States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) analyzes the activities of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) regarding climate change in 2018. It details how the Committee uses General Recommendations and the State reporting procedure to define the human rights obligations of States to protect women from the disproportionate impacts of climate change, focusing heavily on adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

• The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has increasingly integrated climate change into its State reporting procedure, issuing climate-related recommendations to 75% of the States it reviewed in 2018. While these recommendations primarily target least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS), the Committee addressed climate change to almost all developed States reviewed in 2018, with Liechtenstein being the only exception.
• CEDAW's climate-related recommendations are heavily skewed toward adaptation and procedural rights rather than mitigation. In 2018, adaptation accounted for 44% of references and procedural rights 37%, while mitigation received only 7% of the focus. Mitigation recommendations were limited to only three countries: Australia, Fiji, and South Korea, focusing on fossil fuel extraction, exports, and emissions reduction.
• General Recommendation 37 (GR37), adopted in early 2018, establishes specific State obligations regarding gender-related dimensions of disaster risk reduction (DRR) in the context of climate change. These obligations include implementing gender impact assessments, protecting marginalized groups (such as indigenous women and women with disabilities) in disaster health policies, establishing gender-disaggregated data monitoring systems, and addressing gender-based violence within DRR contexts.
• Under procedural rights and international cooperation, the CEDAW requires States to shift toward renewable energy, limit the environmental effects of extractive industries like fracking and mining, and ensure private sector actors remedy impacts on affected groups. States are also urged to coordinate climate initiatives with the UNFCCC, the Sendai Framework, and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

APA

Center for International Environmental Law (2019). States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Womens-Rights-Obligations-of-States-in-the-Context-of-Climate-Change-March-2019.pdf

Chicago

Center for International Environmental Law. States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change. 2019. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Womens-Rights-Obligations-of-States-in-the-Context-of-Climate-Change-March-2019.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Center for International Environmental Law |title=States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change |date=2019 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Womens-Rights-Obligations-of-States-in-the-Context-of-Climate-Change-March-2019.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{centerforinternationalenvironmentallaw2019states, author = {{Center for International Environmental Law}}, title = {{States’ Human Rights Obligations in the Context of Climate Change}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2019}, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Womens-Rights-Obligations-of-States-in-the-Context-of-Climate-Change-March-2019.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }