19/12/2023

Advisory proceedings on the climate emergency and human rights in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

Monica Feria-Tinta has been instructed by the Institute of Small and Micro States to act on its behalf in the Advisory Opinion proceedings on ‘The Climate Emergency and Human Rights’ currently pending before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

On 9 January 2023, the Republic of Chile and the Republic of Colombia, both State members of the Organization of American States (OAS) and parties to the American Convention on Human Rights, jointly filed a request for an Advisory Opinion on the climate emergency and human rights before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

In accordance with the deadline provided by the Court, on 17 December 2023, the Institute of Small and Micro States filed observations to the request by Chile and Colombia.

The request by Chile and Colombia aims “to clarify the scope of State obligations, in their individual and collective dimension, in order to respond to the climate emergency within the framework of international human rights law, paying special attention to the differentiated impacts of this emergency on individuals from diverse regions and population groups, as well as on nature and on human survival on our planet.”

Member States of the OAS “may consult the Court regarding the interpretation of this Convention or of other treaties concerning the protection of human rights in the American states.”

The submissions of the Institute of Small and Micro States focuses on the situation of small states in the Caribbean. Small island States like the Caribbean countries contribute to only 1% of the global greenhouse gas emissions yet stand to be disproportionately affected. The UN Secretary-General, Mr Gueterres has acknowledged that “[t]he Caribbean is ground zero for the global climate emergency.”

Amicus