Advisory Opinions On Climate Change: Pathways For Their Strategic Use By Indigenous Peoples

Published on April 30, 2026 By Angélica Cuevas, International Network for Economic, Social & Cultural Rights ESCR-Net and Luisa Gómez Betancur, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). Insights from the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: Indigenous leaders, environmental defenders, and climate litigation experts are examining how to turn international … Read More.

What a Historic Inter-American Court Ruling Means for Global Climate Justice 

Published November 6, 2025 By Upasana Khatri, Senior Attorney with CIEL’s Climate and Energy Program.   On July 3, 2025, the highest human rights court in the Americas ruled unequivocally: the climate crisis is indeed a human rights emergency. In an Advisory Opinion that will reverberate across the Americas and beyond, the Inter-American Court of … Read More.

Movement Lawyering Matters

Published October 14, 2025 By Cynthia Houniuhi, President, Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC), and Assistant Law Lecturer, The University of the South Pacific, Aditi Shetye, Lead of Strategic Litigation, World’s Youth for Climate Justice, and Researcher in Public International Law and Environmental Law, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, Johanna Gusman, Senior Attorney, … Read More.

Historic Inter-American Court Ruling: A Game-Changer for Environmental Defenders?

This opinion was originally published by Inter Press Service News Agency and can be found here.   Para leer en español haga click aquí.  Publicado el 11 de septiembre de 2025. By Luisa Gómez, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Alexandra Colón-Amil, Campaign Specialist at the Center for International Environmental Law … Read More.

An Unprecedented Opportunity: The Forum for Environmental Defenders in the Caribbean

Published on April 7, 2025 By Luisa Gomez Betancur, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law, and Alexandra Cólon-Amil, Communications Campaign Specialist at the Center for International Environmental Law. Latin America and the Caribbean is the most violent region in the world for those who defend the land and the environment. Brazil, Colombia, … Read More.

IFC’s Responsible Exit: A Critical Step for Accountability, But Real Test Lies Ahead

Published October 7, 2024 By Carla García Zendejas, Director of CIEL’s People, Land, and Resources Program. On October 4, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) published its long-awaited Approach to Responsible Exit, marking a significant milestone for the institution. This shift represents IFC’s commitment to act and respond to environmental and social harms faced by project-affected … Read More.

Escazú COP3: Ensuring Environmental Democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean

Published May 13, 2024 By Luisa Gomez Betancur, Senior Attorney, and Lani Furbank, Communications Campaign Specialist. The Escazú Agreement is the first legally binding regional treaty that upholds environmental democracy — the right to information, participation, and justice — in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the first in the world containing specific provisions aiming … Read More.

The Global Coalition for the Right to a Healthy Environment: Making History & Protecting Our Collective Future

Published February 2, 2024 By Sébastien Duyck, Senior Attorney & Human Rights & Climate Campaign Manager, and Lani Furbank, Communications Campaign Specialist. On the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a diverse, people-powered, global coalition made history at the United Nations headquarters in New York.  The Global Coalition of Civil Society, Indigenous … Read More.

Will Canada Stand Up for Indigenous Rights or Continue Supporting Big Oil?

This article by Whitney Gravelle, Lindsay Bailey, Tamara Morgenthau, and Marco Simons was originally published on Just Security. One day in July 2010, residents of Marshall, Michigan, smelled something toxic in the air and called 9-1-1. It took over 17 hours for Canadian oil giant Enbridge to detect that its Line 6b pipeline had ruptured. In that time, … Read More.

Escazú, Environmental Democracy, and Development Finance 

By Carla García Zendejas It has been a year since the landmark Escazú Agreement entered into force (April 22, 2021), and while the Agreement was envisioned in a pre-COVID world, it is critical to take stock of the context in which it will be implemented. This week, States are gathering in Santiago, Chile, to do … Read More.

Does Divestment by Multilateral Development Banks Leave Communities in the Lurch?

When exiting investments, MDBs must address negative impacts of projects on communities What happens when the private sector arms of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) exit their investments without addressing negative impacts and project-related harms, thus leaving project-affected communities without proper remedial actions? We examine seven IFC and IDB Invest cases to draw specific recommendations for … Read More.

