WYCJ co-hosts diplomatic roundtable at the UN on protecting the rights of future generations
On 29th June 2023, the Normandy Chair for Peace, together with the Permanent Missions of the Republic of Vanuatu and Costa Rica to the United Nations, organized a diplomatic roundtable discussion on "Protecting the Rights of Future Generations: From the ICJ Climate Case to the UN Summit of the Future," held at the Millennium Hilton, One UN Plaza, New York.
The World's Youth for Climate Justice (WYCJ) co-sponsored the event and was invited to speak on the relevance of the current International Court of Justice case on climate change in recognizing and protecting the rights of future generations. Nicole Ponce, front convener for Asia, participated in the diplomatic discussion and highlighted the arguments embodied in the Youth Climate Justice Handbook, forwarding the principle of intergenerational equity.
Currently, there is no general international law instrument that defines the core elements of intergenerational equity, and its legal status is still controversial. The status quo is quite problematic because there has been overwhelming evidence of the application of the principle in international and domestic proceedings.
This ICJ Advisory Opinion can be instrumental in recognizing the relevance of the principle of intergenerational equity and climate change, and connect this to state obligations to protect the rights of the current and future generations from the adverse effects of climate change. Consequently, an Advisory Opinion on climate change and human rights can serve to cement the status of intergenerational equity as customary international law.
Nicole Ponce called on states and international organizations to make a submission to the International Court of Justice on the climate change advisory opinion. In the same light, she encouraged states to include the voices of young people and the most affected communities, women, people with disabilities, indigenous and local peoples in their written submissions to the court. She spoke about a Youth Annex and how it can be helpful in capturing the lived realities and experiences of such communities and groups.
Session 1 included a briefing and discussion on the body of international law protecting the rights of future generations, examples of the application of this law in international tribunals in particular the ICJ, and the relevance of this law to the ICJ case on Climate Change. The primary purposes of this discussion are to encourage and support countries and international organizations in making submissions to the ICJ on the climate case by the deadline of October 30, 2023, and to ensure that rights of future generations are included in such submissions. Session 2 highlighted proposals to the UN Summit of the Future relating to the rights of future generations.
There were over 120 registrations for in-person participation from government representatives, UN officials, academics, climate scientists, students and NGO leaders (with over 80 attending). In addition, more than 120 additional people participated online.
