Vanuatu has expressed optimism that the United Nations General Assembly will next week adopt its push for greater priority to be given to the human rights impact of climate change as the island continues to recover from two cyclones that struck within a week.
According to the Pacific island nation’s Minister of Climate Change, Ralph Regenvanu, 119 governments have so far co-sponsored Vanuatu’s resolution, which seeks legal clarity on the obligation of states to take climate change action, and draws attention to the vulnerability of small islands states hit by worsening storms and rising seas.
Vanuatu hopes more nations will sign-on before the general assembly debate begins on Wednesday, and it will be passed by consensus, he said.
“Right now in my country, thousands of citizens are dealing with broken homes, destroyed infrastructure and loss of food crops,” he told an online forum on Thursday evening, adding that the cost of the disaster will exceed half of Vanuatu’s annual GDP.
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More than 3,000 people are still in evacuation centres three weeks after two category-four cyclones hit Vanuatu, which has a population of 319,000 spread across 80 islands while homes, schools and medical centres were damaged or destroyed and several island airports remain shut.
The resolution “does not name, blame, or shame any particular nation or group of countries; rather, it asks for guidance and clarity on the application of existing international law,” he said.
The International Court of Justice would be asked to issue a legal opinion on the responsibility of states, and while this was not legally binding, it should motivate states to ensure human rights are prioritised in climate change negotiations, he added.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
