HUMAN RIGHTS ANALYSIS OF THE DOHA GATEWAY (UNFCCC 18TH CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES)

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzes the human rights implications of the 'Doha Gateway' decisions from the UNFCCC 18th Conference of the Parties. It argues that while the decisions do not explicitly reference human rights, the outcomes regarding mitigation ambition, loss and damage, REDD+, the Clean Development Mechanism, public participation, and gender have significant impacts on vulnerable populations.

• The 'Doha Gateway' decisions do not explicitly mention human rights, although they reference the Cancun Agreements, which recognize that UNFCCC Parties have human rights obligations and should respect them in climate-related decisions.
• The report identifies a lack of political will regarding mitigation ambition, noting that current pledges are insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 2°C or 1.5°C. While a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol (2013-2020) was adopted, several countries—including Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Russia—either withdrew or declined to participate in this phase.
• Regarding REDD+, the report notes a lack of substantive discussion on safeguards in Doha. However, a work programme was launched for 2013 to discuss results-based finance, including a mandate to incentivize 'non-carbon benefits' such as biodiversity protection and improved local livelihoods.
• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is criticized for failing to safeguard the rights of affected communities. Negotiations remain polarized over the creation of an appeals procedure, specifically regarding who has standing to appeal and whether approved decisions can be challenged.
• The adopted eight-year Doha work programme on Article 6 encourages Parties to seek public participation from youth, women, and civil society organizations in formulating climate efforts and preparing national communications.
• While Parties adopted a decision to promote gender balance and participation in the UNFCCC, the report argues the language is too weak because it calls for 'gender balance' rather than 'gender equality'.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2013). HUMAN RIGHTS ANALYSIS OF THE DOHA GATEWAY (UNFCCC 18TH CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES). https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Analysis_Doha_10Apr2013.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. HUMAN RIGHTS ANALYSIS OF THE DOHA GATEWAY (UNFCCC 18TH CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES). 2013. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Analysis_Doha_10Apr2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=HUMAN RIGHTS ANALYSIS OF THE DOHA GATEWAY (UNFCCC 18TH CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES) |date=29 May 2013 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Analysis_Doha_10Apr2013.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2013human, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{HUMAN RIGHTS ANALYSIS OF THE DOHA GATEWAY (UNFCCC 18TH CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES)}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2013}, month = may, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Analysis_Doha_10Apr2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }