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The South African Water Caucus (SAWC) submitted an urgent request to Minister Lindiwe Sisulu on 22 April 2020, demanding the provision of water tanks, reliable water supply, and sanitation packs for numerous communities lacking basic water access during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This case study by Natural Justice details the legal battle between the Urgenda Foundation and the State of the Netherlands, resulting in a Supreme Court ruling that the Dutch government is legally obligated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to protect human rights.

This briefing note by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) explains how civil society can use the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies (HRTBs) reporting procedure to hold states accountable for climate change policies. It details the process of submitting parallel reports to secure country-specific recommendations, which can then be leveraged for national advocacy and litigation.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzes the outcomes of the COP25 climate negotiations held in December 2019 in Madrid, focusing on the integration of human rights into climate policies. It highlights a disconnect between the urgency demanded by global activists and the lack of ambition shown by negotiating Parties, while detailing specific developments regarding carbon markets, loss and damage, and gender action plans.

This guide, published by the Center for International Environmental Law in January 2020, provides instructions for drafting shadow reports to United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies (HRTB). It focuses on documenting the links between national climate inaction (or harmful climate solutions) and the violation of state human rights obligations.

This guide by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) explains how civil society can use the United Nations human rights treaty body (HRTB) reporting process to advocate for climate-related policy recommendations and hold states accountable for their human rights obligations in the context of climate change.

This guide by the Center for International Environmental Law provides a structured framework for organizations to draft parallel reports to UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies (HRTBs). It explains how to document the links between a state's climate inaction or ill-designed climate responses and its failure to meet human rights obligations, offering specific recommendations on content, formatting, and submission deadlines for various committees.

This case study compendium by Natural Justice examines human rights violations associated with green energy projects in Africa, arguing that the 'just' component of the Just Energy Transition is often neglected. Through examples in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, and Senegal, the document highlights systemic failures in public participation, land rights protections, and environmental safeguards, providing policy recommendations to center human and environmental rights in the energy transition.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) synthesizes the work of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) regarding climate change up to 2020. It details the Committee's use of General Recommendations, Joint Statements, and the State reporting procedure to establish that States have human rights obligations to protect women from climate-related harms and ensure their participation in climate policy.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law synthesizes the work of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) regarding climate change. It details the Committee's use of General Comments, a Joint Statement with other treaty bodies, and the State reporting procedure to establish that States have human rights obligations to mitigate climate change, protect vulnerable populations, and provide international cooperation and finance.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) synthesizes the work of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) regarding climate change. It details the CRC's use of General Comments, the State reporting procedure, and the communications procedure to establish that States have legal obligations to protect children's rights—including the rights to life, health, and culture—against the impacts of global climate change.

This briefing note from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) outlines recommendations for UNFCCC Parties at COP-25 to integrate human rights, gender equality, and participatory processes into climate action. It emphasizes the need for rights-based safeguards in Article 6 market mechanisms, the ratification of the Escazú Agreement, and the protection of indigenous peoples and local communities in adaptation and loss and damage frameworks.

This briefing note by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues for the integration of human rights, social safeguards, public participation, and independent grievance mechanisms into the rules and modalities of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. It highlights the risks of environmental and social harm associated with carbon markets and draws on failures of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism to advocate for a rights-based approach to climate governance.

A statement by Friends of the Earth International calling for a legally binding UN treaty to end the impunity of transnational corporations, which the organization identifies as the drivers of climate and biodiversity crises through a profit-driven system that violates human rights and destroys the environment.

Lawyers for Human Rights requested consent for UN Special Rapporteur David Richard Boyd to act as amicus curiae in a South African court case (NGHC case no 39724/19). Boyd intended to provide international and comparative legal perspectives on State obligations regarding air pollution and the right to a healthy environment to assist the court in interpreting the NEM: Air Quality Act and the South African Constitution.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzes the June 2019 Climate Negotiations (SB-50) in Bonn, focusing on the integration of human rights into climate policies, the development of Article 6 mechanisms of the Paris Agreement, and the work of various UNFCCC constituted bodies.

This document is a written contribution from Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) to the UN's open-ended working group (IGWG) regarding a proposed legally binding treaty to regulate transnational corporations (TNCs) and other business enterprises in relation to human rights. FoEI analyzes the 'Zero Draft' presented in 2018, arguing that it is too weak to end corporate impunity and represents a setback compared to previous 'Elements' papers. The document details specific legal gaps in the draft—such as the lack of direct obligations for corporations and insufficient definitions of value chains—and includes testimonies from affected peoples across different continents calling for an international court and the primacy of human rights over investment agreements.

This Synthesis Note by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the obligations of States to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights within the context of climate change, specifically focusing on authoritative guidance provided by United Nations human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) in 2018.

This 2019 report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) analyzes how United Nations human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) are defining the obligations of States to protect human rights amidst climate change. The report focuses on the record level of engagement by HRTBs in 2018, detailing recommendations across adaptation, mitigation, procedural rights, and international cooperation, with specific syntheses for the committees focusing on women (CEDAW), economic, social and cultural rights (CESCR), and children (CRC).

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) examines how the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) addresses climate change within the framework of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC Convention). It focuses on the CRC's 2018 state reporting procedure, highlighting recommendations on mitigation, adaptation, procedural rights, and international cooperation.