The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) is hearing a case on how human rights are protected, within the context of the climate emergency, under the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR). We made a submission with the University of Nottingham Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), as part of the ACRISL project, focusing on children’s rights.

How does the American Convention on Human Rights protect human rights in the context of the climate emergency?

In 2023, the IACtHR accepted a request for an advisory opinion on the climate emergency and human rights from Chile and Colombia. This advisory opinion is an opportunity for the Court to clarify how the rights protected by the ACHR apply to the climate emergency. It is also a chance to look at how the 20 States bound by the decisions of the Court should uphold their human rights obligations in the context of the climate emergency. 

CRIN and HRLC’s submission focuses on how children’s rights are protected under the ACHR in the context of the climate emergency. 

The submission stresses the importance of the Court considering the full range of civil, social, economic, political, cultural, and environmental rights under the Inter-American human rights system and how they apply to children. It also provides information on how courts and international human rights bodies have dealt with children’s rights in the context of the environment, to assist the Court in interpreting how these rights apply. It includes a particular focus on how children’s access to justice is protected under the ACHR.

The submission also recommends that if the Advisory Opinion addresses the rights of “future generations”, it should be clear about the definition of the term and the relationship between the rights of children and of future generations. 

Read the full submission.

Learn more about CRIN’s project Children’s Access to Environmental Justice