Start Oral Hearings on Historic Climate Justice Advisory Opinion at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
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22 April 2024, Barbados - World’s Youth for Climate Justice is participating in the oral hearings of the Advisory Opinion on the ‘Climate Emergency and Human Rights’ before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). We plead to protect the human rights of current and future generations from the adverse consequences of climate change, as it starts hearings for its historic climate advisory opinion.
On the 9th of January 2023, Colombia and Chile submitted a request for an advisory opinion to the IACtHR on the scope of the human rights obligations of States in responding to the climate emergency.
In response to the Court’s invitation to participate in the proceedings, World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ) presented two briefs to the IACtHR that respond to questions C and D of the resolution. The first brief, in English, responds to question C by elaborating on the importance of, and legal challenges surrounding, the protection of children, youth, and future generations from the adverse effects of climate change. We argue for the incorporation of intergenerational equity in the Court’s corpus juris and States’ climate-related obligations under the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights. The second brief, in Spanish, responds to question D by elaborating on the need for protection of access rights of children and youth, and public participation in climate action.
As hearings start today, more than 60 delegations - including the States of Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Barbados, and Vanuatu - will plead before the Court in response to the questions posed in the resolution.
We are calling on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to utilize this unique opportunity to strengthen the human rights-based response to the climate crisis. We strongly encourage States to deliver a progressive interpretation of their obligations and make global progress toward intergenerational equity and climate justice.
Thoughts from WYCJ’s Steering Committee
This Advisory Opinion will establish a landmark precedent for climate justice not only within Latin America and the Caribbean but on a global scale. The interpretations provided by the Court are often used by other tribunals to guide their decisions. Therefore, it is especially important that organisations like WYCJ seize this opportunity to present to the judges the issues we deem most crucial in clarifying the responsibilities of States regarding the climate emergency and human rights. Climate justice requires a clear acknowledgment of the principle of intergenerational equity as a binding obligation for States.
Mariana Campos Vega, 22, Mexico, Latin-America Deputy Front Convenor
The IACtHR is always lauded to be a progressive Court when it comes to deliberating on the protection of human rights. This AO on the climate emergency and human rights is a unique opportunity for the Court to establish, yet again, a very important and historic precedent. The jurisprudence coming out of this AO can set the bar high for the forthcoming ICJ AO on climate change, thus creating a domino on perspectives of climate change in international, regional, and national law & policy.
Aditi Shetye, Lead of Legal Advocacy and Academic Taskforce.
The forthcoming AO by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights is going to make history. In fact, this opinion will likely set an important precedent for national, regional, and international organs on the relationship between human rights and climate change. The academic taskforce of WYCJ has, thus, worked tirelessly for the past year, formulating legal arguments, first in written form and now orally, before the Court in order to advance the protection of the human rights of children, youth, and future generation in the context of the climate emergency. It is our hope that this advisory opinion will provide greater clarity in relation to State’s climate mitigation obligations; advance the protection of the youngest among us; and, last but not least, that the Court will recognize and clarify the rights of future generations in relation to the climate emergency.
Theresa Amor-Juergenssen, 26, Austria, Legal Advocacy Deputy
As we contemplate the attribution of responsibility for climate change, the pervasive impact of loss and damage persists daily across the globe. Nevertheless, the advisory opinion marks a significant stride towards climate justice, as it affords us the opportunity for a formal, concrete deliberation on the role of states—a milestone that eluded us during nearly three decades of UNFCCC COP meetings. Small islands, particularly those in the Caribbean, have long served as the proverbial canary in the coal mine, sounding the alarm for years about the impending threats of climate change. It is no secret that climate change and its adverse impacts will continue to be the limiting factor for the most vulnerable regions among us. As small island developing states within the Caribbean, we have experienced some of the worst of this crisis, but we also acknowledge that it can and will get worse unless transformative action and policy take precedence within these international settings. For this reason, we, the generation born into this crisis, would like to extend a direct call to action within the walls of this court, to acknowledge not just the shared realities of small island developing states and coastal countries across the world, but the direct impact that a lack of response poses to our generation. We are burning in the heat of a fire we didn't create, and we call on you, our global partners, to assist us in fighting the blaze climate change has caused for us, so that our story will be one of triumph and not one in which we are forced to rebuild from the ashes of devastation.
Ashawnté D. Russell, 26, The Bahamas, Caribbean Front Convenor & Christianne Zakour, 26, Caribbean Front Deputy Front Convenor
Note to Editors
About World’s Youth for Climate Justice
World's Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ) is the global sister organization of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, and as such, one of the movements calling for the historic UN request for an advisory opinion on climate change and human rights from the International Court of Justice (the principal UN Court).
The historic UN resolution was adopted by consensus by the UN General Assembly on 29th March 2023, when the UN responded to the call of young people and the leadership of Vanuatu to request an ICJ advisory opinion on the obligations of States to reduce climate change, showing the significance of this global youth-led climate justice initiative and its support across the world.
With the first climate change ICJ advisory opinion currently pending, WYCJ seeks to clarify state obligations to protect the rights of present and future generations from climate change and make global progress toward intergenerational equity and climate justice, arguments contained in the Youth Climate Justice Handbook.
Website: www.wy4cj.org
Contact person(s):
For general contact: Aditi Shetye, aditi@wy4cj.org & Mariana Campos, mariana@wy4cj.org
For press inquiries: Quint van Velthoven & Marijn Vodegel, press@wy4cj.org