States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) issued climate-related recommendations or questions to 35 out of 43 States considered in 2023. The Committee primarily focused on the differentiated impact of climate change on women, emphasizing the need for gender-responsive strategies in adaptation and disaster risk reduction, as well as the increased vulnerability of rural, Indigenous, migrant, and refugee women. While less frequent than adaptation, the Committee also addressed mitigation policies, fossil fuel extraction—specifically criticizing Norway's expansion of oil and gas permits in the Arctic—and the necessity of women's participation in the UNFCCC loss and damage fund.

• In 2023, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) integrated climate change into its State reporting procedure for the majority of reviewed countries, issuing recommendations or questions to 35 out of 43 States.
• The Committee emphasized that climate change has a differentiated impact on women and called for gender-responsive strategies, particularly integrating a gender perspective into climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in 24 of its outputs.
• The Committee highlighted that certain groups of women, including Indigenous women, women of African descent, migrant and refugee women, women with disabilities, women living in poverty, and rural women, experience a more significant impact from climate change.
• Regarding mitigation and energy, the Committee addressed fossil fuel extraction in six outputs, specifically noting concern over Norway granting 47 new oil and gas exploration permits in January 2023, including in the Arctic.
• The Committee addressed climate finance in five outputs, urging States such as Norway and Mauritania to support a loss and damage fund under the UNFCCC, and requiring Timor-Leste and the Philippines to ensure women's participation in that fund's creation.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (n.d.). States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/HRTB-Synthesis-Note-2024_CIEL_GIESC_Committee-on-the-Elimination-of-Discrimination-Against-Women-CEDAW.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change. n.d. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/HRTB-Synthesis-Note-2024_CIEL_GIESC_Committee-on-the-Elimination-of-Discrimination-Against-Women-CEDAW.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/HRTB-Synthesis-Note-2024_CIEL_GIESC_Committee-on-the-Elimination-of-Discrimination-Against-Women-CEDAW.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallawndstates, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/HRTB-Synthesis-Note-2024_CIEL_GIESC_Committee-on-the-Elimination-of-Discrimination-Against-Women-CEDAW.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }