Undoubtedly one of the most urgent human rights issues of our time is climate change. Strategic human rights litigation has an important role to play in prevention and response, and around the globe creative lawyering is underway to overcome the many procedural, legal and practical challenges that arise in practice. HRiP supports those most affected, NGOs and activists to bring effective litigation against states and corporate actors, to develop litigation strategy and to use innovative but solid legal arguments and fora to overcome challenges.
Litigation against states: In the past few years legal advice and support has been given in relation to ground-breaking litigation against states in national and international courts, including:
in the Netherlands (‘Urgenda’ litigation)
in Ireland (‘Climate Case’ Ireland)
in the Norwegian Supreme Court (People v Arctic Oil)
in the European Court of Human Rights (‘Norwegian Oil’ v Norway and Klima Seniorinnen v. Switzerland cases).
Advice and representation in other human rights cases.
Corporate accountability: Litigation against corporations for their primary role in the climate crisis is a crucial and rapidly expanding field of practice. In December 2022, an OECD complaint (available here) was filed by before the Dutch National Contact Point against Netherlands-based palm oil trading giant Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), alleging its role in the unlawful deforestation of the Peruvian Amazon and human rights violations. It is the first case of its kind, seeking to address the crucial part that commodity traders play in breaching OECD guidelines through lucrative business relationships with notorious violators in the palm oil sector. The case concerns unlawful deforestation, contributing to dangerous climate change, violations of indigenous peoples rights, and the misleading of consumers and the public. Helen Duffy worked on this brief for Centre for Climate Crimes Analysis (CCCA), with a range of partners in Peru and internationally (AIDESEP, FECONAU, Forest Peoples Programme, Instituto de Defensa Legal, Instituto de Estudios Forestales y Ambientales – Kené, EIA - Environmental Investigation Agency, and the Center for Climate Crime Analysis).
On 4 Sept 2023, the complaint was admitted by the Dutch OECD national contact point (NCP). The NCP found the complaint admissible on grounds that the allegations are material and "prima facie substantiated" and announced that both parties have accepted the ‘good offices’ of the NCP.
The original OECD complaint is available here; the decision of 4 Sept here, the CCCA press Q&A is here. A statement of support has been issued by the indigenous community of Santa Clara de Uchunya. All credit to the Santa Clara de Uchunya community for its tireless fight for justice, to the coalition of NGOs bringing or supporting the claim, and to CCCA for the rigorous research that made it possible. More info on the case and coalition on CCCA’s website in English (y en Español).