States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change

This briefing note by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights (GIESCR) reviews the 2023 activities of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) regarding climate change and environmental protection.

• In 2023, the CERD increased its climate-related outputs to seven, up from three in 2022, representing a portion of thirty-six total outputs. The Committee focused on how climate change and related policies impact vulnerable populations, specifically Indigenous peoples, ethno-religious minorities, and affected ethnic groups in Bolivia, Niger, Philippines, Russian Federation, and Senegal.
• The CERD highlighted that climate change disproportionately affects the rights of minorities, potentially denying Indigenous Peoples their rights to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, as well as their rights to food and the use of traditionally owned natural resources and lands.
• The CERD expressed concern over forced displacement and the risk of displacement caused by climate change-related disasters, natural disasters, conflict, and large-scale development and extractive projects, noting these phenomena particularly impact minority groups.
• In its First draft of General recommendation No. 37 (2023), the CERD stated that climate change negatively impacts health by increasing air pollution, extreme weather, and heat-related outcomes, while expanding disease vectors by reducing access to nutrition and water and destroying infrastructure. It also noted that racial and ethnic minorities are disproportionately affected in terms of mental health due to psychological, cultural, socioeconomic, and geographical factors.
• The CERD suggested that States, guided by international solidarity, should implement national and multilateral measures to mitigate the socioeconomic consequences of global challenges like climate change, including the use of temporary waivers for intellectual property protections on healthcare technologies.
• The briefing identifies missed opportunities where the CERD mentioned the extraction of natural resources in Argentina and the Russian Federation but failed to specifically mention fossil fuels, despite evidence of oil and gas extraction in Indigenous territories.

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_GIESCR_Committee-on-the-Elimination-of-Racial-Discrimination-CERD.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_GIESCR_Committee-on-the-Elimination-of-Racial-Discrimination-CERD.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_GIESCR_Committee-on-the-Elimination-of-Racial-Discrimination-CERD.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_GIESCR_Committee-on-the-Elimination-of-Racial-Discrimination-CERD.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }