In the Fall of 2023, the students of the International Human Rights Center at Loyola Law School, wrote an amicus curiae brief to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to respond to Chile and Colombia’s request to the Court to clarify the scope of States’ obligations for responding to the climate emergency under the framework of international human rights law. You can find our amicus curiae submission here. The brief highlighted how climate change disproportionately impacts women’s human rights, specifically in the Caribbean, due to existing social, cultural, economic, and legal disparities.
Although the Caribbean is responsible for a low contribution to global greenhouse gases, it is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate-related disasters. The brief called the Court’s attention to female voices in the Caribbean and advocate for heightened protections to women’s human rights globally. It was written in collaboration with local Caribbean female activist of all ages and backgrounds to determine what their needs were in response to the climate emergency. Their voices and our legal argument gave the Court an important and unique perspective on how it could interpret the emerging legal intersection of climate change and human rights.
In May 2024, the Court invited the IHRC to Brasilia, Brazil, to advocate at the oral hearings on “Climate Emergency and Human Rights.” You can find the video of the IHRC presentation here, starting at min 50.
Learn more about the International Human Rights Center.
