Behrman, Simon and Kent, Avidan (2020) The Teitiota Case and the limitations of the human rights framework. Questions of International Law, 75 . pp. 25-39.
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Abstract
The decision of the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) in Teitiota v New Zealand has been widely hailed as heralding a major development in the jurisprudence on ‘climate refugees’.[1] Even more nuanced commentators have asserted that it represents a significant, if imperfect, step forward in patching together a regime of protection for the increasing numbers of people who are being displaced by the effects of climate change. No less a figure than Filippo Grandi, the current head of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) described the HRC decision as meaning: ‘if you have an immediate threat to your life due to climate change, due to the climate emergency, and if you cross the border and go to another country, you should not be sent back because you would be at risk of your life, just like in a war or in a situation of persecution’.[2] Would that this was so, but in our view, not yet. Moreover, there is an obvious problem with these optimistic views of the HRC decision: in spite of quite substantial evidence of serious harm in which climate change is a major factor, the claim for protection failed.
In this article, we therefore question these evaluations and ask whether the HRC decision is a welcome incremental step forward, or whether it adds little to the already meagre human rights jurisprudence in regards to climate refugees.
We will give a brief precis of the background to this case, and of the issues that were raised at various points throughout the litigation. We will then highlight the key sticking points that prevented the claim for protection being successful. Finally, we will offer some critical analysis of the HRC decision, and suggest why the human rights paradigm, certainly as it is currently conceived, may present some insuperable barriers for climate refugees to seek protection within it.
| Item Type: | Journal Article |
|---|---|
| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law |
| Journal or Publication Title: | Questions of International Law |
| ISBN: | 2284-2969 |
| Official Date: | 30 November 2020 |
| Dates: | Date Event 30 November 2020 Published 10 March 2020 Accepted |
| Volume: | 75 |
| Page Range: | pp. 25-39 |
| Status: | Peer Reviewed |
| Publication Status: | Published |
| Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons open licence) |
| URI: | https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/169490/ |
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