Bonavero Institute and Human Rights Hub contribute to Amicus Brief on the escalating impacts of climate change on the rights of vulnerable populations

Associated people

Professor Rachel Murray, Director of the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, and Professor Sandra Fredman, Director of the Oxford Human Rights Hub, along with affiliated students, have contributed to an amicus curiae submission filed by the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the Matter of a Request by the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) for an Advisory Opinion, Advisory Opinion No 001/2025.

The submission

An amicus curiae, or “friend of the court”, brief is a submission made by a person or organisation that is not a party to a case but has expertise in the issues before the court. In the international legal system, these submissions assist courts and tribunals by offering legal analysis, technical expertise, or perspectives on the broader implications of a case.

The submission highlights the impact of climate change on rights protected under the African Charter, including the rights to life, health, housing, food, water, development, participation and a satisfactory environment.  

 

“This submission makes it clear that climate change in Africa is not only an environmental crisis, but a human rights crisis. Its impacts are already being felt by communities whose rights, livelihoods and futures are most at risk. Legal and policy responses must therefore place the rights of vulnerable and marginalised groups at the centre of climate action.”
Rachel Murray
Director, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights

The contributors

The submission was submitted by the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI), in collaboration with the Oxford Human Rights Hub, the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and the Children and Climate Initiative at the University of Oxford. Extensive support was provided by members of Bonavero Institute, including Professor Rachel Murray, Graduate Resident Rawletta Barrow and Research Assistant Justin Winchester, as well as by Professor Sandra Fredman, Freya Baetens, Gideon Basson, Meghan Campbell, Jinghe Fan, Ndjodi Ndeunyema, Mandisa Shandu, Aradhana Cherupara Vadekkethil, Justin Winchester, Alan Stein, Victoria Whitford and Almas Shaikh. 

It was informed by extensive consultations with NANHRI member institutions and draws on written contributions from National Human Rights Institutions in Botswana, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Algeria, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Togo, and Zimbabwe.

Download the Amicus Brief.

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