The Climate Refugee Crisis Landmark Judgement

How has international legal jurisdiction progressed?

The United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled in a landmark judgment, the first of its kind, that it is unlawful for governments to return people to countries where their lives might be threatened by the climate crisis.

The UN Human Rights Committee made this judgment after reviewing the case of Ioane Teitiota. Ioane Teitiota, a man from Kiribati (a Pacific island state, at the risk of becoming the first country to sink due to rising sea levels), sought protection in New Zealand on the grounds threat to his and his family’s life. New Zealand rejected Teitiota’s claim in 2013.

The judgment is not binding but it does emphasize on the existence of a legal responsibility. Kate Schuetze, Amnesty International’s Pacific Researcher said, “The decision sets a global precedent… it says a state will be in breach of its human rights obligations if it returns someone to a country where – due to the climate crisis – their life is at risk, or in danger of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment triggered.”

It's unlikely the ruling will have an immediate impact on citizens of other countries, given that even Kiribati's dire situation did not meet the threshold for Teitiota's claim to succeed. But the decision could have a significant impact on future claims, as the number of people forced from their homes from the intensifying climate emergency grows. In a 2018 report, the World Bank predicted that 143 million people in South Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa could become climate migrants.

By Swarnim Agrahari