Climate Change and Human Rights: Contributions by and for Latin America and the Caribbean

Climate change represents the foremost threat to the full exercise of human rights today. In accordance with international human rights standards, climate action must be guided by and ensure the respect for and the protection and fulfilment of the human rights of all persons, particularly the most vulnerable.
The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have made significant strides in incorporating a human rights-based approach into climate action. In this joint publication, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have undertaken to highlight the numerous contributions to the human rights perspective made by and for the region. The commitment of the region’s countries to human rights in relation to climate change is evident on several fronts: from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change processes and initiatives and the nationally determined contributions, to the recommendations of the United Nations human rights mechanisms, the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement) and national climate legal and policy frameworks.