The Significance of Sea-level Rise for the Continuation of States and the Identity of their People
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/1727-3781/2021/v24i0a9361Keywords:
Pacific islands, climate change, sea-level rise, atolls, identity, refugees, plural legal systems, nationhoodAbstract
This article considers the legal institutions which give people identity and may anchor them to particular places. But what happens to that identity when "place" no longer exists? The focus of this article is the question of the legal status of those whose homelands disappear under the waves. Unlike persons displaced by war or political upheaval, as experienced after the Second World War, such persons do not fall within the usual understanding of the term "refugee". The erosion of the foundations of their identity has, in some cases, been gradual and incremental, but without territory can we talk of the sovereignty of states or the citizenship of individuals? Is the latter "place bound" or does citizenship mean more than just affiliation or "rootedness" to a particular place? Does nationality depend on a nation and if so, what is it that makes a nation? These questions are pertinent to all those whose homelands may disappear as a result of natural disasters or rising sea levels. They are particularly, but not only, relevant to people in the Pacific living on low-lying atolls such as in Tuvalu, Kiribati and parts of the Solomon Islands. In the Pacific, exchanges among strangers start with the question "Where are you from?" Can a person be a Pacific islander if he or she has no island? This article considers how that will be answered by those who are from lands under the seas, and what changes may have to be made to the international legal frameworks that determine identity in these circumstances.
Downloads
References
Bibliography
Literature
Ahmed I "Environmental Refugees and Environmental Distress Migration as a Security Challenge" in Brauch H et al (eds) Facing Global Environmental Change: Environmental, Human, Energy, Food (Springer London 2009) 295-308
Anderson B Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (Verso New York 1991)
Andrew N et al "Coastal Proximity of Populations in 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories" 2019 Plos One 1-15 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223249
Brownlie I Principles of International Law (Oxford University Press Oxford 2008)
Brubaker R, Loveman M and Stamatov P "Ethnicity as Cognition" 2004 Theory and Society 31-64
Burkett M "The Nation Ex-situ: On Climate Change, Deterritorialized Nationhood and the Post-climate Era" 2011 Climate Law 345-374
Cobban A The Nation State and Self-determination (Fontana Press London 1969)
Corrin J and Paterson D Introduction to South Pacific Law (Intersentia Cambridge 2017)
Crawford J The Creation of States in International Law (Oxford University Press Oxford 2006)
Croucher S "Perpetual Imagining: Nationhood in a Global Era" 2003 Int Stud Rev 1-24
Docherty B and Giannini T "Symposium: Confronting a Rising Tide: A Proposal for a Climate Refugee Treaty" 2009 Harv Envtl L Rev 349-403
Farbotko C "Wishful Sinking: Disappearing Islands, Climate Refugees and Cosmopolitan Experimentation" 2010 Asia Pacific Viewpoint 47-60
Gellner E Nations and Nationalism (Cornell University Press New York 1983)
Goodyear-Ka‘ōpua N "Kuleana Lāhui: Collective Responsibility for Hawaiian Nationhood in Activists’ Praxis" 2011 Affinities: A Journal of Radical Theory, Culture, and Action 130-163
Hau'ofa E "Our Sea of Islands" 1994 Contemp Pac 148-161
Jain A "The 21st Century Atlantis: The International Law of Statehood and Climate Change-induced Loss of Territory" 2014 Stan J Int'l L 1-52
Keesing R "Creating the Past: Custom and Identity in the Contemporary Pacific" 1989 Contemp Pac 19-42
Kelsen H "The Pure Theory of Law and Analytical Jurisprudence" 1941 Harv L Rev 44-70
Ker-Lindsay J "Climate Change and State Death" 2016 Survival: Global Politics and Strategy 73-94
Macpherson C and Macpherson L "The Children of Samoan Migrants in New Zealand" in Spickard P and Burroughs WJ (eds) We are a People: Narrative and Multiplicity in Constructing Ethnic Identity (Temple University Press Philadelphia 2000) 70-81
Marek K Identity and Continuity of States in Public International Law (Librairie Droz Geneva 1968)
Mayer B The Concept of Climate Migration (Edward Elgar Cheltenham 2016)
McAdam J "From the Nansen Initiative to the Platform on Disaster Displacement: Shaping International Approaches to Climate Change, Disasters and Displacement" 2016 UNSWLJ 1518-1546