The Maipo Valley’s Hydroelectric Nightmare: When “Clean” Development Harms People and their Environment

Chile’s last-minute decision not to host this year’s COP undercuts efforts by local communities and Indigenous Peoples to expose climate-related injustices happening in Santiago’s backyard. In response, CIEL is working with Chilean partners to make sure that Chilean voices are still heard and that human rights concerns remain at the center of the climate negotiations. … Read More.

Amid Climate Crisis, Will Governments Deliver Ambitious Climate Action in Madrid?

Against the backdrop of increasing climate destruction and mass mobilizations calling for climate leadership, COP-25 must deliver urgent, rights-based climate action. Climate change dominated the headlines throughout 2019. There were stories of the startling reality of living in a world with 1ºc of warming: climate change-fueled storms like Hurricanes Idai and Kenneth devastated Mozambique, unprecedented … Read More.

Investors Spend US Tax Dollars on Fracking. Again.

Fracking destroys communities, endangers health, and perpetuates our addiction to fossil fuels. Yet, US tax dollars are still being poured into these destructive projects. Recently, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) voted to exacerbate the climate crisis, approving over $450 million of US taxpayer dollars to finance two large fracking projects in the region of … Read More.

Under Threat, Land Has a Critical Role to Play in Addressing Climate Crisis

“Land provides the principal basis for human livelihoods.” With this statement the IPCC begins the Summary for Policy Makers of its new Special Report on Climate Change and Land. In the report, the IPCC sends a clear message that we need urgent action to combat the climate crisis. Only by achieving “compatibility between specific land … Read More.

A Win for Advocacy: Court Dismisses SLAPP Suit Against Environmental Activists

Around the world, threats against those who speak out to defend their environment and human rights are growing. In 2018, 321 human rights defenders were killed — a rate of six people every week. Environmental and human rights activists are also criminalized and face trumped-up criminal charges, defamation, and arbitrary detentions. And corporations are diversifying their … Read More.

Cheers to Accountability! Happy 25th!

Twenty-five years ago today, the answer to the question, “Where do we go if we are harmed by the World Bank?” changed from nowhere to the Inspection Panel. We live in an ever changing and more complicated world, where corporations have investors, managers, shareholders, and oversight from all over the world, and operations are owned … Read More.

A Day in the Life: The Early Warning System in Action

As I wrote in a previous post, the Early Warning System (EWS) helps make development work for everyone by offering communities the opportunity to have a say in projects that might impact them. But how does this play out in everyday life? (Or, in other words, what do I do all day besides read bank … Read More.

The Time is Now: Latin American and Caribbean Countries Must Seize the Opportunity and Bring the Escazu Agreement into Force

In March, we celebrated the adoption of the Escazú Agreement, a legally binding regional agreement guaranteeing access to information, participation, and justice in environmental matters in Latin America and the Caribbean. This marked the end of a five-year process led by the UN Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean to codify the “access … Read More.

Public Participation & Rights a Priority at Upcoming Climate Meeting

From April 30 to May 10, countries will come together for a United Nations climate meeting, to continue to make progress toward implementing the Paris Agreement and meeting key goals at this year’s COP24 climate conference in Poland. To ensure positive climate outcomes that benefit both the planet and communities across the world, we must … Read More.

Rights for Ambition: Talanoa Dialogue Presents Opportunity to Increase Climate Ambition While Respecting Rights

When countries adopted the Paris Agreement in 2015, they agreed to convene a “facilitative dialogue,” which would allow countries to come together to evaluate the world’s progress toward the goals of the Agreement. At last year’s climate talks, countries adopted the Talanoa Dialogue as the concept for this facilitative dialogue. The Talanoa Dialogue platform provides … Read More.

$600 Million Loan from Inter-American Development Bank will Support Controversial Energy Reform in Mexico

In 2013, Mexico’s president Enrique Peña Nieto Peña Nieto touted the country’s energy reform as a “historic opportunity” to “transform and elevate the quality of life of all Mexicans.” The constitutional changes, which ended decades-long monopolies on oil, gas, and electricity held by two state-owned companies, have both Mexican and foreign private competitors salivating at … Read More.

Protecting Rights through a Transnational Corporate Accountability Treaty

At a time when a number of States are working to accelerate negotiations of international trade and investment agreements, an open-ended intergovernmental working group (IGWG) is working to draft a legally binding instrument (a transnational corporate accountability treaty) to address the legal imbalance between the rights and obligations of global businesses and those of the … Read More.

Strengthening Civil Society Participation in Environmental Treaty Compliance

What role can NGOs play in the enforcement of environmental treaties? How can compliance and implementation bodies encourage civil society participation in their reviews? What, if any, is the value of involving members of the public in the process? These are some of the questions presented at a roundtable discussion of compliance committee representatives at … Read More.

The European Commission Consultation on the Multilateral Investment Court

A Breach of the Fundamental Purpose of Public Participation in Decision-Making Mechanisms that enable decision-makers to hear from the public are at the heart of democratic governance. One of the most common mechanisms is public consultation, which improves the transparency, coherency, and legitimacy of government decision-making. The right of the people to take part in … Read More.

Negotiations Begin Today for Transnational Corporate Accountability Treaty

Economic growth and foreign investment can have a positive impact by bringing jobs, development, and improvements to social welfare. But when businesses are able to act with impunity, they undermine these benefits and can cause serious human rights and environmental violations. For this reason, countries are joining together to creating binding obligations for corporations abroad, … Read More.

Alto Maipo Update: More Financial Woes for Beleaguered Hydro Project

With an important contractor exiting the project, more cost overruns, and the recent death of an employee, the Alto Maipo hydroelectric project is facing new crippling challenges The Alto Maipo Hydroelectric Project (PHAM) is a hydroelectric mega-project near Santiago, Chile, that has repeatedly come under fire for environmental, social, and financial reasons. In the wake … Read More.

US NAFTA Negotiating Objectives Fail to put Citizens First

United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer released the US NAFTA negotiating objectives on July 17, 2017, in keeping with the plan to open negotiations on August 16. The ‘detailed’ objectives are neither detailed nor comprehensive, failing to explain how the agreement, if successfully concluded, will further the objectives required by the 2015 Trade Promotion Act (TPA). … Read More.

Ceta and Pesticides: A Citizens’ Rights Issue

This article originally appeared on EUObserver. The EU and Canada will begin provisionally applying the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (Ceta) on 21 September 2017. The EU’s obligation for data protection under this agreement is in conflict with EU law on public access to information, particularly in relation to pesticides. Therefore, the EU will soon be … Read More.

“Mission Accomplished!” El Salvador Says No to Mining

We dreamed of the day when we could share this news. Last week, the government of El Salvador voted to ban outright all metal mining in the country. The decision makes the small Central American country the first to halt a modern day gold rush, effectively stopping all mining projects in the pipeline. When the … Read More.

A Deadly Shade of Green – Article 19 and CIEL Release Report on the Dangerous Situation Facing EHRDs in Latin America

In Latin America, environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) are increasingly targeted for raising concerns about the potential impacts of development projects on local communities’ livelihoods and environments. To address the threats faced by EHRDs in Latin America as they defend the right to a healthy environment, CIEL and Article 19 have published a report called … Read More.

UNEA-2 and Stakeholder Engagement

By Dr. Marcos A. Orellana, Director of Human Human Rights & Environment Program The weekend prior to UNEA-2, civil society gathered in the 16th Global Major Groups and Stakeholder Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. For a number of years, this Forum has been the space where organizations interested in UNEP’s work prepare their engagement with UNEP’s … Read More.

Will UNEA-2 Be Able to Deliver on the High Hopes Placed on It?

By Dr. Marcos A. Orellana Looking back at the genesis of the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA) could give us a leads on the answer to that pointed question. The architects of the Rio+20 Outcome Document faced the challenge of strengthening the institutional framework for sustainable development. In particular, it was recognized then that the … Read More.

