Maldives (Commonwealth Union)_ The government of Maldives lauded the historic approval of a consensus Resolution on climate action by the United Nations General Assembly. A statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that the island country appreciates the approval of the UNGA Resolution titled, “Request for an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change.”
The Maldives government congratulated Vanuatu Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau, the Vanuatu government, and members of the core group for their effort toward the historic passage of a consensus Resolution. The ministry disclosed that Maldives is one of the 132 co-sponsors of the Resolution. The “Request for an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the responsibility of States in relation to climate change” Resolution is a watershed event for multilateralism and climate action.
The authority highlighted that the resulting advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice will give much-needed clarification and a clearer understanding of the legal consequences of climate change under international law on current international legal responsibilities. In addition, the foreign ministry stated that such an advisory opinion would help the General Assembly, the United Nations, and its Member States in taking bolder and more powerful actions towards climate change, and would also be a significant step in the battle for climate justice, particularly for climate-vulnerable nations and Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Maldives has often shown its strong support for international measures that help in the battle against climate change. The government of the Maldives has also reaffirmed its strong support for more powerful climate action, which is a strong base of its foreign policy. The Maldives is one of the world’s low-lying countries, and climate change always poses an existential threat to the island. There is no higher ground to which people can flee. There is only the islands and the ocean. And 80% of the islands are less than one meter above sea level. Hence, the country always pays greater attention to climate-related actions.
