Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights: A Milestone in Inter-American Law
Keywords:
Advisory Opinion OC-32/25, climate emergency, human rights, Inter-American Court of Human RightsAbstract
On May 29, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights, in response to the joint request submitted on January 9, 2023, by the Republic of Chile and the Republic of Colombia.
This ruling, adopted during the 176th Regular Session of the IACHR, is undoubtedly the most ambitious and comprehensive legal document the Inter-American System has produced on the relationship between the climate crisis and states’ human rights obligations.
OC-32/25 comes at a historic moment in which three high-level international bodies have addressed, almost simultaneously, the obligations of States regarding climate change: the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, which issued an advisory opinion on May 21, 2024, on climate change and international law; the International Court of Justice, which issued an advisory opinion on states’ obligations regarding climate change; and now the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
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International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Request for an Advisory Opinion submitted by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law, 21 mayo 2024.
International Court of Justice, Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change, 23 julio 2025.
Corte IDH, Opinión Consultiva OC-32/25 sobre Emergencia Climática y Derechos Humanos, 29 mayo 2025
Corte IDH, Opinión Consultiva OC-32/25 sobre Emergencia Climática y Derechos Humanos, 29 mayo 2025: voto disidente de la jueza Patricia Pérez Goldberg.
Corte IDH, Habitantes de La Oroya vs. Perú, 27 noviembre 2023.
Corte IDH, Opinión Consultiva OC-23/17 Medio ambiente y derechos humanos, 15 noviembre 2017.
Asamblea General ONU, Resolución 76/300 El derecho humano a un medio ambiente limpio, saludable y sostenible, 28 julio 2022.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Rodrigo Santiago Juárez (Autor/a)
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