States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change

This synthesis note, published by the Center for International Environmental Law and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, examines how United Nations human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) use their state reporting procedures to define the obligations of States to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights in the context of climate change. The report focuses on the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) up to December 2017.

• UN human rights treaty bodies are increasingly using the 'State reporting procedure' to issue Concluding Observations that link climate change to legally binding human rights obligations. While climate change is not explicitly mentioned in key UN human rights legal instruments, these bodies provide guidance on how existing treaties require States to address climate impacts and their own contributions to climate change.
• The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) emphasizes that climate change disproportionately affects women, particularly rural and older women, due to social norms, physiological differences, and reliance on natural resources. The CEDAW advocates for gender-responsive disaster risk reduction and the mainstreaming of gender analysis into all climate policies.
• The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) is the only HRTB that has primarily addressed climate-related obligations in relation to industrialized countries, focusing on the necessity of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the human rights impacts of fossil fuel extraction.
• The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) focuses on the 'best interests of the child' in climate policy, emphasizing the need for child-sensitive risk strategies, climate education in school curricula, and the right of children to be heard in decision-making processes, including within the UNFCCC framework.
• HRTBs have identified specific human rights threats exacerbated by climate change, including the right to life, health, water, food, housing, and the rights of indigenous peoples to their land and resources.
• The report notes a trend where HRTBs link their recommendations to international frameworks such as the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) to interpret and strengthen human rights obligations.

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/2018/01/HRTBs-synthesis-report.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/2018/01/HRTBs-synthesis-report.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/2018/01/HRTBs-synthesis-report.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/2018/01/HRTBs-synthesis-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }