bringing IUCN's expert voice to these high legal bodies has been an unprecedented milestone in the advancement of environmental justice in the hemisphere and beyond. Rights are only meaningful if they can be protected through justice.”

“Environmental law is a vital instrument for consolidating effective and coherent governance systems that respond to the challenges of climate change. This is precisely where the work of the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law has been a pioneer in the development of modern environmental law, forming a true legal heritage that we must preserve and strengthen,” said Dr Aguilar.

IUCN has been recognised and participated in three international advisory proceedings on climate change: before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice. Professor Christina Voigt, Chair of WCEL, who coordinated IUCN's participation in all three proceedings, noted that: “for the first time, multiple international tribunals have been convened simultaneously to offer legal clarity in the face of the most urgent challenge of our time: climate change.”

These advisory proceedings represent an unprecedented opportunity to define, from the perspective of international law, the obligations of States in the face of the climate crisis and the principles that should guide their actions.

“IUCN has responded to this situation with legal and scientific rigor, institutional commitment and a vision based on the interconnection between law, science and nature,” said Prof Voigt on occasion of the reading of the opinion.

Learn about IUCN’s participation in climate advisory proceedings in International Courts:

IACtHR (Inter-American Court of Human Rights) | IUCN

IUCN’s contribution to Advisory Opinion 23 Issued by the Inter-American Court on Human Rights

International Court of Justice

ITLOS (International Tribunal on the Law for the Sea) | IUCN