From March 2023 through March 2024, the Universal Rights Group (URG) conducted an analysis to assess and understand the extent to which the United Nations (UN) human rights system focuses on the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, as well as the level of implementation and impact of environment-related recommendations extended to States by the three main human rights mechanisms: the UPR, the Treaty Bodies, and the Special Procedures.

This analysis is part of a growing movement at the UN to bridge the international and national levels, specifically to measure and understand the degree to which States’ international human rights obligations and commitments are being translated into improved laws, policies, and practices at the national level, leading to tangible improvements in the enjoyment of human rights and, in the case of this report, the protection of the natural environment.