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This document consists of observations submitted by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and a legal team to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in June 2003. It responds to objections raised by the State of Chile regarding the admissibility of a petition filed by Mapuche-Pehuenche families from the Ralco-Lepoy Indigenous Community. The petition alleges that the construction of the Ralco hydroelectric dam by the company Endesa, authorized by the Chilean state, violates fundamental rights including the right to life, personal integrity, property, and the preservation of indigenous culture and spirituality through the flooding of ancestral lands.

This briefing paper by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes the international legal framework for foreign investment, arguing that current treaties and agreements prioritize investor rights and liberalization over environmental protection, social goals, and corporate accountability.

A May 2003 declaration by a broad coalition of civil society organizations calling on World Trade Organization (WTO) members to reject the launch of negotiations on investment and other 'Singapore Issues' at the upcoming Ministerial Conference in Cancun.

A declaration by a coalition of non-governmental organizations and civil society groups explicitly rejecting the launch of negotiations on investment and other 'Singapore Issues' at the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Cancun in September 2003.

This policy brief examines how the World Bank, IMF, and international trade/investment agreements (such as GATS and BITs) pressure developing countries to privatize water services. It argues that these mechanisms often create 'lock-in' effects, where legally binding international obligations prevent governments from regulating water prices or reversing privatization to protect the human right to water. The document emphasizes that water is a social and cultural good, not merely a commodity, and urges policy makers to conduct thorough human rights and environmental assessments before committing to liberalization.

This working paper, produced by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), outlines a project to establish an objective baseline of current trade law as it relates to key environmental issues. The initiative aims to provide a consistent platform for negotiators and civil society to distinguish between the current state of the law and how it should be shaped during the Doha Round of trade negotiations.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) sent a letter to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on February 21, 2003, arguing that the Independent Investigation Mechanism (IIM) suffers from systemic structural and procedural failures. Using the Yacyreta, Cañabrava, and Termoeléctrica del Golfo cases as evidence, CIEL highlights issues with transparency, unpredictable timelines, and inadequate remedies, urging the IDB to implement fundamental reforms based on the models of other multilateral development banks.

A statement by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and various civil society organizations calling on WTO member states to reject exclusive 'mini-ministerials' and 'Green Room' meetings, arguing these processes are undemocratic and lack transparency.

Environmental organizations petitioned U.S. Ambassador Robert B. Zoellick on September 19, 2002, regarding the General Treatment provision in the upcoming United States-Chile free trade agreement. The petitioners argue that the current administration's process lacks transparency and risks granting foreign investors greater substantive rights than U.S. investors, contrary to the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002.

A letter dated October 17, 2002, submitted by several environmental NGOs to the Congressional Oversight Group (COG) on trade policy, argues that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) proposals for investment provisions in trade agreements fail to meet the congressional mandate that foreign investors receive no greater substantive rights than U.S. investors under U.S. law.

This report by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) argues that sustainable development and environmental justice are symbiotically related, asserting that the former cannot be achieved without the latter. The document explores the legal nexus between human rights and the environment, emphasizing the right to a healthy environment, community-based property rights, and procedural rights as essential components for achieving global sustainability and justice.

This research paper examines the failure of the patent system to prevent the misappropriation of traditional knowledge (TK) and explores the use of the patent system as a defensive measure. It specifically analyzes how TK can be formally recognized as 'prior art' to defeat patent claims that lack novelty or an inventive step. The author reviews prior art definitions in the US, Japan, and Europe, as well as the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) framework, and provides recommendations for improving search procedures, implementing disclosure requirements, and developing standardized TK databases.

This document is a petition submitted on August 29, 2002, to an ICSID arbitral tribunal by a group of Bolivian civil society organizations, individuals, and Friends of the Earth-Netherlands. The petitioners seek standing to intervene as parties or amici curiae in an arbitration between Aguas del Tunari, S.A. and the Republic of Bolivia. The dispute concerns a 40-year water concession in Cochabamba that was terminated following widespread public protests over rate increases. The petitioners argue that the tribunal's decision will directly impact water access and public finances in Bolivia and that the process must be transparent to be legitimate.

This research paper by David Vivas Eugui of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) analyzes the intersection of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the WTO's TRIPS Agreement following the Doha Ministerial process. The author examines how the TRIPS Agreement's focus on private intellectual property rights can conflict with the CBD's objectives regarding sovereign rights over genetic resources and the fair sharing of benefits. The document provides strategic recommendations for developing countries to utilize WTO mandates—specifically through the TRIPS Council and the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE)—to incorporate CBD principles and protect traditional knowledge (TK) within the international trade framework.

A coalition of environmental organizations urged the U.S. Congress to oppose H.R. 3009 (the fast track conference report), arguing that it fails to protect environmental standards, grants excessive rights to foreign investors, and lacks enforcement parity for environmental provisions compared to commercial ones.

A June 2002 joint statement by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and WWF International urging the WTO Council for Trade in Services (CTS) to integrate comprehensive sustainability assessments into the market access phase of services negotiations to protect the interests of developing countries.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides preliminary comments on the 8 May 2002 draft text regarding the Institutional Framework for Sustainable Development for the Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). CIEL suggests strengthening the framework by integrating human rights, improving coherence between economic and environmental governance, and enhancing the status of UN environmental bodies.

This briefing from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides preliminary comments and proposed textual amendments to the Chairman's Paper dated 9 May 2002 for the Fourth Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development. CIEL argues that while the draft has improved, it still lacks critical protections for human rights, community-based property rights, and rigorous regulation of biotechnology, and it fails to sufficiently address the risks associated with intellectual property rights and the liberalization of trade in services.

The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) provides a series of suggested amendments to the Chairman's Paper for the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). CIEL argues that the original paper overemphasizes economic growth and national governance while neglecting environmental protection, human rights, and the necessity of multilateral cooperation.

In a February 2002 statement, IUCN and CIEL urged a Committee and WIPO to ensure that contractual frameworks for accessing genetic resources and traditional knowledge respect the rights and customary laws of indigenous peoples and local communities. They emphasized that current patent systems are insufficient for biodiversity conservation and called for the integration of ecosystem conservation costs and the active, funded participation of stakeholders in these legal discussions.