Since the 2015 adoption of the Paris Agreement, research into marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR), particularly technological mCDR, has received increased attention. Several research institutions and start-up companies are conducting field research, including tapping into the voluntary carbon markets. This research and potential large-scale development is taking place in the context of a fragmented international legal landscape that does not provide adequate global standards for states and businesses. Human rights law, particularly the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, is becoming an increasingly important framework for ocean governance, including the assessment of marine climate interventions. This article summarises the content of a human rights-based approach to mCDR, clarifying what it would mean for governments, businesses, and mCDR researchers to take human rights seriously so that neither present nor future generations bear a disproportionate burden. To this end, the article draws on the advisory opinions of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Court of Justice, and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, addressing State obligations in the context of the climate emergency. It also draws on selected human rights law mechanisms, with particular focus on the UNGA resolution recognizing the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, 2018 Framework Principles on Human Rights and the Environment and the 2011 United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. The assessment of these sources highlights key contributions of human rights law to mCDR governance, as well as outstanding questions. The article concludes with a call for international bodies addressing mCDR governance to fully integrate human rights-based approaches, and for academia to continue contributing to these efforts.