The tiny island nation of Melanesia, Vanuatu, led the initiative to take the case to the ICJ, bringing together a group of countries to pressure the United Nations to request the opinion of the Supreme Court (Lina Selg) (Lina Selg/ANP/AFP)
By AFP - Agence France Presse
“Ambitious” islanders spice up ICJ climate hearings
Richard CARTER
Young people from small island states - the driving force behind the climate change hearings at the International Court of Justice - have breathed fresh air into the harrowing proceedings and testimony from the front line.
Many were presenting their country's first submission to the ICJ and didn't mince their words in the Great Hall of Justice, normally the scene of weighty legal arguments from stern lawyers in togas and wigs.
“The outcome of these proceedings will reverberate for generations, determining the fate of nations like mine and the future of our planet,” said Vanuatu representative Ralph Regenvanu, opening the hearings.
“This may well be the most consequential case in human history. Let's not allow future generations to look back and wonder why the cause of their misfortune was tolerated,” Regenvanu added.
Several speakers wore vibrant national costumes, also sporting traditional necklaces and headdresses, a marked contrast to the sober attire usually seen at the Peace Palace.
Showing powerful images of devastation to the judges, many portrayed the battle against the worst ravages of climate change as nothing less than an existential struggle for survival.
“Saint Lucians live with a ticking clock at the start of each hurricane season, which... causes cataclysmic devastation,” said the Caribbean island's representative, Jan Yves Remy.
“Our fishermen are already complaining about the decline in catches. Many of our pristine beaches, including the one where my father grew up... have been replaced by barren rocks,” she added.
- 'Inspirational story' -
The most vulnerable island nations have attacked rich, polluting countries for not providing enough funding to mitigate the effects of climate change.
“As the seas are rising faster than predicted, these countries need to stop. This court must not allow them to condemn our lands and our people to watery graves,” cried John Silk from the Marshall Islands in Micronesia.
The tiny island nation of Melanesia, Vanuatu, led the initiative to take the case to the ICJ, bringing together a group of countries to pressure the United Nations to request the opinion of its top court.
The initiative began in a classroom at the University of the South Pacific in 2019.
Some 27 law students wrote to Pacific leaders asking them to take up the campaign - and Vanuatu answered the call.
Five years later, one of those students, Vishal Prasad from Fiji, stood on the steps of the Peace Palace and told journalists that the initiative was the culmination of an idea that seemed “ambitious, crazy, strange, and insurmountable.”
Asked what he would say to his fellow students, the 28-year-old said: “We did what we set out to do. We took the biggest problem in the world to the highest court in the world.”
“It's an inspiring story for everyone, especially for young people who may not find hope in what's happening around them,” said Prasad.
“But if they look within themselves and to the community of young people, there is enough inspiration, enough hope to help us overcome this.”
ric/bc
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