Africa's Climate Crisis Is A Legal Crisis Too: What Are States' Duties Under Human Rights Law?

(MENAFN- The Conversation) A landmark climate case is being heard by the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights. The request was brought by the Pan African Lawyers Union and other African civil society organisations. They've asked the court to issue advice on what responsibilities African governments have to protect their countries against the climate crisis and move away from an economy that harms the environment.

Zunaida Moosa Wadiwala and Tracy-Lynn Field of the Mandela Institute alongside several other organisations have asked to participate as friends of the court (amicus curiae). Their brief argues that African states have a duty to protect the climate system because a safe, stable climate is essential for people's rights.

What are the major climate change problems Africa faces?

The continent has made the least historical contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, which drive climate change. But it suffers unequally and more heavily from climate disasters like drought, floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels. All of these threaten human health and safety, food and water security and the development of society and the economy.

Climate change disrupts ecosystems, causes crop failure and lost food production, and increases poverty, disease, loss of lives and livelihoods, water and energy insecurity and loss of natural and cultural heritage.

What will climate change do to Africa's development?

Climate change is a major obstacle to development. This is because Africa's economies are very sensitive to climate change disasters and extreme changes to the climate. In fact, climate change threatens to reverse decades of development gains across Africa. We further argue in our brief to the court that in African countries, development cannot be understood purely through economic growth or gross domestic product figures.

Rather, development is also about giving people the ability to shape their own futures by protecting the environment, communities and culture.

Read more: Historic climate change ruling from the International Court of Justice: what it means for Africa

This broader idea of sustainable development is protected by the African Charter. Article 22 says all people have the right to economic, social and cultural development. Article 24 says they have the right to a healthy environment that supports that development. Other African agreements, such as the Maputo Protocol to the African Charter, which protects women's rights, and the Algiers Convention on nature conservation, also stress that development must be sustainable, fair and balanced.

What should the governments of African countries do to prevent climate change?

The Mandela Institute amicus brief argues that a safe and stable climate is necessary if people are to realise or achieve their right to development. The brief also argues that a safe and stable climate is essential for the right to freely control and benefit from natural resources.

The rights to economic, social and cultural development and to national and international peace and security cannot be realised in a rapidly warming world.

Read more: Climate justice for Africa: 3 legal routes for countries that suffer the most harm

There is growing international agreement that fossil fuel projects must be phased out. They have undermined people's rights in the past and will likely continue to do so in future. Our brief also acknowledges scientific evidence about increasing temperatures and global warming, which harm the climate system and threaten the right to development.

It therefore urges governments to cooperate and to make climate decisions based on best available science, because Africa is especially vulnerable to climate change.

Read more: Iran war is exposing South Africa's dependency on diesel: what went wrong

In other words, African governments should have a legal duty to prevent serious damage to the climate. They need to act urgently, carefully and according to the best available science as climate risks grow.

Our brief argues that climate action and human rights are closely linked. We point out that the African Union was created to protect both individual and peoples' rights under the African Charter.

What do you hope the court will state in its advisory opinion?

Advisory opinions give advice and are not legally binding. But they help explain what countries are already required to do under international law. They also guide courts on how to apply those rules. In this way, they can shape how governments, business and the public understand their responsibilities in the climate crisis.

In July 2025, the International Court of Justice in The Hague handed down a similar advisory opinion. That set out what the world's governments need to do to combat climate change. It said countries have legal obligations to protect the climate system and prevent serious environmental harm.

Read more: South Africa's laws aren't geared to protecting against climate change: judges are trying to fill the gap

Kenya, Ghana, Madagascar, South Africa, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Mauritius, Burkina Faso and Egypt all made submissions about climate change damage for this case. So even though the opinion itself was not legally binding, it was still important for Africa. It set up a strong argument that governments must consider human rights, development and climate justice before they allow fossil fuels and high emissions projects to go ahead.

In the same way, the African Court's advisory opinion could become an important turning point for climate justice in Africa. The opinion could shape how development, human rights and climate accountability are understood across the continent.

Read more: Nigeria and South Africa plan to boost fossil fuel production, risking their climate change pledges

The Mandela Institute hopes that the African Court will make it clear that African governments have a duty to protect the climate as part of their responsibility to ensure people can live in a healthy environment, benefit fairly from natural resources, develop economically and socially, and live in peace and security. These are the rights contained in the African Charter.

As global pressure grows to phase out fossil fuels, we also hope the court will clarify that governments must reduce dependence on fossil fuels when these projects threaten people's rights.

MENAFN01062026000199003603ID1111194036