The Alliance of Small Island States, including states in the Pacific Ocean, has issued a declaration on sea-level rise and statehood as world leaders convene in New York for the High-Level Meeting on Sea Level Rise. Photo: Christina Persico/RNZ
A group of countries has issued a declaration saying they will not lose their rights under international law, regardless of sea-level rise.
The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) declaration on sea-level rise and statehood] comes as world leaders convene in New York for the High-Level Meeting on Sea Level Rise.
The Declaration states that consistent with international law, countries will retain their statehood, sovereignty, and UN membership, regardless of the course of sea level rise.
"We, the Heads of State and Government of the Alliance of Small Island States... declare that the statehood and sovereignty of SIDS and our membership in the United Nations, its specialized agencies and other intergovernmental organizations will continue, and the rights and duties inherent thereto will be maintained, notwithstanding the impacts of climate change-related sea-level rise.
"[We] also declare that consistent with the right to self-determination, the statehood and sovereignty of SIDS and our membership in the United Nations, its specialized
agencies and other intergovernmental organizations will cease only if another form of expression of the right to self-determination of a SIDS population is explicitly sought and freely exercised by that population."
Samoa's Prime Minister and current AOSIS chair Fiame Naomi Mata'afa said AOSIS has been sounding the alarm on the climate crisis and sea level rise - while facing its devastating impacts - since 1989.
"Our states, maritime zones, and rights remain intact under international law, no matter the rising seas; we are here to stay," she said.
President of the Federated States of Micronesia, Wesley Simina, said: "We're leveraging every tool available - international law in particular - to advance our core interests, protect our rights, and highlight our resilience as SIDS against climate change and sea-level rise."
Belize prime minister John Briceño said: "It takes far more than a rising tide to jurisdictionally wipe away entire countries".
"International law clearly affirms that the ocean cannot erase a people or a nation: sovereignty is defined by the will of the people, not by the whims of climate change."
AOSIS intends for this declaration to influence the ongoing work of the International Law Commission on Sea Level Rise.
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The declaration recognises that "under international law there is a principle that a State, once established, will continue to exist and endure, and
maintain its status and effectiveness, and that international law does not contemplate the demise of statehood in the context of climate change-related sea-level rise".
It also affirms that "consistent with the principles of equity, fairness and sovereign equality of states, statehood cannot be challenged under any circumstances of climate change-related sea-level rise".
In 2021, the AOSIS leaders declared that maritime jurisdictional zones, such as Exclusive Economic Zones, are immutable and cannot be undermined by rising sea levels.