The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) jointly with the Interamerican Association of Environmental Defense (AIDA) presented a submission to inform the drafting of the List of Issues Prior to Reporting (LOIPR) concerning the review of the State of Colombia before the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights during its 73rd Pre-Sessional Working Group (16 to 23 October 2023).

The report clarifies Colombia’s human rights obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in relation to a just transition to sustainability. It  provides information on the current state of the decarbonisation process in the country and the efforts advanced to undertake a swift and just process to transition to green energy. Finally, the document incorporates a set of conclusions and suggestions on the questions that the Committee could envisage in the LOIPR to contribute to advancing a rights-based transition to zero-carbon societies in Colombia.

The report seeks to inform and influence the Committee’s review process on Colombia as a mean to shape national policies relevant to the financing and delivery of a just transition. Since November 2022 the Colombian government launched an unprecedented nationwide participatory effort to define a critical roadmap that will identify the next steps, timeline, opportunities, potential obstacles  to advance a just energy transition. To inform this process, the Government of Colombia has held numerous national dialogues with different sectors of society, including indigenous peoples, women, human rights defenders, experts, and activists working across all strategic areas of the energy transition. The government is expected to publish this ambitious roadmap for a just energy transition in early 2024 and we hope the reporting process can contribute to influence the measures adopted as part of this national strategy to reduce Colombia’s dependency on fossil fuels.

You may download the joint report here: