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This briefing note from the Center for International Environmental Law outlines opportunities to enhance public participation and access to information within the UNFCCC process, specifically during the 48th Session of the Subsidiary Bodies. It argues that integrating procedural rights into the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement is essential for effective climate action and alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law reviews the status of human rights, gender equality, and other social considerations within the negotiations for the Paris Agreement's implementation guidelines as of February 2018. It analyzes four key agenda items—Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Adaptation Communications, the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF), and the Global Stocktake (GST)—detailing the proposals made by various countries and the extent to which these social dimensions were reflected in the co-facilitators' notes following COP-23.

This fact sheet from the World Resources Institute provides key statistics on Indigenous and community land rights, highlighting the gap between the amount of land held by these groups and the amount they legally own, as well as the environmental benefits of secure tenure.

This technical annex assesses progress toward Goal 10 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which focuses on strengthening forest governance, transparency, the rule of law, and the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs). The report utilizes three primary indicators: the strength of institutions and policies in producer and consumer countries, the prevalence of illegal logging and related violence, and the formal recognition of land and forest rights for IPLCs.

This briefing, prepared by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and CARE International, argues that climate change is the greatest human rights challenge of the current era. It calls for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to integrate human rights protections into its policies, particularly as the international community negotiated the 2015 climate agreement. The document outlines how climate impacts threaten fundamental rights and provides specific policy recommendations to ensure that climate mitigation and adaptation efforts do not further violate human rights.

This guide, published by Natural Justice in December 2014, provides an overview of regional and international grievance and advocacy mechanisms available to indigenous peoples and local communities. It categorizes these tools into UN human rights systems, regional human rights systems, international and regional financial institutions, industry-specific standards, and other advocacy opportunities, detailing eligibility, processes, and potential barriers for each.

This commentary by the Center for International Environmental Law argues that the international climate change regime has historically failed to address the human rights implications of both climate change and the implementation of climate policies, and suggests that the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) provides opportunities to rectify this.

This report, authored by the Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in Suriname (VIDS), analyzes the legal and institutional frameworks in Suriname regarding Indigenous Peoples' and Local Communities' Conserved Territories and Areas (ICCAs). It concludes that the state fails to legally recognize indigenous and tribal peoples as collectivities or acknowledge their collective rights to traditional lands and resources. This legal vacuum, combined with discriminatory legislation and the prioritization of 'public interest' for state-issued concessions, severely undermines the ability of these communities to govern their territories and conserve biodiversity. The report highlights a significant gap between international human rights standards—including a landmark judgment by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the Saramaka case—and national implementation.

The 'Protocolos Comunitarios Bioculturales: Kit de Herramientas para Facilitadores Comunitarios' is a comprehensive guide published by Natural Justice in 2012. It provides a framework and a set of participatory tools to help Indigenous Peoples and local communities document their customary laws, values, and governance systems into 'biocultural community protocols'. These protocols are designed to empower communities to manage their territories, protect their collective biocultural heritage, and negotiate on equal terms with external actors such as governments, corporations, and NGOs.

This briefing note by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) describes an assessment framework designed to help governments and First Nations communities understand the relationship between the boreal environment and community well-being. Developed through collaboration with the Bloodvein and Poplar River First Nations in Manitoba, the framework simplifies international ecosystem assessment models to identify how environmental products, services, and cultural benefits support health, security, livelihoods, and social relations in remote Canadian settings.

This report by Friends of the Earth International presents testimonies from individuals and communities in nine countries—Australia, Brazil, Honduras, Malaysia, Mali, Peru, Swaziland, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom—to highlight the human impact of climate change. It emphasizes that populations in the Global South and indigenous peoples are the most vulnerable due to their close ties to land and water. The document argues that current government and international responses are often insufficient or misaligned with local needs, advocating instead for a global movement based on climate justice, the restoration of traditional lifestyles, and a transition away from fossil fuels.

This research paper, presented at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2004, proposes a petition to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) against the United States. The authors argue that the U.S., as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, has violated the human rights of the Inuit and other Arctic indigenous peoples by failing to curtail emissions, leading to the destruction of homes, loss of vital resources, and the potential erasure of ancient Inuit culture.

This research paper explores the potential for bringing human rights complaints against the United States due to the adverse impacts of global warming, particularly focusing on the threats to the fundamental rights of indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic.

The Quito Declaration is a statement issued by representatives of Indigenous organizations in May 2000, calling for the recognition of Indigenous Peoples' roles in environmental conservation and demanding their active participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes, specifically regarding COP 6 and the Clean Development Mechanism.

This guide by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) examines the intersection of climate change and international human rights law. It details how climatic phenomena and the measures taken to mitigate or adapt to them can infringe upon fundamental rights, particularly for vulnerable populations such as indigenous peoples, women, and children. The document outlines key international milestones—including UN Human Rights Council resolutions and the Cancun Agreements—and advocates for a rights-based approach to be integrated into the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes.

This report provides recommendations for integrating human rights, social, and environmental principles into the implementation modalities of the Paris Agreement. It argues that climate action must be combined with existing international obligations to ensure a just transition, protect vulnerable populations, and maintain ecosystem integrity.

This report argues that the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement depends on integrating human rights and social and environmental principles into the 'Paris Rulebook.' It emphasizes that climate action must respect the rights of indigenous peoples, ensure gender equality, safeguard food security, promote a just transition for workers, and maintain ecosystem integrity to ensure policy coherence and sustainable results.

This briefing paper by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and partners argues that the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement depends on the integration of human rights and social and environmental principles into the 'Paris Rule Book'. The document outlines how principles such as gender equality, indigenous rights, and a just transition should be embedded into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Adaptation Communications, the Transparency Framework, and the Global Stocktake to ensure policy coherence and protect vulnerable populations.

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.

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.