African Court Asked to Clarify States’ Human Rights Obligations Amid Climate Crisis

 

Four African organizations have submitted a request to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, urging it to provide an advisory opinion on how the continent’s states are legally obligated to protect human rights in the face of escalating climate change impacts.

The request was filed by the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), in partnership with the African Climate Platform (ACP), Environmental Law Centre for Africa (ELCA), and Natural Justice, alongside the youth network Resilient40.

“We are asking the Court to clarify the legal duties of African governments to protect their people from the worsening effects of climate change, including droughts, floods, rising sea levels, and food insecurity,” said Donald Deya of PALU.

Dzimbabwe Chimbga of the African Climate Platform added that the request is particularly concerned with the rights of vulnerable and marginalized groups. “We want the Court to interpret how the African Charter and related instruments safeguard the rights of women, children, people with disabilities, older persons, and indigenous communities from the climate crisis,” he said.

“The issue of climate change is not just environmental—it’s a moral and human rights imperative,” Chimbga emphasized. “The right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is the foundation for the realization of other rights.”

The petitioners are also asking the Court to examine the role of public participation in environmental decision-making, the protection of environmental defenders, and how African states must regulate corporate activities contributing to environmental degradation.

Supporting documents submitted to the Court reference the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, the Maputo Protocol, the Paris Agreement, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

If the Court agrees to hear the request, it will mark the first time it delivers a formal interpretation on the intersection between climate change and human rights obligations under African human rights law.