JOINT STATEMENT Human Rights for All Post-2015

The 'Human Rights for All Post-2015' joint statement, published on December 10, 2013, by the Center for International Environmental Law and supported by over 300 organizations, calls for the successor to the Millennium Development Goals to be anchored in human rights. It advocates for a shift from a 'model of charity to one of justice,' emphasizing accountability for governments, businesses, and international institutions to ensure sustainable, inclusive, and just development.

• The post-2015 framework should transition from a charity-based model to a justice-based model, recognizing people as human rights-holders and domestic governments as the primary duty-bearers. It is intended to be a tool for people to hold governments, businesses, and international institutions accountable for their conduct.
• The normative foundation of the post-2015 framework must be based on existing international legal norms and political commitments, including international human rights, environmental, and humanitarian law, the Millennium Declaration, and consensus documents from Rio, Vienna, Cairo, Beijing, Monterrey, and Copenhagen.
• To ensure an enabling environment for civil society, the framework must protect freedom of association, expression, assembly, and political participation, as well as protect human rights defenders, including women.
• The statement calls for a global accountability framework with binding commitments and effective enforcement. This should be based on mutual accountability between donors and partners, democratic ownership by partner countries, and inclusive partnerships involving both State and non-State actors.
• The framework must ensure the private sector does no harm, requiring governments to regulate business and private financial actors to protect human rights and the environment. Specifically, governments should prevent their territories from being used for illegal activities such as tax evasion, corruption, or environmental crimes.
• Reducing socioeconomic inequalities is presented as essential for realizing human rights. This includes protecting decent work, reducing wage disparities, reforming tax and fiscal policy, and promoting alternatives to austerity. The statement emphasizes the need for disaggregated data to identify and respond to compound discrimination.
• Comprehensive support for women's rights is critical for gender equality and full participation in social, political, and economic life. Key areas include addressing gender-based violence, guaranteeing sexual and reproductive rights, and ensuring women's control over land, property, and productive resources.
• The framework should uphold the legal obligation to provide minimum essential levels of economic, social, and cultural rights without retrogression, focusing on 'zero' targets such as universal health coverage, comprehensive social protection floors, and minimum food security guarantees.
• The statement urges the tackling of global structural drivers of poverty, inequality, and ecological devastation. It requires governments, businesses, and international institutions to assess the human rights impact of their policies beyond their borders in areas such as trade, investment, debt, and monetary policy.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2013). JOINT STATEMENT Human Rights for All Post-2015. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/HRE_JointStatement_10Dec2013.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. JOINT STATEMENT Human Rights for All Post-2015. 2013. https://www.ciel.org/Publications/HRE_JointStatement_10Dec2013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=JOINT STATEMENT Human Rights for All Post-2015 |date=10 December 2013 |url=https://www.ciel.org/Publications/HRE_JointStatement_10Dec2013.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2013joint, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{JOINT STATEMENT Human Rights for All Post-2015}}, publisher = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2013}, month = dec, url = {https://www.ciel.org/Publications/HRE_JointStatement_10Dec2013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }