2027 Call for Inputs on Climate Change and the Rights of Women and Girls

The 2027 Call for Inputs on Climate Change and the Rights of Women and Girls invites civil society organizations, women’s rights groups, community-based organizations, environmental and climate justice organizations, human rights defenders, academic institutions, researchers, and other relevant stakeholders to contribute evidence and recommendations to a United Nations report examining how climate change affects women’s and girls’ human rights.

Issued by the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls, the call seeks information on the ways climate change affects women’s and girls’ access to essential resources, health care, education, housing, livelihoods, safety, justice, and participation in decision-making. It also seeks evidence on how climate policies and programmes may either protect their rights or reinforce existing inequalities.

The deadline for submissions is 31 October 2026 at 23:30 Geneva time. Contributions must be submitted by email in Word document format and must not exceed 2,500 words or five pages. Submissions are accepted in English, French, and Spanish.

The evidence and recommendations requested through this consultation will help the Working Group examine how climate change affects women’s and girls’ human rights, how climate-related harm can deepen existing discrimination and gender inequality, and what governments and other relevant actors can do to address these challenges. The resulting thematic report is scheduled to be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2027.

Its purpose is to collect relevant evidence, experiences, research findings, and practical recommendations that can inform international human rights reporting and discussions on climate change and gender equality.

For organizations and individuals working in women’s rights, climate justice, environmental protection, gender equality, sustainable development, and human rights, the call offers an opportunity to bring relevant findings and community experiences to the attention of an international human rights mechanism.

About the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls

The UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls is a United Nations human rights mechanism concerned with discrimination against women and girls and the protection and realization of their human rights.

As part of its work, the Working Group prepares thematic reports examining specific issues affecting women’s and girls’ rights. These reports can identify human rights concerns, examine gaps in laws and policies, and contribute to discussions among governments, international organizations, civil society, researchers, and other stakeholders.

For its 2027 thematic report, the Working Group is focusing on climate change and the rights of women and girls.

Climate change is not only an environmental challenge. Its consequences can also affect the enjoyment of fundamental human rights and interact with existing forms of gender inequality, discrimination, economic disadvantage, and social exclusion.

Women and girls may experience climate-related harm differently depending on their circumstances, including their age, disability, socioeconomic situation, geographical location, occupation, migration status, and access to public services and decision-making processes.

Climate-related disasters, environmental degradation, resource scarcity, and displacement can disrupt access to food, water, housing, education, health care, employment, and personal safety. Women and girls may also face additional barriers when seeking assistance, protecting their livelihoods, or participating in decisions about climate policies and recovery programmes.

At the same time, women and girls contribute to climate action through community leadership, environmental protection, advocacy, research, and participation in public decision-making. Their experiences and contributions are therefore important to understanding how climate policies can protect human rights and advance gender equality.

Purpose of the 2027 Call for Inputs

The primary purpose of the consultation is to gather evidence and recommendations for the Working Group’s 2027 thematic report on climate change and the rights of women and girls.

The report will examine how climate change affects women’s and girls’ rights, how these effects interact with existing inequalities, and what governments and other relevant actors should do to ensure that climate policies and programmes respect human rights.

The Working Group is particularly interested in the relationship between climate change, discrimination, substantive equality, and intersectionality.

Substantive equality considers whether people can enjoy their rights and opportunities in practice, rather than focusing only on whether laws formally treat everyone equally. Intersectionality examines how different forms of discrimination and disadvantage can overlap, creating distinct experiences and barriers for particular groups.

Through this consultation, the Working Group seeks to understand how climate-related risks affect women and girls in different circumstances and what gender-responsive and gender-transformative climate action should look like in law and practice.

