The hidden international legal obligation: the prevention of climate statelessness
The hidden international legal obligation: the prevention of climate statelessness
Date
2024
Authors
Díaz-Quirós, Adriana
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Abstract
So far, the academic literature has mainly approached the risk of "climate statelessness" of the
populations of Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Maldives and the Marshall Islands from a reactive perspective,
always renouncing their territory or their entire statehood as the only way to avoid their statelessness.
This thesis, however, lays the legal foundations for a proactive response to this anomalous situation while
proposing a scheme for its implementation. By analysing the case of these small island states from a
human rights perspective, as statelessness is a human rights issue, among other things, a violation of the
right to nationality, and reviewing the international legal obligations of the various actors of the
international community, mainly states (individually and collectively) and the UN, under international
law and international human rights law, this thesis elucidates a general legal obligation to “prevent
Human Rights violations”. Thus, it draws attention to the fact that preventing the climate statelessness
arising from the loss of statehood, because of the impact of climate change is a matter of fulfilling
international legal obligations and responsibilities. Furthermore, it analyses the R2P implementation
framework as a model to propose a coherent and operational framework for implementing this
international legal obligation at the state and international community level.
Description
Second semester University: Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. Awarded thesis 2023/2024
Keywords
international obligations,
statelessness,
climatic changes,
environmental policy,
human rights violations,
responsibility to protect,
Tuvalu,
Kiribati,
Maldives,
Marshall Islands