2015 Highlights: Top 10 Accomplishments

Your energy and advocacy sparked a global momentum shift over the past year, and we are on the cusp of true, transformative change. On all fronts, you have defended your right to a healthy planet. With your support, you help CIEL… Advance Climate Justice For three years, we’ve highlighted the growing legal and financial risks … Read More.

Share Your Work: Early Warning System Survey Offers Opportunity to Collaborate

The Early Warning System Survey aims to minimize the existing knowledge gap by ensuring that communities have the information they need to understand proposed projects and their impacts early in the development process, to identify the banks and corporations involved in financing these projects, and to learn about advocacy strategies they can incorporate into their … Read More.

A Key Tool for Your Toolkit: International Law can Advance Women’s Land Tenure Rights in REDD+

By Allison Silverman, Staff Attorney Climate & Energy Program How can REDD+ be implemented without intensifying existing inequalities for women? Given that REDD+ is an international climate initiative with required social, environmental safeguards, how can advocates and community members use international law to advance women’s tenure rights in REDD+? Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest … Read More.

El Salvador says “NO to a Kangaroo Court!”

By Blanche Helbling, Communications Intern The Australian Embassy is about 8 blocks of traffic, restaurants, and business offices northwest of the World Bank’s headquarters in Washington, DC– I know this because yesterday I walked the distance alongside a group of energized human rights activists. “El Salvador says no to a Kangaroo Court!” To us, the … Read More.

Norway Divests from Tahoe Resources Based on Ethics Council’s Concerns at Guatemalan Mine

After more than three years embroiled in community conflicts, legal complaints, and violence, Tahoe Resources’ (Tahoe) controversial operations at its Escobal silver mine in Guatemala has cost the company a major investor:  Norway’s sovereign wealth fund. Last week, Norway’s Government Pension Fund-Global, the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, announced it has divested from … Read More.

Green Climate Fund Dos and Don’ts: The Case of REDD+

By Niranjali Amerasinghe Director, Climate & Energy Program Last month, the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) met in Barbados for its 8th session.  What’s the GCF? It’s a financial institution that is expected to channel billions of dollars to developing countries to help them in their efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate … Read More.

Dear Tri-Caucus: Introducing the Tri-Caucus (Part II)

By Allison Silverman, Staff Attorney Climate & Energy Program Dearest Friends, Colleagues, It is hard to believe that a year has passed since we formed the Tri-Caucus to improve coordination between those who focus specifically on rights related to REDD+. As we finalize last-minute logistics for the upcoming UN climate negotiations – the Conference of … Read More.

Introducing the Tri-Caucus: “It Takes a Village”

By Allison Silverman, Staff Attorney Climate & Energy Program In the world of UN climate negotiations, in which 194 official parties, as well as hundreds of observers and representatives from civil society and indigenous groups, have different and complex agendas and priorities, meaningful progress to reduce emissions is a challenging feat. Ensuring that progress respects … Read More.

Protecting Colombia’s Santurbán Páramo

By Lainey Sidell, Communications Intern Colombia’s thirty-four páramos are unique, high-altitude wetland ecosystems that serve as vital sources of freshwater for nearby inhabitants’ survival. To those who don’t directly rely on a healthy páramo ecosystem for life, however, these highlands have a different draw: precious metals buried deep beneath the surface. Therein lies the problem. … Read More.

Dear Norway, Please Divest. Sincerely, Future Generations

By Muriel Moody Korol, Senior Attorney, Climate & Energy Program Last week, CIEL submitted a letter to an expert group that is tasked with evaluating whether Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the Government Pension Fund Global, should divest from companies engaged in the fossil fuel industry.  At the end of November, the expert group will present … Read More.

UN Launches Process on Transnational Corporate Accountability

By Lily Simon, Communications Intern The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) has decided to begin drafting an international treaty to hold transnational corporations accountable for human rights abuses. On June 26, 2014, the HRC voted in favor of a resolution to establish an intergovernmental working group that would create an instrument for regulating transnational … Read More.

