HUMAN Rights Watch has thrown its weight behind Vanuatu’s climate change fight as the country pushes to solidify its gains in the form of a UN resolution.
Vanuatu, alongside a cross-regional group of countries, circulated a draft UN General Assembly resolution to motivate member countries to transform the court’s findings into action. In practice, this means urging states to adopt stronger national climate plans, phase out fossil fuels, and better protect communities displaced by climate change. It also proposes mechanisms to document and track the losses communities are already suffering.
The General Assembly has a history of translating advisory opinions into resolutions that demand action by governments.
The United States, for its part, backed by oil-producing states in the Gulf and others, has urged Vanuatu to withdraw the resolution. Vanuatu is refusing to do so. The EU is also reluctant to support a broader interpretation of the advisory opinion.
Human Rights Watch has called on governments to engage constructively in consultations and ultimately vote for the resolution, urging them to resist attempts to dilute core components of the resolution, which would have negative implications for human rights and international law.
The concern from Human Rights Watch is well-founded, as the organization has extensively documented “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana, which, according to their report, is suffering the direct consequences of a failure to rein in the use of fossil fuels and Petrochemicals.