21 May 2026: CIL Director, Dr Nilufer Oral was Invited to Speak at the Health Diplomacy House Dialogue Session on “The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change: Implications for Global Health Governance”

As part of the Predictable Uncertainty series, The Health Diplomacy House brings together policymakers, diplomats, academia, youth, civil society, philanthropic actors, the private sector, and patient groups.

The programme includes multiple sessions and dialogues covering One Health, antimicrobial resistance, women’s leadership, health economics, pandemic preparedness, climate and health, health financing, and global health governance and reform.

Dr Oral spoke at the session “The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change: Implications for Global Health Governance”.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has recently issued an advisory opinion on the obligations of states in respect of climate change. This opinion has prompted considerable discussion within international law and global health circles regarding its potential relevance to the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) and its member states. In the context of the World Health Assembly’s ongoing engagement with climate change and health, including through the 2025 Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health, there is growing interest in understanding how the advisory opinion may inform future global health law and governance.

The 79th World Health Assembly offers an important opportunity to explore these questions with the broader global health community. The Health Diplomacy Youth Network (HDYN), in partnership with World’s Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ), will host this fireside chat to provide an overview of what an advisory opinion is and how it functions within international law, present a clear overview of the Court’s key findings on state obligations in respect of climate change, and explore the potential relevance of the advisory opinion to global health governance frameworks, including through the work of the WHO and its member states.

In conversation with Dr. Nilufer Oral, member of the International Law Commission, the fireside chat will examine possible considerations for integrating findings of the advisory opinion into ongoing global health law and governance processes, and support the launch of the HDYN–WYCJ Joint Task Force on the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on Climate Change.

The panellists were:

Nilufer Oral

Director, Centre of International Law, National University of Singapore; Member, United Nations International Law Commission

Matthew Carvalho

Chair, Health Diplomacy Youth Network; Adjunct Research Fellow (Global Governance and Diplomacy), Sunway Centre for Planetary Health, Sunway University; Co-Chair, Committee on Global Health Law, American Branch of the International Law Association

More about the event at the link: https://hdalliance.org/health-diplomacy-house/#elementor-toc__heading-anchor-1