Facing Goliath: CIEL lends David a (Legal) Hand

By Lily Simon, Communications Intern A new amicus brief supports human rights and environmental protection in El Salvador’s battle to uphold environmental laws against Pac Rim Mining Corporation’s lawsuit. On July 25, CIEL co-hosted a brownbag lunch discussion featuring Teodoro Antonio Pacheco, a Salvadoran environmental activist who is speaking out against the Pac Rim Mining … Read More.

Delegation Urges Peruvian Embassy to Protect Human Rights Near Conga Mine

By Christine La, Communications Intern On May 23, 2014, a small delegation representing 80 human rights, environmental, indigenous, and faith-based organizations delivered a joint statement to the Peruvian Embassy in Washington, DC, calling for protection and justice for the people in Cajamarca, Peru, who are working to defend their land and their rights. The statement … Read More.

Speaking Tour Brings Attention to Guatemala Mining Conflict and US’ Role

Tahoe Resource Inc.’s Escobal silver mine in the municipality of San Rafael Las Flores, southeastern Guatemala, is the subject of local opposition and ongoing legal processes. Community leaders have faced repression, criminalization, and violence for their efforts to promote consultation processes with local residents. Despite the conflict, Tahoe put the mine into operation even before … Read More.

Going Back to Bali, to Bali, to Bali…

We’re reporting back  from Bali, Indonesia, where the February meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board took place, and excited to share an update on the progress we made and the challenges we face ahead! The GCF was created by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change  in 2010 to serve as the primary … Read More.

Vienna +20 Action Week

By Katja Bratrschovsky, Louis B. Sohn Fellow In June 2013, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) around the world gathered at Vienna for the 20th anniversary of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights and its Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The CSOs held a two-day conference to precede the Vienna+20 Advancing the Protection of Human … Read More.

[Human Rights] In the CDM

Alyssa Johl (CIEL), Abby Rubinson (Earthjustice) and Weni Bagama (Ngabe activist from Kiad community in Panama) co-authored the following post for Climate Action Network’s ECO publication. After this weekend’s CDM reform workshop, ECO has new hope for the CDM’s ability to address human rights. For the first time in the history of the CDM, Parties … Read More.

“Land Isn’t to be Sold, it is to be Defended”

  By Amanda Kistler, Communications Manager As we arrive in La Puya, an enormous banner spans the breadth of the roadway: “The extraction of our natural resources only means progress for the foreigners. NO TO MINING.” Past the banner at the entrance to the “El Tambor” project, owned by U.S.-based Kappes, Cassidy and Associates, more … Read More.

Cowboys and Aliens … and Goldcorp?

By Amanda Kistler, Guatemala Campaign Coordinator What does the new blockbuster hit Cowboys and Aliens (starring Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig) have in common with the Marlin Mine in Guatemala? Or rather, what do cowboys, aliens and Goldcorp all have in common? An unquenchable thirst for gold. My most recent trip to the box office … Read More.

Shareholder Activism: Vote Demands Suspension of Goldcorp Mine in Guatemala

By Amanda Kistler, Guatemala Project Campaigner We’re off to Vancouver! As I type this post at 30,000ft flying over Ontario, we are in crunch time preparing for Goldcorp’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Vancouver, BC this Wednesday, May 18th! CIEL is a member of the International Coalition Against Unjust Mining in Guatemala (CAMIGUA), which works … Read More.

The Real Cost of Gold: Undermining Human Rights in Guatemala

By Amanda Kistler, Guatemala Project Campaigner As the muted colors of the Guatemalan altiplano blurred by the tinted windows of the van, something in the valley caught my eye: an enormous, nearly glowing chartreuse-colored body of water.  Closer inspection revealed this unnatural color emanated from the residual waters in the tailings pond of Goldcorp Inc.’s … Read More.

Colombian IP Agreement Continues to Raise Human Rights Concerns

During Colombia’s periodic review by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, specifically the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, several recommendations were made relating to intellectual property (IP) rights. The official UN report can be found here and CIEL’s publications relating to Trade Agreements and IP can be accessed here. … Read More.