Key objectives of the consultation

The call seeks evidence and practical information on the following issues:

• The existing and potential effects of climate change on women and girls in different communities, countries, and regions.
• The human rights that are particularly affected or threatened by climate change.
• The ways climate change can intensify existing gender inequalities and discrimination.
• The extent to which gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights are incorporated into climate laws, policies, programmes, and strategies.
• The distinct experiences of women and girls affected by intersecting forms of discrimination.
• The roles of women and girls in climate action, including leadership, community initiatives, advocacy, and litigation.
• The effectiveness of climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, mitigation, and loss-and-damage responses in protecting women’s and girls’ rights.
• Women’s and girls’ access to climate information, decision-making, justice, protection, and effective remedies.
• The responsibilities of governments, businesses, international organizations, and other actors in preventing climate-related harm.
• The most significant gaps in existing responses and the measures that should be prioritized in the future.

The information collected will help the Working Group assess current approaches, identify shortcomings, and develop recommendations for protecting women’s and girls’ rights in a changing climate.

Who Can Submit Inputs to the 2027 UN Climate Change and Women’s Rights Report?

The Working Group invites contributions from a broad range of stakeholders. The consultation is not limited to one profession, academic discipline, or type of organization.

1. Civil society organizations

Civil society organizations working on human rights, gender equality, environmental protection, sustainable development, social justice, and related issues are encouraged to contribute.

They can share evidence from their programmes, advocacy activities, monitoring work, research, and engagement with affected communities.

For example, an organization working with communities affected by flooding could describe how displacement affects women’s access to housing, livelihoods, sanitation, health care, and protection from violence.

2. Women’s rights organizations

Women’s rights organizations are particularly relevant because of their work addressing discrimination, gender-based violence, women’s participation, and the protection of women’s and girls’ rights.

They may provide evidence showing how climate-related pressures affect women’s safety, economic security, access to essential services, or ability to participate in public decision-making.

They can also identify gaps in existing laws and policies and recommend measures that would make climate responses more responsive to women’s rights.

3. Community-based organizations

Community-based organizations can contribute information grounded in the experiences of people directly affected by climate change.

Their submissions may describe local challenges, community-led responses, practical barriers to accessing assistance, and examples of effective or harmful practices.

The Working Group welcomes information from local, national, subregional, and regional contexts. Community-level experiences can help explain how climate-related harm affects women and girls in everyday life and how existing responses work in practice.

4. Environmental and climate justice organizations

Environmental and climate justice organizations may contribute research, policy analysis, programme evidence, and practical examples concerning the unequal distribution of climate-related risks and resources.

Their contributions may address climate mitigation, adaptation, disaster risk reduction, climate finance, loss and damage, land-use projects, and the effects of environmental policies on women and girls.

They may also identify situations in which climate-related projects or policies have created adverse effects for women and girls, despite being intended to address environmental challenges.

5. Human rights defenders

Human rights defenders may submit information on rights violations, barriers to justice, discrimination, and risks faced by women and girls in climate-affected settings.

The consultation specifically raises questions about women environmental human rights defenders who may experience threats, violence, harassment, criminalization, reprisals, or other forms of retaliation because of their work.

Contributors can provide evidence about these risks, explain the effectiveness of existing protection mechanisms, and recommend measures to strengthen the safety and participation of women environmental defenders.

6. Academic and research institutions

Universities, research centres, independent researchers, and other academic institutions are invited to contribute relevant findings.

Useful submissions may draw on statistical data, published studies, field research, legal analysis, case studies, and other forms of evidence that explain the relationship between climate change and women’s and girls’ rights.

Researchers may also identify gaps in available data, particularly where existing information does not adequately capture differences related to age, disability, socioeconomic status, geographical location, or other circumstances.

7. Other relevant stakeholders

The call is also open to other stakeholders with relevant knowledge, research, professional experience, or community-level evidence concerning climate change and the rights of women and girls.

Potential contributors should focus on the questions most closely related to their expertise, work, or experience.

The announcement does not establish a specific nationality requirement, minimum academic qualification, or professional certification requirement. Contributors should ensure that their submissions address the subject of the consultation and provide relevant information.

Which Countries and Regions Can Contribute?

The Working Group welcomes information from local, national, subregional, and regional contexts.

Contributions may focus on experiences within a particular community, evidence from one country, challenges affecting several countries, or broader regional trends. The announcement does not provide a closed list of eligible countries or restrict submissions to a particular geographical region.

For example, a community-based organization may describe the effects of drought on women’s livelihoods in a rural area. A national research institution may examine whether climate policies adequately incorporate gender equality. A regional organization may compare how displacement and climate-related disasters affect women and girls across several countries.

The focus is on the relevance of the evidence and recommendations to climate change and women’s and girls’ rights.

Key Areas of Interest: What Information Is the UN Working Group Seeking?

The call sets out 25 questions grouped into seven thematic areas. Contributors are encouraged to respond to the questions most relevant to their knowledge and experience. They are not required to answer every question.

The seven areas cover the relationship between climate change and gender equality, differences in how women and girls experience climate-related harm, access to fundamental rights, participation and justice, climate policies, accountability, and international cooperation.

1. Climate change as a women’s rights and equality issue

The first section examines the overall relationship between climate change, gender inequality, discrimination, and women’s and girls’ rights.

Contributors are invited to explain the main existing or potential effects of climate change on women and girls in the communities, countries, or regions where they work.

They may identify which rights are most affected or at risk and explain whether climate change intensifies pre-existing discrimination or inequality.

The Working Group also seeks information about the extent to which women’s and girls’ rights and gender equality are integrated into climate laws, policies, strategies, and programmes.

Contributions may identify successful approaches, gaps in implementation, and challenges that prevent policies from delivering meaningful protection.

2. Impacts on women and girls in different circumstances

The second section focuses on differences in how women and girls experience climate-related harm.

The Working Group seeks information about groups that may experience particularly severe or distinct effects because of factors such as:

• Age and disability.
• Race, ethnicity, caste, or Indigenous status.
• Migration or displacement status.
• Socioeconomic circumstances.
• Health, pregnancy, or maternity.
• Sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Geographical location and occupation.
• Other circumstances that may create overlapping or compounded disadvantages.

The call also asks whether girls experience climate change differently from women or boys.

Relevant issues include education, health, nutrition, sexual and reproductive health and rights, child labour, child, early or forced marriage, and household or caregiving responsibilities.

Contributors may explain how climate-related disruptions affect girls over time and whether the effects accumulate throughout their lives.

3. Women’s and girls’ rights in the context of climate change

This section explores the practical consequences of climate change for fundamental rights and access to essential resources.

The Working Group seeks information on the effects of climate change on physical and mental health, access to health care, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

It also asks about access to food, water, sanitation, adequate housing, land, natural resources, employment, livelihoods, and social protection.

Contributors may explain how environmental changes affect women’s economic security and increase unpaid care and domestic work.

Another important area is gender-based violence, trafficking, and exploitation. The Working Group seeks evidence on whether climate change affects the risk or patterns of these harms, particularly during disasters, displacement, resource scarcity, or loss of livelihoods.

The consultation also considers climate-related internal displacement, cross-border movement, and planned relocation. Contributors may identify barriers to documentation, international protection, housing, land, livelihoods, health care, education, and protection from violence or exploitation.

4. Women’s and girls’ agency and procedural rights

The fourth section recognizes that women and girls are not only affected by climate change; they also play important roles in responding to it.

The Working Group seeks examples of women’s leadership, community initiatives, environmental advocacy, and climate litigation.

Contributors are invited to assess whether women and girls can participate meaningfully in climate-related decision-making at local and national levels. They may identify barriers to participation and provide examples of good practices, including consultation with Indigenous women and affected local communities where applicable.

The call also examines access to climate and environmental information. Contributors can explain whether women and girls receive timely and accessible information that enables them to exercise their rights and participate in decisions.

Another concern is access to judicial, administrative, or other mechanisms that provide remedies for climate-related harm or adverse effects of climate policies.

Finally, the Working Group seeks information on threats, harassment, violence, criminalization, reprisals, and other forms of retaliation experienced by women environmental human rights defenders.

5. Gender equality in climate action

This section considers whether climate policies and programmes adequately protect women’s and girls’ rights.

The Working Group seeks examples of positive and adverse effects associated with mitigation measures and projects, including renewable energy, decarbonization, carbon markets, and land-use initiatives.

Contributors are also invited to assess climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction programmes, identifying approaches that respond effectively to the different needs and risks experienced by women and girls.

The questions extend to climate-related loss and damage, including whether women and girls can access compensation, financial assistance, recovery programmes, and other forms of support.

The Working Group also examines the transition toward low-carbon economies. Relevant issues include women’s employment, access to green jobs, reskilling, training, social protection, occupational segregation, livelihoods, and unpaid care work.

Climate finance and climate-related budgeting are another focus. Contributors may explain whether gender equality is incorporated into funding decisions and whether women’s organizations can access climate funding and participate in decisions about how resources are allocated, implemented, and monitored.

6. Assessment, prevention, and accountability

The sixth section examines whether the differentiated and intersectional impacts of climate change are adequately assessed before decisions are made.

The Working Group seeks information about gender and human rights impact assessments, consultation processes, alternative approaches, safeguards, monitoring, and follow-up measures.

Contributors may identify whether foreseeable adverse effects on women and girls are recognized and minimized.

The call also asks whether sufficient data are available to monitor the effects of climate change on women and girls. Respondents may highlight gaps in research and explain whether existing data are sufficiently disaggregated to reveal intersecting inequalities.

Business activities and private-sector involvement in climate action are also covered. The Working Group seeks examples of business-related climate harm affecting women and girls, including adverse effects associated with projects intended to address climate change.

Contributors may discuss whether regulations, due diligence requirements, accountability mechanisms, and remedies are adequate.

7. International cooperation, gaps, and priorities

The final thematic area considers whether international, regional, and bilateral climate cooperation adequately addresses the rights and needs of women and girls.

Relevant subjects include climate finance, adaptation, loss and damage, technology transfer, technical assistance, and capacity-building.

The Working Group is also interested in whether women’s organizations and affected communities can participate in decisions and access available resources.

Contributors are invited to identify the most significant gaps in national, regional, and international responses and recommend the measures that governments, international organizations, businesses, and other relevant actors should prioritize.

The overall objective is to identify practical steps that ensure climate action protects women’s and girls’ rights and advances substantive gender equality.

Submission Requirements: Word Limit, Language, and File Format

Contributors should follow the stated submission requirements to ensure their inputs can be received and considered.

Submission requirements

• Deadline: 31 October 2026 at 23:30 Geneva time.
• Word limit: 2,500 words.
• Page limit: Five pages.
• Accepted languages: English, French, and Spanish.
• Accepted file format: Word document.
• Submission method: Email.
• Recipient: UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls.
• Email address
• Required email subject line: Call for inputs: 2027 thematic report.

Contributors may address all the questions or focus only on those relevant to their work. A submission does not need to cover every thematic area to be useful.

The Working Group encourages respondents to support their contributions with available evidence and concrete examples.

Possible supporting materials include relevant legislation, policies, case law, reports, research, statistical data, testimonies, case studies, and examples of good or harmful practices. Links to publicly available materials are also welcome.

Contributors should prioritize the information most relevant to their expertise and experience and remain within the prescribed word and page limits.

How to Submit Your Contribution to the 2027 UN Climate Change Report

The submission process involves preparing relevant information and emailing it to the Working Group before the deadline.

Step 1: Identify the most relevant questions

Review the seven thematic areas and select the questions that relate most closely to your organization’s work, research, or experience.

You do not need to answer all 25 questions. A focused contribution addressing a specific issue can be appropriate if it provides relevant evidence or practical insights.

