Maintaining statehood of Pacific Islands: An international law approach to the existential nature of the climate crisis (original) (raw)

Abstract

This paper proposes a governance model based on realistic arrangements at the national, regional and global level for when low-lying islands become fully submerged and, therefore, the lands upon which their sovereignty and jurisdictions over maritime resources and international legal personalities are based, disappear. Support for solutions to the fate of the Pacific Islands has been heard at the UN on numerous occasions through the International Law Commission (ILC) and other fora. There is agreement that customary international law needs to address this issue. It is important, however, to assert that the distinction here is that Pacific Small Islands States (SIDS) have sovereignty and are established states under international law, a fact supported by (Jain, 2014), who argued that the creation and continuity of states are distinct legal phenomena. Recognizing and maintaining the difference between the creation and continuation of states is necessary, to prevent the uncontrolled proliferation of new states. For Pacific Island atoll nations, the immediate concern is sustaining statehood in its current form and not creating a state after extinction or ceding sovereignty to others. After all, the climate crisis is not the fault of the Pacific Islands, which contributed 0.03% of total emissions according to the IPCC but face a true existential crisis as a result of climate change. An agreement signed on 12 August 2019 reaffirmed the risk to the security of states and called for a regular agenda item on the UN Security Council to address the security implications of climate change on the survival of Pacific Island Developing States and other island nations. (PSIDS, 2019) This declaration reaffirmed the Pacific SIDS call for the United Nations Security Council to appoint a special rapporteur to produce a regular review of global, regional and national security and human rights threats as a consequence of climate change. Historically, the peoples of the Pacific have been navigators and nomads over the vast Pacific

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  10. Corresponding Author: Cherelle Jackson Lagipoiva, lagipoiva@gmail.com Citation: Lagipoiva, C.J. (2022). Maintaining statehood of Pacific Islands: An international law approach to the existential nature of the climate crisis. Academia Letters, Article 4735. https://doi.org/10.20935/AL4735.