Framing Environmental Degradation, Human Mobility and Human Development as a “Matter of Common Concern”
On average, 22.5 million people move each year within and across borders because of climate and weather-related disasters. Alongside those who move are those who stay behind or are trapped in severe conditions of vulnerability where habitation on land might no longer be possible. Furthermore, these impacts are not distributed equally; we know that those who have least contributed to anthropogenic climate change are affected the most. Without concerted action and a reconfiguration of State sovereignty and interests, this global problem cannot be effectively addressed.
Prof. Elisa Fornalé appointed as Co-Rapporteur of the ILA Committee focusing on the Protection of Affected Persons in the Context of Sea Level Rise.
On 30 June 2021, Prof. Elisa Fornalé hosted the virtual meeting on "Statehood and International Legal Personality" of the International Law Association (ILA) Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise. Prof. Fornalé has recently been appointed as Co-Rapporteur of the ILA Committee focusing on the protection of affected persons in the context of sea level rise.
The work of the ILA Committee is to address the implications of sea-level rise as regards international law, in particular the effects upon small island developing states. In 2012, the ILA Committee was tasked with a two-part mandate:
1) to study the possible impacts of sea level rise and the implications under international law of the partial and complete inundation of state territory, or depopulation thereof, in particular of small island and low-lying states; and
2) to develop proposals for the progressive development of international law in relation to the possible loss of all or of parts of state territory and maritime zones due to sea level rise, including the impacts on statehood, nationality, and human rights».
Prof. Fornalé will join Prof. David Freestone, Co-Rapporteur, and Prof. Davor Vidas, Chair of the ILA Committee.
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Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise
Legal Consequences from the Law of the Sea, Statehood and Affected Persons Perspectives
Friday, 1 October 2021
15:00-17:00h
University of Trento
The occasion of the webinar is the work of the International Law Commission (ILC) on the issue of sea level rise within the broader context of the climate change discourse. As climate change is one of the main causes of sea level rise, the webinar aims at providing an in-depth overview of the work that the ILC is conducting on this important topic.
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé spoke on forced migration and rights of the affected population.
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Flyer
Disappearing Land and Displaced Persons: Climate Change and International Law
Thursday, 28 October 2021
15:45h ET (21:45h CEST)
American Branch of the International Law Association’s International Law Weekend (ILW)
It is no secret that the world (and indeed humanity) is facing the imminent challenge of climate change over the upcoming decades. Due to rising sea levels, States are losing territory and some island-States face the reality of submersion. The loss of land due to climate change is coupled with the consequent displacement of people who live on those lands or are losing their livelihood to climate change. These issues present novel challenges for international law. This panel shall discuss how international law, in particular the law of the sea, confronts these challenges today and in what direction international law needs to develop to face these intensifying challenges in the future.
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé spoke on the displacement of persons caused by rising sea levels and took part in the discussion together with Cecilia Jimenez-Damary, Nicola Swan and Donald Rothwell.
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Flyer
Gender, Identity & Politics: Representation, Exclusion and Vulnerability
Thursday, 11 November 2021
09:15-14:00h
University of Surrey
SNSF Professor Dr. Elisa Fornalé will hold the keynote speech on the topic of “Unequal Participation: Clothing the Invisibility of Women at International Level”. In the first part of the workshop, scholars from Finland, Spain and Sweden will shed light on different aspects of Gender and Politics. In the second part of the workshop, scholars and and an attorney will talk about Crossing Borders and Vulnerability.
