Monitoring States’ Compliance with their Human Rights Obligations, in the Context of Climate Change

The guide outlines a structured approach for submitting parallel reports to UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies, emphasizing the need for concise, evidence-based documentation of how climate change and state policies impact specific human rights. It recommends a four-section structure: establishing the link between climate change and treaty obligations, describing adverse impacts on rights and vulnerable groups, detailing shortcomings in national climate responses (such as NDCs), and analyzing how these circumstances violate specific state obligations. The document provides practical submission tips, including recommended lengths of 6-8 pages, the use of visual aids, and a table of deadlines and contact emails for various committees including the CCPR, CEDAW, CERD, CESCR, CRC, and CRPD.

• A parallel report should be concise, ideally between 6 and 8 pages, and avoid subjective or inflammatory language to maintain credibility with Committee members.
• The report should specifically identify how climate change impacts rights protected by the relevant treaty, with particular focus on the right to life, health, water, food, housing, substantive equality, and cultural rights, as well as the disproportionate threats to groups such as children, indigenous peoples, women, people living in poverty, and persons with disabilities.
• The analysis of national climate responses should include an objective description of commitments, such as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, and highlight where these are inadequate to protect human rights.
• The guide identifies specific national policy areas that may be used as examples of human rights failures in climate response, including fracking in Argentina and the United Kingdom, financial institution investments in Switzerland, fossil fuel extraction and exports in Australia, Canada, and Norway, and deforestation in Brazil and the DRC.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2020). Monitoring States’ Compliance with their Human Rights Obligations, in the Context of Climate Change. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Template_LeveragingHRTBs_Climate_2.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. Monitoring States’ Compliance with their Human Rights Obligations, in the Context of Climate Change. 2020. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Template_LeveragingHRTBs_Climate_2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=Monitoring States’ Compliance with their Human Rights Obligations, in the Context of Climate Change |date=January 2020 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Template_LeveragingHRTBs_Climate_2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2020monitoring, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{Monitoring States’ Compliance with their Human Rights Obligations, in the Context of Climate Change}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Template_LeveragingHRTBs_Climate_2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }