People walk in front of the United Nations headquarters in New York on March 3, 2023 (Daniel SLIM/AFP/Archives)
After years of campaigning on the front lines of Vanuatu in the face of the ravages of global warming, the UN General Assembly on Wednesday acclaimed a “historic” resolution aimed at international justice clarifying states’ “obligations” in the fight against climate change change.
With the unanimous adoption of this resolution, which is supported by more than 130 states, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will have to answer the question of the “obligations of states” in protecting the climate system “over generations, present and future”. “An unprecedented challenge on a civilizational scale,” the text emphasizes.
“Together you are making history,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said from the podium, believing that the United Nations Judicial Body’s future opinion, while non-binding, could help the planet’s leaders “capture the bolder and stronger climate of action.” that the world so desperately needs”.
It is “a clear and strong message not only around the world but also far into the future that the peoples of the United Nations (…) resolved on that day to put their differences aside and work together to tackle the problems face the greatest challenge of our time, climate change,” said the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Ishmael Kalsakau, whose archipelago was devastated by two powerful cyclones in just a few days.
legal and moral weight
The Vanuatu government launched this “historic initiative” in 2021, following a campaign launched two years earlier by students at a university in Fiji.
A week ago, UN climate experts (IPCC) again warned that global warming should reach the threshold of +1.5°C by 2030-2035 compared to the pre-industrial era, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement. A brutal reminder of the urgency to take radical action this decade to ensure a “livable future” for humanity.
While countries’ national commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris Agreement are not binding, the resolution emphasizes the importance of other international texts, such as the Universal Declaration of Man.
“This resolution puts human rights and intergenerational justice at the center of climate change — two key elements that are generally missing from mainstream discourse,” Shaina Sadai of think-tank Union for Concern told AFP Rights Hearing a first climate protection measure against states, France and Switzerland.
“Calling (the resolution) the most important global breakthrough since the Paris Agreement seems accurate,” she added, describing it as an “incredibly important step” and “guidance” for the courts, increasingly being sought by citizens around the world appeals are made against states.
While the opinions of the International Court of Justice, the judicial body of the United Nations, are not binding, they carry important legal and moral weight that is often taken into account by national courts.
“Bigger Than Our Fears”
Vanuatu Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau in New York on March 28, 2023 (Ed JONES / AFP)
Vanuatu and its supporters therefore hope that the future statement, which is expected within about two years, will encourage governments to speed up their actions, either on their own initiative or through legal action against states.
However, this enthusiasm is not unanimous.
“I don’t see what the Court could reasonably say. On the other hand, I see scenarios where this request would be counterproductive,” Benoît Mayer, a specialist in international law at the Chinese University of China, Hong Kong, told AFP. He even speaks of the danger of a “disaster scenario”, with a judgment of the ICJ “clear and precise, but contrary to what the supporters of the application wanted”.
Graves submerged by rising water in Togoru village, Fiji, on December 13, 2022 (Andrew LEESON / AFP/Archives)
The resolution also refers to the “actions” of the states responsible for global warming and their “obligations” to small island states and the peoples of today and tomorrow.
The arrival of this resolution at the General Assembly is also a moment of great emotion for the young people of the Pacific behind the initiative.
“It was an opportunity to do something bigger than us, bigger than our fears, something important for future generations,” said Cynthia Houniuhi, now president of the NGO Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change.
“One day I would like to be able to show my child a picture of my island,” says the young woman from the Solomon Islands.
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