INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS ON GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION

These are the international instruments that influence the nexus of gender and climate change work.

1. The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women9 (CEDAW) is the oldest and possible the best-known international instrument on women's rights and gender equality.

2. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities10 (CRPD) is intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit, social development dimension. It adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms. It clarifies and qualifies how all categories of rights apply to persons with disabilities and identifies areas where adaptations have to be made for persons with disabilities to effectively exercise their rights and areas where their rights have been violated, and where protection of rights must be reinforced.

3. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People11 (UNDRIP) is the most comprehensive instrument detailing the rights of indigenous peoples in international law and policy, containing minimum standards for the recognition, protection and promotion of these rights. It establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity, wellbeing and rights of the world's indigenous peoples.

4. Convention on the Rights of the Child12 is an international human rights agreement (also known as a human rights treaty) that outlines the specific rights that children and young people can claim. By signing up to the Convention, national governments commit to protecting these rights in their countries.

5. The Yogyakarta Principles13 - In 2006, in response to well-documented patterns of abuse, a distinguished group of international human rights experts met in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to outline a set of international principles relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. The result was the Yogyakarta Principles: a universal guide to human rights which affirm binding international legal standards with which all States must comply. They promise a different future where all people born free and equal in dignity and rights can fulfil that precious birthright.

6. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change14 - The ultimate objective of all three agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.

7. Paris Agreement15 is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. Its overarching goal is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” This is achieved through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in which all countries outline their plans to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The UNFCCC has a Gender Action Plan which outlines gender specific outcomes.