“Vanuatu Indigenous Rights at Risk: UN Report Highlights Impact of Climate Change” 

The United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change Elisa Morgera stated on Thursday that climate change has negatively impacted the lives of the ni-Vanuatu people and threatened their well-being. This statement concluded Morgera’s nine-day visit to Vanuatu. She is expected to present a full report to the UN Human Rights Council in July 2025.The UN Special Rapporteur highlighted that Vanuatu’s tropical cyclones and other climate-related events severely damaged the island’s infrastructure and destroyed villages. This has limited the population’s access to vital government services and displaced many people who fled disaster-stricken areas in search of shelter and job opportunities. Morgera also pointed out that climate change impacted the rights of women, disabled people, and children who faced an increased risk of violence and discrimination during emergency evacuations and struggled to meet their essential needs. Additionally, she stated that climate change is undermining the right to education for children in Vanuatu as schools often close or are converted into evacuation centers, leading to interruptions in education for extended periods.Morgera urged the Vanuatu government to strengthen the protection of its population’s human rights during climate disasters by ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.Moreover, she emphasized the need for support from the international community, especially industrialized countries, for developing countries that have contributed the least to the global climate crisis but are the most affected by climate change. She called on high-emission countries to fulfill their international obligations under the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These obligations include increasing their mitigation efforts and providing financial assistance to nations severely impacted by climate change. Morgera also recommended that international support be tailored to local needs by funding community-driven projects that take into consideration Vanuatu’s cultural and geographical context.Elisa Morgera’s statement comes a few days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) opened the hearings on the obligations of states concerning climate change based on a request initiated by the Vanuatu government. Vanuatu is an island archipelago in the South Pacific that is ranked as a high disaster-risk country and considered one of the most affected states by climate change.In recent months, the issues of human rights and climate justice have garnered significant global attention and advocacy from various rights groups. The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) adopted a new agreement to enhance indigenous peoples’ role in biodiversity preservation efforts. However, developed countries continue to face increasing pressure and criticism fo