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This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the human rights impacts of electronic waste (e-waste), focusing on the toxic substances released during informal recycling and their effects on health, food security, and labor rights, particularly in developing nations.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the health and human rights implications of phthalates, a group of industrial chemicals used as plasticizers. It details how these substances act as endocrine disruptors, affecting reproductive health, development, and metabolic systems, and argues that their ubiquity violates several international human rights, including the rights to health, adequate housing, and information.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the health impacts of phthalates—industrial chemicals used as plasticizers—and argues that their ubiquity and toxicity violate several fundamental human rights, including the rights to health, life, adequate housing, and information.

This document is a selected bibliography titled "HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE ENVIRONMENT SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY," compiled by David Downes for the Center for International Environmental Law and dated July 1, 1992. It provides a curated list of legal cases, United Nations reports, World Bank operational directives, and academic literature concerning the intersection of human rights, indigenous peoples' rights, and environmental protection.

This briefing, produced by a coalition of climate litigation practitioners, provides structured 'Litigation Notes' to help lawyers apply the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) July 23, 2025, advisory opinion (AO) on States' climate obligations. Specifically, this note focuses on the ICJ's conclusion that the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a binding norm of international law and a necessary precondition for the enjoyment of other human rights.

The Center for International Environmental Law and other organizations argue against launching multilateral investment negotiations at the WTO. They contend that such an agreement would restrict the policy space of developing countries, be driven by the interests of industrialized nations, and utilize an inappropriate dispute settlement mechanism that favors investors over sustainable development and public health.

The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy critiques the draft IPR chapter of the FTAA, noting that it fails to prohibit patents on life and includes proposals that tighten TRIPs standards. The statement highlights the removal of language regarding technology transfer and transparency, and notes the US push for UPOV implementation for plant patents.

This policy brief examines the conflict between international intellectual property (IP) rights and the protection of traditional knowledge and biological resources. It argues that the TRIPS Agreement fails to recognize traditional knowledge, contrasting it with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and advocates for the amendment of IP agreements to require disclosure of origin and benefit-sharing.

This research paper by the Center for International Environmental Law and the International Rivers Network analyzes the establishment of the World Bank's Inspection Panel on September 21, 1993. The authors evaluate whether this new mechanism for citizens and NGOs to request investigations into Bank-funded projects truly increases accountability, highlighting concerns regarding the panel's independence from Bank leadership and its lack of public transparency.

This 1996 report summarizes a regional workshop in Hong Kong focused on making environmental law more effective in East and Southeast Asia. The participants concluded that environmental protection is often undermined by a lack of integration with economic planning, corruption, and poor land-use planning. Key recommendations include simplifying laws to reduce corruption, improving inter-agency coordination, increasing public participation and transparency in monitoring and EIAs, and adopting alternative dispute resolution methods that align with local cultural contexts.

This legal opinion by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that the European Union's Ship Recycling Regulation (SRR) is illegal under international and EU law. CIEL contends that the SRR creates an unlawful exemption for EU-flagged ships from the Basel Convention's prohibitions on exporting hazardous waste to developing countries, particularly following the entry into force of the Basel Ban Amendment on December 5, 2019.

This research paper by the Center for International Environmental Law examines the World Bank's approach to governance, civil society, and human rights. It argues that the Bank's adherence to a narrow economic view of development, rooted in its Articles of Agreement, has led it to treat these critical social and political factors as mere instrumentalities for project goals rather than essential components of sustainable development.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law analyzes the trade provisions of the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. It details the different obligations for ordinary Parties, developing country Parties (Article 5), and non-Parties, specifically focusing on restrictions on the import and export of controlled substances and products containing them. The document also examines the financial mechanisms for developing countries, such as the Multilateral Fund, and discusses potential legal conflicts between the Protocol's trade restrictions and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

This research paper examines the push by developing countries to incorporate a mandatory disclosure of origin for biological resources and traditional knowledge into the TRIPS Agreement. This effort aims to prevent the misappropriation of genetic resources and ensure compatibility with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB). While there is growing consensus among many developing nations and some support from the European Union and Switzerland, opposition remains from the United States and Japan.

This research paper examines the intersection of international intellectual property (IP) rights, global trade, economic development, and environmental protection. It analyzes how IP regimes—specifically patents, copyrights, and trademarks—impact the transfer of environmentally sound technologies and the conservation of biological diversity, focusing on the tensions between industrialized nations (led by the US) and developing countries within frameworks like GATT, NAFTA, and the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

This briefing describes the establishment, organizational structure, and financing of the Montreal Protocol Multilateral Fund, designed to provide financial and technical assistance to developing countries to phase out ozone-depleting substances.

This report chapter argues that secure tenurial rights are a fundamental prerequisite for successful community-based conservation (CBC). It contrasts the failures of state-owned 'public' tenure—which often leads to 'open access' degradation—with the effectiveness of community-based systems that derive legitimacy from local participants. The authors advocate for the state recognition of community perimeters to protect biodiversity and prevent the disenfranchisement of rural populations by domestic and international elites.

This guide, published by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) in November 1997, provides instructions for citizens on how to utilize the World Bank's Inspection Panel. It explains the Panel's role as an independent mechanism to hold the World Bank accountable for violations of its own operational policies and procedures, particularly regarding social and environmental impacts.

This briefing by the Center for International Environmental Law outlines several reform options for Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) to be considered by UNCITRAL Working Group III. The document argues that current ISDS mechanisms are asymmetrical, often ignoring state obligations and public interest, and proposes alternatives such as multilateral treaty termination, the allowance of state counterclaims, public interest carve-outs, 'clean hands' clauses for investors, the requirement to exhaust local remedies, and expanded third-party access to proceedings.

This statement from the Center for International Environmental Law argues that the World Health Organization (WHO) must actively analyze and intervene in the intellectual property (IP) provisions of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs). The document asserts that these agreements often impose standards that exceed the TRIPS Agreement, potentially undermining the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health and restricting access to affordable medicines in developing countries.