Technology and Science24 September, 20263 min read
UN General Assembly Adopts Declaration Preserving Statehood for Sea-Level-Rise Nations
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UN General Assembly adopted a consensus declaration preserving statehood for states losing territory. Declaration affirms continued borders, sovereign rights, and UN membership despite sea-level territory loss.
Statehood preserved
The UN General Assembly in New York adopted by consensus a political declaration under which countries losing territory due to sea-level rise should retain their national borders, sovereign rights and UN membership. Cabo Verde Prime Minister Francisco Carvalho, who co-coordinated the initiative with Australia, said the adoption of the document a message of hope, and he said, "For us, sea level rise is neither a distant threat nor a theoretical concern." Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. called the meeting in New York a manifestation of international solidarity and said that small island states would retain their UN membership.
The declaration also calls on states to cooperate to help communities suffering from the encroaching ocean, and it affirms "the presumption in favour of continued statehood" in the face of sea level rise fuelled by climate change. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the declaration must be turned into practical action, and he said, "The milestone must now be translated into action."
Science, monitoring, finance
The UN News account said the declaration aims to improve information on risks, strengthen adaptation and financing, and protect the communities most exposed, and it said countries agreed to strengthen scientific observation, data collection and modeling. The World Meteorological Organization said sea levels in the Pacific Ocean have risen twice as fast as the global average, and it said the number of coastal floods increased from two to 20 per year in the Marshall Islands. In the Marshall Islands, Time Magazine said, "We begin shipping water to communities with none," and it said the UN General Assembly adopted the first Sea-Level Rise Declaration by consensus.
During events in New York, the European Union and Canada announced around $163 million in new funding for OceanEye, with the EU pledging €92 million, or $105 million, and Canada pledging C$82 million, or US$58 million, over five years. The declaration also urged countries to work together to assist communities affected by encroaching oceans, and it called for increasing public and private financing for developing countries, especially small island developing states and least developed countries.
What comes next
The UN News account said the declaration supports a presumption in favor of the continuity of those States, including their sovereignty, rights and responsibilities, and their membership in the United Nations. The UN News account said the declaration states that even if a coastline changes physically, maritime zones already established in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea can remain. Time Magazine said, "Sea level rise will not alter the statehood, sovereignty, or maritime zones of any state," but it added that physical safety is not secure.
Mirage News said states have called for baselines and the outer limits of maritime zones established in accordance with UNCLOS as well as settled maritime boundaries to be maintained regardless of physical changes caused by sea level rise. Mirage News quoted President Hilda Heine of the Marshall Islands saying, "We are not going to change the map for a crisis we did not cause," and it said the answer cannot be that borders will be ambiguous or open for international plunder of resources.