Independent experts from the UN Human Rights Committee believe that Australia has violated the rights of the indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands. It had indeed been seized by residents who blamed Canberra for not having sufficiently protected them once morest climate change.
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These experts, who are not speaking on behalf of the UN, delivered their decision on Friday, September 23 in Geneva. It states that ” Australian authorities have violated their rights [des autochtones] enjoy their culture and escape arbitrary interference in their privacy, family and home “. The Committee was seized in 2019 of an unprecedented complaint filed by 14 indigenous people: eight Australian citizens and six of their children living on the islands of Boigu, Poruma, Warraber and Masig, in the Torres Strait. The plaintiffs blamed Australia for failing to build dykes high enough and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, despite their islands being among the most threatened in the world by rising waters, caused by warming caused by greenhouse gases.
By the very admission of the Torres strait regional authority (TSRA), a government agency, “even a small rise in sea level due to climate change will have an immense impact on Torres Strait communities, potentially threatening their viability” and a larger increase is likely to”completely flood and render uninhabitable” a number of islands in the region.
The plaintiffs believe that “the State has not taken adequate measures“to protect these populations, who risk having to leave their islands, which the Australian authorities dispute. The Committee concludes that the Australian authorities have not done enough.”States that fail to protect individuals under their jurisdiction from the adverse effects of climate change might violate their rights under international human rights law.“, underlined Helene Tigroudja, member of the committee. The said committee thus asked Australia to compensate the inhabitants of the islands for “ damages already suffered, to launch serious consultations to determine their needs and take measures to secure existence on their respective islands ».
Although not binding, the decisions of the Committee have an important echo and often force the States to act to protect their reputation. “The Committee has paved the way for individuals to claim their rights.” when “national systems have failed to take appropriate measures to protect the most vulnerable from the negative effects of climate change“, explained panel member Hélène Tigroudja in a press release.