Report from the Katowice Climate Conference Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action at COP-24

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law summarizes advocacy for human rights during the COP-24 climate conference in Katowice. It details the efforts to integrate human rights into the Paris Agreement Implementation Guidelines, reports on civil rights infringements by Polish authorities against conference attendees, and reviews the inclusion of human rights in other policy outcomes such as the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform and the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss & Damage.

• COP-24 saw significant mobilization to integrate human rights into climate action, featuring the first-ever attendance of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (HCHR) at a UNFCCC meeting and a joint letter from 34 UN Human Rights Special Procedures urging governments to include human rights in implementation guidelines.
• Polish authorities were accused of infringing upon the civil and political rights of COP-24 attendees through a law that banned spontaneous protests and expanded police surveillance. Specific incidents included the denial of entry to civil society advocates based on claims they were a "threat to the national security of Poland" and the arrest of at least two peaceful activists in their hotel rooms.
• The final Paris Agreement Implementation Guidelines for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) include a reference to public participation in planning processes, but explicit references to human rights in the substantive elements of NDCs were removed. Instead, the guidelines refer to "other contextual aspirations and priorities acknowledged when joining the Paris Agreement," which may be addressed by Parties on a voluntary basis.
• Guidelines for Adaptation Communications and the Transparency Framework do not explicitly mention human rights, but they allow for the inclusion of information on gender-responsive action, traditional knowledge, and the knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities.
• The Global Stocktake (GST) modalities adopted in Katowice ensure the participation of non-party stakeholders and the inclusion of reports from UN agencies. However, the scope of the GST was narrowed by the removal of references to sustainable development or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Parties failed to reach an agreement on Article 6 mechanisms (market and non-market approaches) at COP-24, primarily due to Brazil's concerns regarding the use of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) credits. Consequently, proposed references to human rights and grievance processes in these mechanisms were discarded.
• The COP finalized the operationalization of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform, emphasizing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Additionally, Canada announced it would fund a focal point at the UNFCCC Secretariat to promote indigenous peoples' participation and knowledge.
• The COP welcomed recommendations from the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage (WIM) Task Force on Displacement, which urged Parties to consider laws and policies that reflect human rights obligations when addressing climate-related displacement.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2018). Report from the Katowice Climate Conference Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action at COP-24. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/HRCC_Roundletter_COP24_December2018.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Report from the Katowice Climate Conference Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action at COP-24. 2018. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/HRCC_Roundletter_COP24_December2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Report from the Katowice Climate Conference Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action at COP-24 |date=December 2018 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/HRCC_Roundletter_COP24_December2018.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2018report, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Report from the Katowice Climate Conference Promoting Human Rights in Climate Action at COP-24}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2018}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/HRCC_Roundletter_COP24_December2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }