Côte d’Ivoire’s Constitution was established in 2016. This Constitution was drafted by a Panel of Experts appointed by the then President, Alassane Ouattara. The draft was presented to the National Assembly in 2016 for approval before heading to a constitutional referendum. The Assembly approved the draft in October that same year, with more than the qualified majority needed for this purpose. The Constitution was then approved in the subsequent constitutional referendum held later that same month by 93.42% of votes with a 42.42% turnout. In its article 28, the Constitution establishes that “[T]he State is committed to respecting the Constitution, human rights and public freedoms. It ensures awareness and dissemination of them among the population”. 

The Constitution recognizes in article 27 the right to a healthy environment, although climate change is not addressed in this article. However, in its preamble, the Constitution includes a provision to express the country’s commitment to contribute to climate protection the following way: “We, the People of Côte d'Ivoire; […] Express our commitment to: […] contributing to climate protection and to maintaining a healthy environment for future generations; […]”.