24 October 2024: Dr Oral was Invited to the High-Level Roundtable on Climate Change, Sea-Level Rise and International Law: Current Progress Organized by the Commission of Small Island States on Climate Change and International Law (COSIS)

This high-level roundtable is organized in conjunction with the 79th session of the United Nations Sixth Committee (Legal). The 79th session follows the first UN General Assembly high-level meeting on sea-level rise held on September 25, 2024, the AOSIS Declaration on sea-level rise and statehood of 23 September 2024, the Pacific Island Forum’s declarations of 2021 and 2023 on preserving maritime zones and the continuity of statehood, and the International Law Association (ILA) completion of its work on International law and sea level rise after twelve years. The roundtable will provide an opportunity to discuss sea-level rise issues facing small island developing states, with a presentation of Tuvalu’s 3D Model of sea-level rise impact and adaptation models. The co-chairs of the International Law Commission Study Group (SG) on Sea-Level Rise in relation to international law will be able to provide a briefing on the progress made to date. In addition, the conclusions of the final report of the ILA Committee on International Law and Sea-Level Rise, which complements the ILC’s work, will be presented and discussed.

Since the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued its landmark advisory opinion in May 2024, regarding States’ legal obligations to mitigate climate change which was requested by COSIS, there has been a notable surge in interest among States to use existing legal frameworks to demand international climate and environmental justice. The ITLOS advisory opinion creates a significant precedent for various ongoing international cases, including the UN General Assembly’s request for an advisory opinion to the International Court of Justice about State obligations related to climate change and the requests from Colombia and Chile to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for clarification on the responsibilities of States in addressing the climate crisis under international human rights law. In turn, these pending advisory opinions will create important precedents and set the ground for future actions before courts. As the demand for climate and environmental justice reaches momentum with these three advisory proceedings on climate change, the roundtable will engage in an interactive dialogue on their expected impact and explore possible future actions that could be considered to advance the climate change agenda in international law.

More about the event at the link: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.un.org/en/ga/sixth/79/pdfs/events/24_october_2024_2.pdf