Submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Draft Guidelines on Effective Implementation of the Right to Participate in Public Affairs

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) submitted recommendations to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) regarding the Draft Guidelines on Effective Implementation of the Right to Participate in Public Affairs. CIEL argues that the guidelines must address the systemic constraining of fundamental rights, specifically emphasizing the intersection of environmental decision-making, human rights, and the opacity of international investment agreements.

• CIEL asserts that the right to self-determination, allowing peoples to pursue economic, social, and cultural development through inclusive consultative processes, should be the central focus of the guidelines.
• The guidelines should emphasize the right to participate at international levels, as these processes determine the planet's environmental future and significantly impact affected populations.
• Access to information is identified as an integral part of the right to participate; States must ensure timely and transparent access for all stakeholders, particularly those historically marginalized or discriminated against.
• CIEL highlights specific barriers to women's participation in public affairs, noting that foreign investment projects can exacerbate unequal power relations because land ownership is often a "domain of male privilege" driven by patriarchal structures and retrogressive traditions.
• The document identifies the 'shrinking of democratic spaces' and the criminalization of human rights defenders as major threats to participation rights, specifically citing the delegitimization of ethnic communities opposing mining projects on traditional lands.
• CIEL argues that investment agreements and Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) systems often impede public participation due to opacity and unequal access to justice, allowing corporations to challenge public interest laws while denying justice to harmed individuals.
• The submission notes that investment treaty negotiations often lack transparency and public scrutiny, and recommends that the public be allowed to participate in the initial decision of whether to invite investment in a particular area.
• CIEL recommends that States avoid arbitration or judicial processes that do not grant full intervention rights to concerned citizens and should allow public participation in decisions regarding the settlement of investor-state disputes.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2018). Submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Draft Guidelines on Effective Implementation of the Right to Participate in Public Affairs. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/CIEL-Submission-to-OHCHR-on-Participation-in-Public-Affairs-021118.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Draft Guidelines on Effective Implementation of the Right to Participate in Public Affairs. 2018. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/CIEL-Submission-to-OHCHR-on-Participation-in-Public-Affairs-021118.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Draft Guidelines on Effective Implementation of the Right to Participate in Public Affairs |date=11 February 2018 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/CIEL-Submission-to-OHCHR-on-Participation-in-Public-Affairs-021118.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2018submission, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Submission to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Draft Guidelines on Effective Implementation of the Right to Participate in Public Affairs}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2018}, month = feb, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/CIEL-Submission-to-OHCHR-on-Participation-in-Public-Affairs-021118.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }