Marshall Islands Leader Calls for U.N. to Help Threatened Island Nations

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Marshall Islands Leader Calls for U.N. to Help Threatened Island Nations

 

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New York, May 24, 2011--The president of the Republic of the Marshall Islands called Tuesday on the U.N. Secretary General to appoint a special representative to address the threats climate change pose to low-lying island nations.
 
Jurelang Zedkaia said the issue was one of security as well as survival. He was the keynote speaker at a Columbia Law School conference devoted to the legal options and implications for island nations whose existence is imperiled by the effects of climate change.
 
“When the president of a low-lying island nation is forced to confront these issues of sovereignty and political borders … it should be self-evident and beyond question that climate change impacts pose a clear threat to international peace and security,” Zedkaia said to a dinner audience in Low Library on the Columbia University campus.
 
The Marshall Islands is a sponsor of the conference, which concludes Wednesday, along with the Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law. Panels have tackled such issues as whether a nation can still exist if it is submerged by rising seas caused by greenhouse gas emissions, how to cope with migration and resettlement, and existing legal mechanisms to address these problems.
 
“The issues that have been raised here are ultimately long-term threats to our security, and they have clear legal implications,” Zedkaia said, who made note of a U.N. Security Council meeting, slated for July, where the security impacts of climate change will be discussed.
“I expect the Security Council … to recognize this connection with absolute clarity, and to ask the Secretary General how the U.N. system can best respond,” Zedkaia said.
 
In the interim, Zedkaia has asked Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon to appoint a special representative, who the president said would assist the Security Council in examining current and projected impacts of rising seas.
 
The Marshall Islands, about halfway between Hawaii and Australia, are made up of narrow atolls, most of which are less than six feet above sea level. Some have already experienced erosion that does not bode well for the future.
 
Zedkaia is frustrated that the international community has been slow to recognize the issue as one that affects more than just the vulnerable islands.
 
“We must now work together to recognize and directly address those risks,” Zedkaia said. “There has been enough talk … It is time for action. It is time we took charge of our future.”
 
Despite the gravity of the conference’s theme, the dinner provided for some lighter moments. Zedkaia led the Marshall Islands delegation in some traditional island songs, and showed off his talents on the ukulele.
 
The complete text of Zedkaia's address can be seen here.
 
 
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