Researchers' Activities

Senior Research Fellow Denise Cheong and Research Associate S Nivedita participated in the second meeting of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) Nuclear Energy Experts Group held this year.

Dr Nilüfer Oral was invited to speak at the online closing address of the Public International Law Year in Review on 10 November. The event was co-organised by Essex Court Chambers, Essex Court Chambers Duxton (Singapore Group Practice), Fietta LLP, Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP, and The Sydney Centre for International Law.

Dr Oral spoke on ongoing negotiations for a legally binding agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Other panellists were Sir Michael Wood, Rodman Bundy and Dr Emily Crawford. The event was moderated by Jackie McArthur and Ryce Lee. At the end of the webinar, Professor Vaughan Lowe QC of Essex Court Chambers, and the University of Oxford, rounded off the session by giving the closing remarks.

Senior research fellows Youna Lyons and Vu Hai Dang took part in the online 4th Meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Expert Group on Marine Litter and Microplastics (AHEG) as observers. The meeting was hosted by UNEP in Nairobi, Kenya, from 9 to 13 November 2020. Participants to this intergovernmental meeting included 200+ representatives from States, international organisations and NGOs. This is the last AHEG meeting before the 5th UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5), scheduled to take place in February 2021. The meeting discussed the implementation of UNEA Resolutions 3/7 and 4/6 on marine litter and microplastic, which require the AHEG to assess existing measures to combat plastic pollution and submit potential response options to UNEA 5.

At the end of the meeting, delegates agreed that existing measures in dealing with plastic pollution are not sufficient and a range of response options will be submitted to UNEA 5 for consideration, including the development of a new global instrument to facilitate actions against plastics.

Senior Research Fellow Denise Cheong and Research Associate S Nivedita participated in ‘The Future of Nuclear Energy,’ a webinar organised by the Singapore Nuclear Research and Safety Initiative (SNRSI).

Dr Nilüfer Oral chaired the online Informal BBNJ Intersessional High Seas Treaty Dialogue on Marine Genetic Resources, with Ms Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, who is the ex-Director of the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea under the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. The topic of the November dialogue was marine genetic resources, and the event was co-hosted by the Kingdom of Belgium, the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of Costa Rica, in collaboration with the High Seas Alliance.

Senior Research Fellow Denise Cheong and Research Associate Nivedita S participated in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s webinar on ‘Responsibilities and Capabilities of Owners and Operators’.

CIl Director Nilüfer Oral, Co-Chair of the International Law Commission (ILC) Study Group on Sea Level Rise in Relation to International Law with Professor Bogdan Aurescu, participated in an online informal interaction between ILC members and delegates of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Sixth Committee.

The session was chaired by Ambassador Milenko E Skoknic Tapia, Chair of the Sixth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly at its 75th session.

At the online side event of International Law Week, CIL Director Nilüfer Oral presented on sea-level rise and the law of the sea. Dr Oral and Professor Bogdan Aurescu, Co-Chairs of the International Law Commission’s Study Group on Sea-Level Rise in Relation to International Law, provided insights into the Study Group’s first issues paper published in February 2020, which covered issues of possible legal effects of sea-level rise on baselines and outer limits of maritime spaces measured from baselines, on the status of maritime features and on maritime delimitation effected either by treaty or adjudication. At the event, Dr Oral and Professor Aurescu spoke about how they approached the need to preserve legal stability, security, certainty and predictability.

CIL Director Nilüfer Oral spoke at an International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL) side-event briefing on strengthening cooperation for international environmental law on 27 October 2020. The event was cohosted by ICEL, the Permanent Missions of Costa Rica and France to the United Nations, the Observer Mission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to the United Nations, and the IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL).

At the online event, distinguished scholars of international environmental law presented their expertise on options for opportune ‘next steps’ in the progressive development of international environmental law and organisation, to provide essential foundation for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. Besides Dr Oral, other speakers included Professor Chikosa Banda from the University of Malawi, Professor Sergio Ugalde from the University for Peace (Costa Rica), Professor Christina Voigt from the University of Oslo, and Dr Lucien Chabason from the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations. The session was moderated by Professor Nicholas A Robinson from Pace University (New York).

Senior Research Fellow Denise Cheong and Research Associate Nivedita S participated in the Singapore International Energy Week 2020, a week-long hybrid event held from 26-30 October.