YouSaid · the spoken record

Luteru

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7
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2023-02-14
most recent
2023-02-14
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1
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un-security-council

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  1. “I again thank the President and the Government of Malta for convening this timely discussion. We look forward to continued collaborative discussion on how we confront this global scourge.”

    2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source

  2. “That cooperation is not only a policy imperative, but also a legal obligation for every State. While cooperation is a legal obligation, it is also a matter of equity. AOSIS members are among the lowest emitters of the greenhouse gases that drive climate change and sea level rise, yet we face some of the most severe consequences of rising sea levels. To expect small island States to shoulder the burden of sea level rise, without assistance from the international community, would be the pinnacle of inequity. More needs to be done. We attach great importance to discussions on the urgent need to fulfil international commitments, including on climate change and finance. We want to note, however, that the UNFCCC should remain the primary forum for discussions on climate change.”

    2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source

  3. “To make an analogy, our land territory is being invaded as a result of the actions or inaction of other States. To now deprive us of our sovereignty is contrary to a century of State practice and our interpretation of the relevant law in this situation. It would also constitute an unacceptable exertion of power by larger States, contrary to the principle of self-determination. It is our view that once a State is created by a people expressing their right to self- determination, through statehood, that statehood will cease only if another form of expression of the right to self-determination is explicitly sought and exercised by that people. That is the only determinant of whether a State should continue. The protection of persons in the face of sea level rise is a global challenge that requires meaningful inter-State cooperation.”

    2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source

  4. “On the issue of statehood, we think that the past two centuries of State practice are abundantly clear. The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States is not relevant to the question of the continuation of statehood. Rather, there is a fundamental presumption of the continuation of statehood in international law. It would be inequitable and unjust to now suggest that, in the context of rising sea levels, we should strictly apply criteria developed in a regional agreement signed almost a century ago and ratified by 16 countries. Such criteria, in our view, do not apply to the continuation of States. We note that the potential loss of land territory by small islands due to sea level rise is not a natural but an anthropogenic phenomenon.”

    2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source

  5. “We recall the AOSIS Leaders’ Declaration of September 2021. In that Declaration, our leaders affirmed that there is no legal obligation under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to keep baselines and the outer limits of maritime zones under review or to update charts or lists of geographic coordinates once deposited with the Secretary-General. Such maritime zones and the rights and entitlements that flow from them shall continue to apply without reduction, notwithstanding any physical changes connected to climate-change-related sea level rise. We are heartened to see that other States, including some of the largest coastal States, have adopted a similar understanding of international law, recognizing the need to ensure legal stability, security, certainty and predictability.”

    2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source

  6. “In the interest of time, we will not recite them here, not because they are not important, but rather because it is essential that we talk less and take more action in order to prevent and minimize the impacts of climate change going forward. Turning to the questions proposed by the President, we would like to comment on a few of them. The impact of climate change on SIDS will continue to be extraordinary. Our small land masses, populations, economies and remoteness mean that we have greater exposure to external economic and environmental shocks. Climate change will, without a doubt, pose an existential threat to our way of lives, potentially even to our economies and communities. But, to be clear, sea level rise resulting from anthropogenic climate change does not have an effect on our statehood or sovereignty.”

    2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source

  7. “I am pleased to deliver this statement on behalf of the members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the 39 small island developing States (SIDS) that are specially affected by the multiple and intersecting effects of climate change. We thank the Malta presidency for convening this very important discussion. We recognize that it builds upon the work of many in the Council on the issues of climate change. There is a litany of new examples of the sudden and slow-onset impact of climate change on small islands, from king tides, to super hurricanes, to the unstoppable and unprecedented rise in sea level.”

    2023-02-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9260Resumption1 (2023) · source