A coalition of African lawyers and civil society groups has asked the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights for an advisory opinion on 55 African Union member states’ human rights duties in the climate emergency.
Led by the Pan African Lawyers Union and the African Climate Platform, an alliance of frontline communities and human rights defenders, the May 2 petition asks the court to interpret states’ human rights obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and related human rights treaties as they regard to the protection of people most affected by climate change, implementing a just transition to clean and renewable energy sources, securing compensation for climate impacts, and enforcing corporate accountability, among other issues.
Although Africa accounts for only a tiny fraction of the global emissions contributing to the climate crisis, the continent is acutely vulnerable to climate impacts, with communities on the front lines facing droughts, desertification, and floods, which are compounded by deforestation and growing fossil fuel developments.
The coalition urges the court to consider how multinational corporations should be held accountable for rights violations related to climate change, asking it to direct states to require third parties to “comply with environmental standards that reduce carbon emissions.”
A 2023 Human Rights Watch report found that land acquisition associated with the East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline has devasted thousands of people’s livelihoods in Uganda and will exacerbate the global climate crisis. The inadequate and delayed compensation for land lost to the project has affected many communities’ access to food, health, and education. Despite the industry’s devastating impact on human rights and the climate, investment in fossil fuel development in Africa is set to rise in the coming decades.
Last week’s filing comes amid a surge in efforts to involve international courts in climate justice. Similar decisions building on the nexus between rights and climate change are pending before the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Last year, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea issued a landmark opinion confirming that states must prevent ocean pollution caused by greenhouse gases.
If the African court agrees to consider the coalition’s request, its opinion could hold significant legal and political weight, further putting human rights at the center of climate action.
