In December 2023, EarthRights International, together with 25 indigenous, rural and afro-descendant communities and organisations from Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, the United States, Guatemala, Honduras and Peru, presented before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights the Amicus Curiae “Protection of the rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in the face of the impacts of climate change”, as a contribution to the process of the Advisory Opinion on Climate Emergency and Human Rights requested by the Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Chile on January 9, 2023.
Although they have contributed the least to the climate crisis, Indigenous and Tribal peoples, as well as rural communities, are the main victims of its consequences.
The close relationship of these peoples with their territories and natural resources, on which their livelihoods depend, makes them particularly vulnerable to climate impacts, putting their traditional ways of life at risk and threatening their rights to self-determination and cultural identity.
The Amazon covers 6.7 million km² and extends across 9 countries in South America, including Brazil, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador.
There is a network of 7,000 indigenous territories and protected areas covering approximately 50% of the Amazon rainforest, which have been fundamental for conserving its ecosystems and biological richness.
Eighteen per cent of the Amazon forest has been deforested, and another 17% is degraded, mainly due to logging, fossil fuels, and agribusiness, which has a serious environmental impact.
Deforestation is one of the main causes of climate change, producing approximately 10% of the world’s current carbon emissions.
>Photo: FENAMAD, Perú
Central and South America
In Guatemala, indigenous communities have had periods of severe drought followed by heavy flooding.
High temperatures affect communities in South America, which are affected by forest fires, the drying up of important bodies of water such as Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia, and the melting of the snow-capped peaks of the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy in Colombia.
The migration of native species due to the deterioration of ecosystems and even the death and risk of extinction in cases such as freshwater dolphins in the Amazon and Cana turtles.
> Foto: CMIB, Guatemala
North America
Alaska: The temperature has increased by 38.3 °F since the beginning of the 20th century.
Kivalina Island: In 50 years, its habitable space has shrunk by 50% due to coastal erosion.
Louisiana Coast: Every 100 minutes, the equivalent of a soccer field on land is lost.
Terrebonne Basin: 20% of surrounding wetlands have disappeared in the last 90 years.
>Photo: Native Village of Kivalina, USA
The role of the States
They have an obligation to adopt differentiated measures for groups in situations of special vulnerability based on the respect and guarantee of the right to prior consultation and consent and the exercise of peoples’ self-determination.
In this context, four specific obligations of the States are defined to minimise the impact of the climate emergency:
Protect the Amazon, a strategic ecosystem within the framework of the climate emergency.
Control, reverse and prevent damage caused by activities that destroy and degrade ecosystems.
Recognize and adequately protect the collective rights of indigenous and tribal peoples.
Adopt a human rights approach in energy transition policies and legislation to prevent the transition to clean energy from causing new human rights violations.
