Inter-American System of Human Rights

18 posts

The Role of International Human Rights Law in Climate Reparations 

As the climate crisis accelerates, it has become increasingly clear that its consequences are not distributed equally. Marginalized and vulnerable communities, particularly Indigenous peoples, low-income nations, and small island states are disproportionately affected despite contributing the least to climate degradation. This disparity has spurred calls for climate reparations: a framework […]

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights and Climate Justice: The Case for a Race-Conscious Jurisprudence on Climate Reparations

On January 9, 2023, Chile and Colombia requested an advisory opinion from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) regarding the human rights obligations of States in the context of climate change. In response to the Court’s request for amici curiae briefs, three academic researchers and I, on behalf of […]

Shared blame, shared bill? Joint and several State liability as a proposed legal framework for climate reparations

As climate litigation continues to rise, a pivotal and unresolved legal question emerges in the law of State responsibility: how to allocate responsibility for injuries that result from the cumulative conduct of multiple actors.  Climate-related injury derives from the aggregate and diffuse effect of anthropogenic activities, as well as natural […]

From Sidelines to Center Stage: Conferences of the Parties (COPs) as Legal Playmakers

  The trilogy of climate advisory opinions from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) marks a watershed moment not only for climate litigation but also for understanding the evolving role of Conferences of […]

A Right to Defend the Environment: Legal Protection for Environmental Advocacy in the IACtHR’s Climate Advisory Opinion

As the world faces an escalating triple planetary crisis  – climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution – those who step forward to defend the environment are increasingly stigmatized, criminalized, and subjected to violence. Nowhere is this threat more acute than in Latin America, which accounts for nearly 80% of all […]

Epistemic Authority and the Right to Science in AO-32/25: Legal Foundations for the Integration of Traditional Knowledge in the Inter-American System

Among the various legal instruments aimed at protecting human rights in the face of the climate emergency, few require as much interpretative effort as the right to science. Traditionally situated within the realm of programmatic obligations and often associated with promoting technical progress and disseminating scientific information, this right has occupied a […]

Enhanced Due Diligence: A New Legal Standard for Climate Action in the Inter-American System

Advisory Opinion 32/25 (AO-32/25)  of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) marks a turning point in the interpretation of international human rights law in relation to climate change. In AO-32/25, the IACtHR recognizes that the world is facing a genuine climate emergency and affirms that this situation demands an […]

Corporations, Climate, and the Court: New Directions for Business and Human Rights in AO-32/25

Corporations, especially those engaged in fossil fuel production, agriculture, construction, and transportation, play a significant role in the climate crisis and in its human rights impacts. Holding businesses responsible for their human rights and environmental harms has been a perennial challenge that has become increasingly acute in the climate crisis. […]