McAdam J Climate Change, Forced Migration, and International Law (Oxford University Press Oxford 2012)
McGavin K "Being 'Nesian': Pacific Islander Identity in Australia" 2014 Contemp Pac 126-154
Mimura N "Vulnerability of Island Countries in the South Pacific to Sea Level Rise and Climate Change" 1999 Clim Res 137-143
Moltchanova A "Nationhood and Political Culture" 2007 J Soc Philos 255-273
Norton R "Culture and Identity in the South Pacific: A Comparative Analysis" 1919 Man 741-759
Nunn P "The End of the Pacific? Effects of Sea Level Rise on Pacific Island Livelihoods" 2013 Singap J Trop Geogr 143-171
Otto T and Thomas N (eds) Narratives of Nation in the South Pacific (Routledge Abingdon 1997)
Podoksik E "What is a Nation and Nationalism?" 2017 J Polit Philos 303-323
Powles G "Common Law at Bay? The Scope and Status of Customary Law Regimes in the South Pacific" 1997 JPacS 61-82
Sahlins M "Poor Man, Rich Man, Big-Man, Chief: Political Types in Melanesia and Polynesia" 1963 Comp Stud Soc Hist 285-303
Seumanutafu TLMRS Law Reform in Plural Societies (Springer International Berlin 2018)
Sharma S Territorial Acquisition, Disputes and International Law (Kluwer Law International Alphen aan den Rijn 1977)
Simati-Kumar B How does the Next Generation of Pacific Diaspora from Blended Backgrounds Construct and Maintain their Identities through the Spaces they Inhabit? (PhD-thesis Auckland University of Technology 2016)
Skillington T "Reconfiguring the Contours of Statehood and the Rights of Peoples of Disappearing States in the Age of Global Climate change" 2016 Social Sciences 1-13
Spickard P "Pacific Islander Americans and Multiethnicity: A Vision of America's Future" in Spickard P, Rondilla J and Wright D (eds) Pacific Diaspora: Island Peoples in the United States and Across the Pacific (University of Hawaii Press Honolulu 2002) 40-55
Stern N (ed) The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review (Cambridge University Press Cambridge 2006)
Szydlo M "Extra-territorial Application of the European Convention on Human Rights after Al-Skeini and Al-Jedda" 2012 Int Crim L Rev 271-291
Talmon S Recognition of Governments in International Law: With Particular Reference to Governments in Exile (Oxford Oxford University Press 2001)
Ting H "Social Construction of Nations – A Theoretical Exploration" 2008 Nationalism Ethn Polit 453-482
Warbrick C "The New British Policy on Recognition of Governments" 1981 ICLQ 568-592
Westra L Environmental Justice and the Rights of Ecological Refugees (Earthscan London 2009)
White G and Lindstrom L (eds) Chiefs Today: Traditional Pacific Leadership and the Postcolonial State (Stanford University Press Stanford 1997)
Wong D "Sovereignty Sunk? The Position of 'Sinking States' at International Law" 2013 Melb J Int Law 1-46
Case law
Ione Teitiota v Chief Executive of Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment [2013] NZHC 3125
Ione Teitiota v Chief Executive of Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment [2014] NZCA 173
Teitiota v Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment [2015] NZSC 107
Accordance with International Law of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in Respect of Kosovo (Advisory Opinion) [2010] ICJ Reports 403
Advisory Opinion (OC-23/17) Inter-American Court of Human Rights of November 15, 2017 requested by the Republic of Colombia (published 7 February 2018)
Certain Activities Carried Out by Nicaragua in the Border Area (Costa Rica v Nicaragua) Compensation, Judgment, ICJ Reports 2018, 15
Legislation
Citizenship Act, 1979 (Kiribati)
Citizenship Act, 1975 (Papua New Guinea)
Citizenship Act 17 of 2018 (Solomon Islands)
Citizenship Act, 1979 (Tuvalu)
Constitution of Kiribati, 1979
Constitution of Solomon Islands, 1978
Constitution of the Federated States of Micronesia, 1978
Constitution of the Republic of Fiji, 2013
Constitution of the Republic of Palau, 1981
Constitution of the Independent State of Samoa, 1960
Constitution of Tuvalu Ordinance, 1986
Kiribati Independence Order, 1979
International instruments
Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness (1961)
Convention on the Status of Refugees (1951)
Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons (1954)
Human Rights Council of the United Nations Human Rights and Climate Change Resolution UN Doc A/HRC/RES/35/20 (2017)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)
Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933)
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)
United Nations General Assembly Resolution: Development of an Internationally Legally Binding Instrument under UNCLOS on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity on Areas beyond National Jurisdiction UN Doc A/RES/69/292 (2015)
Internet sources
Angelicas 2020 Switzerland and the Pacific Islands Region Cooperate on Climate Change and Migration https://reliefweb.int/report/cook-islands/switzerland-and-pacific-islands-region-cooperate-climate-change-and-migration accessed 29 December 2020
Apap J 2019 The Concept of "Climate Refugee": Towards a Possible Definition https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2018/621893/EPRS_BRI(2018)621893_EN.pdf accessed 22 December 2020
Boano C, Zetter R and Morris T 2008 Environmentally Displaced People: Understanding the Linkages between Environmental Change, Livelihoods and Forced Migration https://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/files/files-1/pb1-environmentally-displaced-people-2008.pdf accessed 22 December 2020
Bossy D 2019 Nearly all Pacific Islanders Vulnerable to Sea-level Rise https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/news/nearly-all-pacific-islanders-vulnerable-to-sea-level-rise/ accessed 15 March 2021
Buchanan K 2015 New Zealand: "Climate Change Refugee" Case Overview https://www.loc.gov/law/help/climate-change-refugee/new-zealand-climate-change-refugee-case.pdf accessed 22 December 2020
Caramel L 2014 Besieged by the Rising Tides of Climate Change, Kiribati Buys Land in Fiji https://www.theguardian.com/environment/
/jul/01/kiribati-climate-change-fiji-vanua-levu accessed 22 December 2020
CBC Radio 2017 Should International Law Recognise "Climate Change Refugees"? https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/oct-28-2013-1.290920/
should-international-law-recognize-climate-change-refugees-1.2909202 accessed 22 December 2020
Desierto D 2018 Environmental Damages, Environmental Reparations, and the Right to a Healthy Environment: the ICJ Compensation Judgment in Costa Rica v Nicaragua and the IACtHR https://www.ejiltalk.org/environmental-damages-environmental-reparations-and-the-right-to-a-healthy-environment-the-icj-compensation-judgment-in-costa-rica-v-nicaragua-and-the-iacthr-advisory-opinion-on-marine-protection/ accessed 22 December 2020
Ellsmoor J and Rosen Z 2016 Kiribati's Land Purchase in Fiji: Does it Make Sense? http://www.devpolicy.org/kitibatis-land-purchase-in-fiji-does-it-make-sense-20160111/ accessed 22 December 2020
Hinnawi E 1985 Environmental Refugees https://digitallibrary.un.org/
record/121267 accessed 22 December 2020
International Organization for Migration 2008 Migration and Climate Change https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/mrs-31_en.pdf accessed 22 December 2020
McAdam J and Loughry M 2009 We aren't Refugees http://insidestory.org.au/we-arent-refugees/ accessed 22 December 2020
Nansen Initiative 2013 Human Mobility, Natural Disasters and Climate Change in the Pacific https://www.nanseninitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/OR_Human_Mobility_Natural_Disasters_and_Climate_Change_in_the_Pacific.pdf accessed 22 December 2020
Nansen Initiative 2015 Global Consultation - Conference Report https://www.eda.admin.ch/dam/eda/en/documents/aussenpolitik/menschenrechte-menschliche-sicherheit/Nansen-GCR2015-screen.pdf accessed 22 December 2020
Pearlman J 2017 New Zealand Creates Special Refugee Visa for Pacific Islanders Affected by Climate Change https://www.straitstimes.com/
asia/australianz/new-zealand-creates-special-refugee-visa-for-pacific-islanders-affected-by-climate accessed 22 December 2020
Perrott A 2007 Pasifika – Identity or Illusion https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/pasifika-identity-or-illusion/S3LE56AV4WSZKUHJUTAIUNXSFA/ accessed 22 December 2020
Prieur M Date Unknown Draft Convention on the International Status of Environmentally-displaced Persons https://unfccc.int/files/adaptation/
groups_committees/loss_and_damage_executive_committee/application/pdf/prieur-convention_on_the_international_status_of_environmentally.pdf accessed 22 December 2020
Schiffman R 2017 As Seas Rise, Tropical Pacific Islands Face a Perfect Storm https://e360.yale.edu/features/as-seas-rise-tropical-pacific-islands-face-a-perfect-storm accessed 10 March 2021
Su Y 2020 UN Ruling on Climate Refugees could be a Game Changer for Climate Action https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/01/29/un-ruling-climate-refugees-gamechanger-climate-action/ accessed 10 March 2021
Tong A 2016 Migration is the "Brutal Reality" of Climate Change https://www.climatechangenews.com/2016/06/21/anote-tong-migration-is-the-brutal-reality-of-climate-change/ accessed 22 December 2020
Published
Issue
Section
License
.png){kind=spacer}