On Thursday, July 3, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) published its Advisory Opinion on Climate Emergency and Human Rights, following the request by Chile and Colombia. This marks an extraordinary event, and a significant step forward in climate litigation, as civil society participation has never been as high in the Court’s history, with a total of 263 amicus curiae briefs submitted by 613 actors.
In January 2023, the Republics of Colombia and Chile requested the IACtHR to clarify obligations of states to respond to the climate emergency within the framework of international human rights law, based on Article 64.1 of the American Convention. Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 constitutes a landmark outcome, since the Court explicitly and unanimously recognized that the current situation amounts to a climate emergency caused by human activities. Furthermore, the judges expanded the right to a healthy environment by developing the concept of a right to a healthy climate. Another important aspect, which has been praised by civil society organizations and affected stakeholders, was the Court’s ecocentric approach, taking into account the right of nature itself and the complexity of ecosystems. The judges further stated in the Opinion (by a vote of four in favor and three against) that the obligation not to cause irreversible harm to the climate and the environment constitutes a jus cogens norm.
In April 2024, Prof. Elisa Fornalé and the UNIBE team intervened before the IACtHR, following the submission of an amicus curiae brief drafted by Prof. Fornalé with a distinguished group of scholars, including other members of the IIR team (Prof. Veronika Bílková and Dr Federica Cristani). In the intervention, the relevance of key international principles, including the principle of international cooperation and the principle of non-discrimination, was emphasized. It particularly highlighted how the current climate emergency is exacerbating slow violence and increasing climate-induced migration all over the world. The Court cited the brief, referring to the idea that cross-border human mobility in the context of the climate emergency requires the adoption of common strategies at the international and regional levels, based on multilateralism and cooperation.
The Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 by the IACtHR has been described as a historic development, providing civil society groups and affected communities with a powerful instrument that affirms that the climate crisis is also a human rights crisis.
Links:
Original Advisory Opinion
Summary
WTI Amicus Curiae Brief
Guardian Article