The recognition of nature as subject of rights by the inter-american Court of Human Rights. Advisory opinion OC-32/25

Abstract

The international movement for the rights of nature advocates the protection of the natural environment through the granting of legal personality to its elements. In Latin America, there are numerous cases in which ecosystems have been granted legal personality, sometimes as a result of the struggle to defend the rights of indigenous peoples. However, formal recognition of the rights of nature in a regional or larger instrument seemed to be a much more distant goal. However, in 2025 the Inter- American Court of Human Rights, in an advisory opinion on the obligations of States in the face of climate emergency took a step forward in this regard. The purpose of this article is to offer a descriptive and analytical examination of the content of Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 of the IACHR in relation to the recognition of the rights of nature in the Latin American region, since it is the first decision of a regional body that makes express mention of this movement and, therefore, has aroused great interest among the main proponents of this paradigm.