By Jurema Werneck, Ruhat Sena Akşener and Samantha Klintworth, directors for Amnesty International in Brazil, Türkiye and Australia, respectively
The climate crisis is also a human rights crisis – claiming lives and turning life upside down for countless communities across the world.
But while those profiting from fossil fuel expansion retain privileged access and influence over global climate negotiations, the people facing its harshest consequences, such as Indigenous Peoples or those living in climate-vulnerable communities, remain largely shut out of the decision-making.
As directors of Amnesty International in Brazil, Türkiye and Australia, countries with a leading role in COP30 and COP31, we have seen how effective climate action depends on people being able to speak, organise, protest and participate.
Last year in Belém, fossil fuel lobbyists outnumbered every national delegation except Brazil’s, exposing the imbalance of power within climate negotiations. COP31 should confront corporate capture and expand public participation. Instead, serious concerns have been raised over whether civil society will be able to speak freely and safely in Türkiye.
Rights curbs supercharge climate breakdown
Yet, the human rights needed to confront this crisis and demand justice are being eroded.
Authoritarian practices are supercharging climate breakdown by restricting protest, silencing defenders and shielding fossil fuel interests from scrutiny. Attacks on women, LGBTI+ people or members of other marginalised communities divide societies, weaken collective action and divert public attention while fossil fuel expansion continues.
That is why the assault on civic space in Türkiye, the host of COP31, should alarm every government preparing to attend the summit.
In September, Turkish authorities launched a nationwide operation targeting LGBTI+ organisations, activists and human rights defenders. Homes, venues and offices were raided, people were arrested and imprisoned, and social media accounts belonging to activists, journalists and human rights groups were restricted, including that of Amnesty International Türkiye.
This is part of a decade-long crackdown that has weakened judicial independence, ignored international judgments and restricted peaceful assembly, association and expression. Whoever is targeted, the effect is the same: dissent is silenced and fear spreads.
For COP31 to succeed, Türkiye must end its human rights crackdown.
Worrying signals from co-host Türkiye
Against this backdrop, the agreement between Türkiye and the UN on hosting COP31 is alarming.
Article 11.11 requires participants to respect Türkiye’s laws and regulations and refrain from interfering in its “internal affairs”. Article 11.12 reintroduces language on waiving immunity that was omitted from Brazil’s COP30 agreement.
Turkish authorities are already invoking vague notions of “public morality” and “harm to the family” to investigate people and restrict expression. The agreement could therefore have a chilling effect on activists, defenders and journalists.
Could criticism of Türkiye’s fossil fuel policies, its treatment of environmental defenders or its crackdown on LGBTI+ organizations be characterised as interference in “internal affairs”? Nobody attending a UN climate conference should have to ask.
Türkiye and the UN should publicly guarantee that participants can speak, organise, report and protest peacefully without discrimination, intimidation, surveillance, detention or reprisals. Governments ought to challenge the agreement’s flaws before arriving in Antalya.
Brazil offered progress, but not perfection
COP31 must build on Brazil’s approach. Its COP hosting agreement committed to an inclusive and non-discriminatory conference, while its presidency adopted a more open and participatory tone. COP30 saw record participation by Indigenous Peoples, but access did not guarantee influence: many key decisions continued to be shaped behind closed doors.
Commitments made in Belém ultimately depend on domestic political choices, and Brazil’s October election results point to a legislature that may be less willing to uphold them. This could put the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Quilombola and traditional communities at greater risk.
When protections at home weaken, international spaces become even more vital for affected populations to speak out, and hold decision-makers accountable. COP31 must guarantee freedom of expression and peaceful assembly outside the “Blue Zone” (the UN-protected area) and grant civil society greater access to negotiations.
Environmental defenders are driving change
As documented by Amnesty International, communities resisting fossil fuel expansion and building fairer alternatives are facing harassment, surveillance, criminalization, disinformation, violence and restrictions on peaceful protest. They include: First Nations people in Australia challenging offshore oil and gas exploration, artisanal fishers in Brazil’s Guanabara Bay fighting for environmental justice, and activists defending Akbelen Forest in Türkiye from coal mining expansion.
These communities are rights-holders, knowledge-bearers, and political actors protecting territories and forging effective climate responses. Governments must protect them and ensure they have a meaningful say.
COP31 must confront fossil fuel power
To protect human rights, governments must use COP31 to advance three urgent priorities.
First, they must end fossil fuel expansion and accelerate a full, fast, fair, funded and human rights-compliant transition away from fossil fuels. States most responsible must go further and faster, ending fossil fuel subsidies and redirecting public resources towards rights-respecting renewable energy.
Second, they must ensure the transition protects rights and leaves no one behind, including by making the Just Transition Mechanism operational, funded and accountable.
And third, they must scale up public, grants-based climate finance for mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage, without pushing lower-income countries further into debt.
COP31 will not deliver these outcomes without the knowledge and expertise of front-line communities.
Brazil must defend the participatory progress made at COP30. Türkiye must reverse its crackdown and protect civic space. Australia, as president of negotiations, should secure an ambitious, human rights-centred outcome while confronting restrictions on peaceful climate protest at home.
The climate crisis cannot be solved behind closed doors. The doors must remain open, and people must have the power to shape what happens inside.
About the authors:
Sam Klintworth has 30+ years experience working in the not-for-profit sector supporting and advocating for vulnerable and marginalised individuals and communities, locally, nationally and internationally. Sam is a qualified Psychologist, holds a Bachelor of Laws and an MBA.
Ruhat Sena Akşener began her work in civil society by taking part in cultural and ecological conservation projects. Since 2005, she has worked at Amnesty International Türkiye on key human rights issues, including freedom of expression and the press, women’s rights, the right to a fair trial, economic, social and cultural rights, combating impunity, and tackling discrimination. She has been the Country Director of Amnesty International Türkiye since 2023.
Jurema Werneck is a physician and holds a PhD in Communication and Culture from the School of Communication at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She has served as the Executive Director of Amnesty International Brazil since 2017. She is a co-founder of Criola—an organization for Black women based in Rio de Janeiro—and of the Articulation of Brazilian Black Women’s Organizations, for which she served as the first Executive Secretary. She is an experienced activist in the fields of human rights, racial and gender equality, and the health of Black populations and women. She has published books and articles on Black culture, the status of Black women, racism, Black women’s health, sexual and reproductive rights, public policies for gender and racial equality, the health of Black populations, bioethics, and human rights. Jurema Werneck serves on the boards of Criola, the Marielle Franco Institute, Greenpeace Brazil, and Vital Strategies Brazil. For 2025–2026, she is serving as the Special Envoy for COP 30–31, focusing on racial equality and marginalized urban areas (peripheries).