Gathering to Strengthen Environmental Rights -UNEP Hosts African Experts for High-Level Consultation

MONROVIA –  In a landmark effort to advance environmental rights and justice across the continent, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will host a two-day Expert Consultation on Environmental Rights in Africa from July 12–13, 2025, at its Nairobi headquarters.

The consultation will bring together over 30 experts, including civil society leaders, legal scholars, Indigenous representatives, UN agencies, African Union organs, and regional human rights bodies, to forge a continental roadmap toward stronger legal and policy protections for environmental rights.

This high-level gathering comes as Africa faces escalating environmental threats—from biodiversity loss to climate-driven disasters—disproportionately impacting vulnerable populations, including Indigenous communities, women, youth, and environmental human rights defenders.

Despite these challenges, the continent has shown leadership in recognizing the link between human rights and a healthy environment, with all 54 African countries now acknowledging the right to a clean and sustainable environment in some form.

“Environmental degradation in Africa is not only a planetary crisis—it is a human rights crisis,” said a UNEP spokesperson. “This consultation is a critical step toward addressing gaps in legal protections and ensuring that environmental rights are fully recognized, enforced, and enjoyed by all.”

The meeting will also explore how Africa can move toward a dedicated regional environmental rights instrument, building on the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and lessons from international frameworks like the Escazú Agreement in Latin America and the Aarhus Convention in Europe.

The forum is aimed at mapping stakeholders and opportunities for stronger regional cooperation; promoting cross-continental learning and legal harmonization; advancing the role of communities, civil society, and Indigenous peoples in environmental governance, and crafting a shared strategy for recognition and enforcement of environmental rights.

An open hybrid side event will also be held on July 14, 2025, during the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), where broader regional stakeholders will be invited to engage in shaping Africa’s environmental rights future.

This initiative is supported by the Environmental Rights in Africa (ERA) coalition, The Access Initiative, and regional allies committed to building a just, inclusive, and ecologically sustainable Africa.