Join us for a discussion on the dangers caused by climate change - particularly sea level rise, which is certain to cause future displacement. The specific obligations of states toward displaced populations, and the thresholds for triggering such obligations, remain nascent and contested. Though no dedicated multilateral treaty addresses the rights of people displaced by climate change, recent interpretive guidance from the Human Rights Committee and the International Court of Justice affirms that such state obligations exist and are rooted in existing international law.
Those seeking to prove a violation of the right to life - as a basis for claims to extraterritorial protection amid climate change - face significant obstacles, including the lack of a standardized norm for investigating and documenting climate-related ill treatment and imminent harm from a medico-legal perspective. This panel explores whether a new medico-legal protocol for climate displacement evidence is needed, and how such a protocol could support both duty bearers and rights holders in understanding the nature of states' legal obligations.
- When: Tuesday | September 22, 2026 | 12:30-1:30pm
- Where: JG 107
Presented as part of: Climate Week NYC 2026
Speakers: Judge Mimi Tsankov, former U.S. Immigration Judge and Kathryn Hampton, Practitioner-in-Residence at HRI
Lunch will be provided.
Please register below:
Event Contact
HRI
- 9172917093
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