Women’s Rights Obligations of States in the Context of Climate Change

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) synthesizes the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) regarding climate change up to 2020. It details the Committee's use of General Recommendations, Joint Statements, and the State reporting procedure to establish that States have human rights obligations to protect women from climate-related harms and ensure their participation in climate policy.

• In 2018, CEDAW became the first human rights treaty body to adopt a General Comment specifically focused on climate change with General Recommendation No. 37. This document addresses the gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction and rejects the stereotype of women and girls as passive 'vulnerable groups', instead recognizing them as agents of change in climate change mitigation and adaptation.
• A September 2019 Joint Statement by CEDAW and four other human rights treaty bodies asserts that climate change threatens fundamental rights, including the rights to life, health, water, adequate food, and housing. The statement warns that States may violate their human rights obligations if they fail to regulate activities contributing to foreseeable climate harm or fail to implement high-ambition emissions cuts, including the phasing out of fossil fuels.
• Between 2008 and 2019, CEDAW was the most active human rights treaty body on climate change within its State reporting procedure, issuing 57 climate-related Concluding Observations (COBs) and 39 Lists of Issues (LOIs). Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) were the primary recipients of these recommendations, accounting for 58% of all climate COBs.
• While only 14% of CEDAW's climate-related Concluding Observations addressed mitigation, the Committee has issued specific recommendations to States to limit fossil fuel use, combat deforestation, and ban fracking. For example, it expressed concern that oil and gas extraction in the Arctic undermines Norway's obligations to ensure women's substantive equality.
• CEDAW emphasizes the necessity of integrating a gender perspective into disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate adaptation. Specific recommendations include establishing women-only shelters to address gender-based violence during disasters and ensuring that marginalized groups—including Indigenous, rural, and disabled women—are meaningfully involved in policy-making.
• The Committee has highlighted the need for States to ensure procedural rights for women in climate governance, including access to justice and the use of traditional and Indigenous knowledge. It has urged States to hold private actors accountable for climate harms occurring both domestically and extraterritorially.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2020). Women’s Rights Obligations of States in the Context of Climate Change. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CEDAW.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Women’s Rights Obligations of States in the Context of Climate Change. 2020. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CEDAW.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Women’s Rights Obligations of States in the Context of Climate Change |date=2020 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CEDAW.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2020womens, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Women’s Rights Obligations of States in the Context of Climate Change}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2020}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CEDAW.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }