The UN human rights treaties are monitored by dedicated “Human Rights Treaty Bodies” (HRTBs). States are required to submit reports on the human rights situation in their respective countries and the HRTBs assess the State’s compliance with its treaty obligations and publish a set of recommendations (“Concluding Observations”) to the State. Civil Society can submit ‘parallel reports’ giving their view of the human rights situation in the State under review. This procedure offers opportunities to seek country-specific recommendations regarding the shortcomings of national climate policies from a human rights perspective.
Several HRTBs have committed to review the impacts of climate change and climate policies on human rights and to provide guidance to States on how they can meet their human rights obligations under these legally binding instruments in relation to mitigation and adaptation to climate change. When used proactively and strategically by civil society organizations, the State reporting procedure has proven useful for generating recommendations that address country-specific and policy-relevant issues and for informing relevant national policy planning processes. These recommendations can be used to support campaigns and litigation surrounding national climate and energy policies, by clarifying legal obligations of States, increasing scrutiny on State climate inaction and reinforcing civil society calls for action.
These resources seek to inform civil society organizations working on climate-related issues about opportunities offered by the HRTB State reporting procedure to obtain expert UN recommendations to States to reinforce climate advocacy at the national level. They also contain advice on how to submit information to the HRTBs in a way that is most likely to secure recommendations regarding climate policies.
Backgr
ound Note: Opportunities offered by the Reporting Procedure of the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies (5 pages)
This briefing note provides a short overview of the reporting procedure of the HRTBs and describes the different stages of the process and opportunities for civil society to provide input to the HRTB.
The note also suggests how each of the stages in this process can be used to increase pressure on States to take action on climate change and to seek recommendations reinforcing advocacy messages at the national level, including in relation to climate litigation. Read the background note. (En español aquí.)
Guidance Note: Preparation of a Parallel Report to a UN Human Rights Treaty Body on the topic of climate change and human rights (3 pages)
This document provides guidance on the drafting of a parallel report to a Human Rights Treaty Body (HRTB) to influence the HRTB’s review of the State’s compliance with its treaty obligations. It explains how to identify the key climate issues for the relevant State and to highlight the linkages between national climate (in)action and the State’s human rights obligations.
This guidance note seeks to enable organizations that might not be familiar with this process, to put forward relevant information on climate impacts and climate policies in order to seek country-specific recommendations by the HRTBs. Read the guidance note. (En español aquí.)