WASHINGTON, D.C. [August 18, 2026] — The Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) and Landesa have filed an amicus curiae brief before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights, urging it to recognize the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, especially women, in climate action. The brief also asks the Court to clarify States’ obligations to protect their collective land rights amid the climate crisis. 

Filed on July 10, 2026, the brief responds to the Request for Advisory Opinion No. 001 of 2025, submitted by the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), which asks the Court to clarify States’ obligations under African human rights law in addressing climate change. That proceeding provides the African Court with an opportunity to advance a regional, human rights-based perspective on climate obligations, following recent advisory opinions from the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 

The filing marks the first time RRI and Landesa have directly participated in strategic judicial proceedings before the African Court. Their legal and evidence-based analysis shows secure land rights as essential to protecting communities that have long stewarded ecosystems while facing disproportionate impacts from climate change. 

“The communities who have protected ecosystems for generations must be recognized as rights holders and partners in climate action,” said Solange Bandiaky-Badji, President and Coordinator of RRI. “Secure tenure rights are not an obstacle to climate solutions. They are a foundation for achieving them, and climate action cannot succeed by repeating patterns of exclusion and dispossession that have harmed Indigenous Peoples and local communities for generations.”  

The brief argues that Indigenous Peoples and local communities, including pastoralists, customary landholders, coastal communities, and the women within these groups are entitled to collective and individual rights protections under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It also asserts that States have heightened obligations to protect communities facing disproportionate climate impacts and the irreversible loss of ancestral territories. 

Building on this foundation, the brief emphasizes that secure land tenure is a prerequisite for effective climate action, not a competing priority. It argues that governments cannot fully meet their climate commitments without first recognizing and protecting communities’ and women’s land rights, and that environmental initiatives, including carbon markets, REDD+ projects, protected areas, and conservation concessions, must uphold the same human rights standards as any other land-based activity. 

The amicus particularly urges the Court to recognize land rights for women in Indigenous and local communities as fundamental human rights under the African Charter and Maputo Protocol and as part and parcel of climate action.  

My-Lan Dodd, Attorney and Senior Land Tenure Specialist, Gender with Landesa, said: “Women are the primary users of agricultural land across most African communities and the principal holders of customary knowledge on seed systems, water and food security. The discrimination and harm they are subjected to directly impairs States’ abilities to respond to climate change. The rights of Indigenous and local community women are an indispensable element of any rights-consistent, gender-responsive climate action.”  

The brief also builds on decades of evidence showing that Indigenous Peoples and local communities play a vital role in protecting forests, biodiversity, and natural ecosystems while sustaining their cultures, livelihoods, and governance systems. Yet many communities across Africa and around the world continue to face legal and institutional barriers to securing recognition of their customary lands and territories.  

The African Court’s advisory opinion process comes at a pivotal moment as governments advance climate and conservation commitments while Indigenous and local communities, especially women, on the front lines of climate change continue to face growing risks. The Court’s guidance could help shape how African States approach climate governance, conservation, and development while strengthening protections for the most affected communities. 

Isabel Davila Pereira, Legal Analyst at RRI, said: “Being the last international human rights court to consider this matter, the African Court has an opportunity to reinforce a fundamental principle that was only expanded on by the Inter-American Court. That environmental protection cannot come at the expense of the people whose lands, knowledge, and stewardship are central to achieving lasting solutions.” 

RRI and Landesa’s participation in this proceeding reflects a continued commitment to advancing recognition of land rights for Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women, and other rightsholders as a pathway to equitable climate, biodiversity, and development solutions. 

About Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) 

RRI is a global coalition working to advance the land, forest, and resource rights of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant Peoples, local communities, and the women and youth within these communities. RRI supports data, analysis, and advocacy to promote rights-based approaches to climate, conservation, and sustainable development. Learn more: www.rightsandresources.org. 

About Landesa 

Landesa works to secure land rights for millions of people around the world, advancing legal and policy solutions that strengthen land tenure security, promote social justice and gender equality, and support sustainable development. Through partnerships with governments, communities, and organizations, Landesa helps ensure that women and men whose lives and livelihoods depend on land have the rights and resources needed to build more equitable and resilient futures. Learn more: https://www.landesa.org/