WBO, REDESCA, and ICS Remote Panels on Climate Justice and Human Rights in Manaus
WBO Press Release
May 27 2024
On May 27 and 28, 2024, the Washington Brazil Office (WBO), Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (REDESCA), and the Instituto Clima e Sociedade (ICS) are promoting in Manaus, Amazonas three discussion panels on climate justice and human rights. The event has the support of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.
The panels will be discussing issues related to international guidelines for the protection of human rights, given the climate crisis, and the mechanisms to guarantee the protection and support of victims, as well as to present legal responses to extreme climate events.
The purpose of this event is to debate the integration of international and regional human rights standards into climate change policies, focusing on how accords such as the Paris Agreement are being implemented in national legislation. Discussants also will examine the impact and challenges of climate litigation, highlighting key cases and the principle of intergenerational equity, as well as evaluating innovative and future legal strategies planned for a more effective global approach to climate justice.
One of the biggest concerns has been to highlight the vital role of civil society in formulating, promoting, and executing policies to protect and support victims of human rights violations arising from the climate emergency, as well as strategic strategies that non-governmental organizations and activist groups can employ for intervention in public policies, emphasizing the importance of community mobilization and legal advocacy to guarantee the implementation of sustainable and fair practices that respect human rights.
The panels, promoted by WBO, REDESCA, and ICS, will take place in parallel to the 167th Ordinary Session of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which will serve to discuss state obligations to the climate emergency, responding to a request for an Advisory Opinion (Advisory Opinion No. 32, OC-32), which was submitted to the Court by Chile and Colombia in January 2023.
The request emphasizes the need to address the climate crisis from the perspective of International Human Rights Law with a focus on vulnerable populations, highlighting the importance of understanding the differentiated effects of the climate crisis and the need for an equitable and sustainable response. By requesting this Advisory Opinion, countries seek guidance on how to interpret and apply their obligations under the American Convention on Human Rights in the fight against climate change. The initiative highlights the critical connection between the climate emergency and the protection of human rights, calling for urgent and sustainable action.
In addition to the session in Manaus, on May 27 and 28, the Court also held a session in Brasília on May 24.
Between March and May 2023, the Inter-American Court received more than 270 written observations for OC-32 from member states, state institutions, international bodies, communities, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and representatives from civil society. In Manaus, more than 100 participants are presenting their considerations before the Inter-American Court at the hearing.