Step 2: Gather supporting evidence

Compile the information that supports your contribution. Depending on the subject, this may include research findings, legislation, policy documents, statistical information, case studies, testimonies, and examples from community programmes.

Where possible, identify the relevant country, region, community, or group of women and girls affected by the issue. You may also include links to publicly available materials that support your findings.

Step 3: Prepare the submission document

Write your input in English, French, or Spanish and save it in Word document format.

Keep the document within the maximum limit of 2,500 words or five pages. Organize the contribution clearly around the questions being addressed and ensure that evidence and recommendations are easy to identify.

Step 4: Email the submission

Send the completed Word document to:

Email: hrc-wg-discriminationwomen@un.org

Use the following subject line as specified in the call:

Call for inputs: 2027 thematic report

Step 5: Submit before the deadline

Ensure that your submission is emailed before 31 October 2026 at 23:30 Geneva time.

Because the deadline is expressed in Geneva time, contributors in other time zones should account for the time difference and avoid waiting until the final minutes to send their documents.

The announcement specifies email submission and does not identify a separate online application portal or an additional registration process.

How Will the Submissions Be Used?

The submissions will inform the Working Group’s 2027 thematic report on climate change and the rights of women and girls, which is scheduled to be presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2027.

Unless a contributor specifically requests otherwise, and provided the submission complies with United Nations norms and standards, contributions will be posted on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) webpage for the mandate and may be referenced in the report.

The submissions can help document how climate-related harm affects women’s and girls’ rights, highlight gaps in existing policies and responses, and present evidence and recommendations for more effective protection.

Contributors should consider confidentiality and privacy when preparing their documents.

Submissions containing the names of alleged victims will be considered but will not be published online because of consent and privacy concerns.

The Working Group also encourages contributors who have previously submitted relevant information to other special procedures or human rights mechanisms to refer to that material. This can help avoid unnecessary duplication and support coordination between human rights mechanisms.

Submitting information does not guarantee that a contribution will be published or individually cited in the final report. Contributions will be considered as part of the Working Group’s reporting process.

Why This UN Call for Inputs Matters

Climate change can affect access to fundamental rights in ways shaped by existing social and economic inequalities. Understanding these effects requires information from people and organizations working directly with affected communities, conducting research, monitoring human rights, or developing climate and gender policies.

This call provides a channel for those stakeholders to contribute their knowledge to a United Nations thematic reporting process.

For women’s rights organizations, it offers an opportunity to explain how climate-related pressures affect equality, safety, livelihoods, and access to essential services.

For environmental and climate justice groups, it creates an opportunity to demonstrate how climate policies and projects affect women and girls and to identify measures that can prevent or address harmful consequences.

For academic and research institutions, it provides a way to bring relevant evidence, data, and analysis into an international human rights discussion.

For community-based organizations and human rights defenders, it provides an opportunity to highlight local experiences, practical challenges, and examples of community leadership that may not be adequately reflected in broader policy discussions.

The consultation also encourages contributors to go beyond describing problems. Its questions invite recommendations on laws, policies, safeguards, financing, accountability, participation, and international cooperation.

By submitting evidence and practical recommendations, relevant stakeholders can help the Working Group assess the challenges and identify priorities for climate action that respects women’s and girls’ rights.

The 2027 Call for Inputs on Climate Change and the Rights of Women and Girls invites organizations, researchers, human rights defenders, and other relevant stakeholders to contribute evidence and recommendations to a United Nations thematic report.

Issued by the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls, the consultation examines how climate change interacts with gender inequality, discrimination, access to essential resources, safety, participation, climate finance, and accountability. It also seeks examples of women’s leadership and recommendations for climate action that advances substantive gender equality.

Contributors may respond to the questions most relevant to their expertise and provide supporting evidence through research, statistical data, legislation, case studies, testimonies, and examples of good or harmful practices.

APPLICATION INFORMATION 

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