Law Commons^™

Legal Cooperation Issues On Sea Level Rise, Maria Teresa Infante

American University International Law Review

This is a very timely event. Although there have been several cases in which experts—both academics and governments—discuss the connection between sea-level rise and the legal framework, this event is important because it will bring to the forefront the fact that the practice in the Americas and the Caribbean should be analyzed when discussing this pressing topic. This is a very important initiative; I encourage the Inter-American system and the juridical committee to tackle this issue. I hope it will be in connection with the work that is being conducted by the International Law Commission itself.

Stars, Stripes, And Surveillance: The United States' Failure To Regulate Data Privacy, Sam Begland

American University International Law Review

In the wake of the United States Supreme Court's devastating decision to strip Americans of their constitutional right to abortion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, data privacy is more salient than ever. Without adequate data regulations, state governments and anti-abortion activists alike can harass and prosecute pregnant people attempting to exercise their bodily autonomy. This comment argues that the United States has violated its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Article 17 by failing to protect against interference with the use and collection of reproductive health data. Further, this comment analyzes interpretations of …

La Responsabilidad Internacional De Los Estados Por Violaciones A Los Derechos Humanos Como Consecuencia Del Cambio Climatico: El Rol Del Sistema Interamericano De Proteccion De Derechos Humanos, Jose Daniel Rodriguez Orue

American University International Law Review

El fenómeno del cambio climático es una de las mayores amenazas para la garantía y protección de los derechos humanos a nivel global. Las consecuencias adversas del cambio climático, tales como incremento en el nivel del mar, el aumento de eventos meteorológicos extremos, la perdida de biodiversidad y las sequías, son susceptibles de ocasionar varias violaciones a los derechos humanos en las Américas. Estas violaciones a los derechos humanos se manifiestan con mayor intensidad en determinados grupos poblacionales que se encuentran expuestos de forma desproporcionada a la degradación medioambiental debido a su vinculación especial con los recursos naturales, pero también, …

La Limitacion De Los Derechos Humanos En La Lucha Contra El Cambio Climatico: El Caso De Los Derechos Culturales De Las Porlaciones Indigenas Y La Energia Hidroelectrica De Embalse En America Latina, Sebastian Sauter Odio

American University International Law Review

El cambio climático es el resultado de la emisión de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) producto de actividades antropogénicas. Al ser el sector energético el mayor contribuyente de GEI a nivel mundial, los esfuerzos para mitigar el cambio climático deben comprender la transformación de la matriz energética, hoy basada prioritariamente en la combustión de hidrocarburos, a una que involucre una mayor participación de las energías renovables.

One Choice Is No Choice At All: Indonesia Is Violating The International Covenant On Civil And Political Rights By Requiring Political Parties To Adhere To Its National Ideology Of Pancasila, Daniel Brezina

American University International Law Review

This Comment argues that Indonesia is violating Articles 1, 18, 22, 25, and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by requiring that all political parties adhere to its national ideology of Pancasila. This Comment will introduce the ideology of Pancasila and explain how Indonesia came to require political parties to adhere to the ideology. This Comment will also explain what rights the ICCPR guarantees and introduce the UN Human Rights Committee, which is tasked with monitoring signatories’ compliance with the ICCPR. This Comment will explain how Indonesia’s requirement violates several Articles of the ICCPR, including how …

Democracy Dies In Broad Daylight: How The Philippines' Halted Media Speech Despite Its Commitment To The Iccpr, Alexis Mozeleski

American University International Law Review

A primary initiative of the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte’s presidency was the national campaign against drug users and criminals. During the turbulent period that was Duterte’s presidency, journalists who published dissenting views on the drug war frequently became targets of Duterte’s administration, which came in the form of frivolous charges, arrests, banning media outlets, or in some instances, murder. This Comment argues that the Philippines violated international law protections of freedom of expression as codified in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As a party to this treaty, the Philippines, under Duterte’s administration, unjustifiably restricted speech …

Introduction To The International Law Commission's Work On Sea Level Rise In Relation To International Law, Bogdan Aurescu, Nilufer Oral

American University International Law Review

BOGDAN AURESCU:

Thank you so much for the presentation. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to everybody—in accordance with the respective time that you are speaking. I am very honored to be invited to this conference, and I am also very honored that I am sharing this presentation together with my good colleague and friend, Nilüfer Oral. We are both co-chairs of the Study Group on Sea-Level Rise in Relation to International Law of the International Law Commission, together with the other colleagues, some of them I think are attending this session online, Patrícia Galvão-Teles and Juan José Ruda …

Approaches To Sea Level Rise: A Comparative View Of Emerging Policy Responses By The African And The American Regions, Charles Chernor Jalloh

American University International Law Review

It is a great privilege to be here with all of you tonight. Thank you very much to you, Professor Grossman, the moderator of this panel, and to all the organizers for inviting me to be part of this really important event. I hope this is the first of many such events concerning this really pressing issue for the international community: the issue of sea level rise which is already affecting peoples and States in many different regions of our world.

When The Race To Net Zero Becomes A Race To The Bottom: Human Rights Violations In The Renewable Energy Transition And The Extraterritorial Obligation To Protect Human Rights, Yogi Bratajaya

American University International Law Review

Recent reports published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have shed light on and confirmed the extent of damages that will result if the world fails to keep global warming below 2°C. Irreversible adverse impacts on our ecosystems and the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters will have a significant negative effect on the enjoyment of human rights worldwide. Climate change is already affecting food security through increasing temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and greater frequency of some extreme events. Additionally, the deteriorating conditions caused by climate change will cause millions of people to leave their homes and …

Algunas Reflexiones Sobre La Condicion De Estado En Relacion Con La Elevacion Del Nivel Del Mar, Juan Jose Ruda Santolaria

American University Law Review

Estimados amigos y amigas:

Deseo, en primer lugar, agradecer a los promotores de esta iniciativa por su amable invitación y compromiso con el tratamiento de la importante temática que nos convoca. Al mismo tiempo, quiero destacar mi satisfacción por participar en esta actividad y hacerlo además con personas muy valiosas, por quienes siento especial aprecio, así como recalcar que voy a compartir con ustedes algunas reflexiones sobre la condición de estado en relación con la elevación del nivel del mar de carácter personal, es decir, que no comprometen a la Comisión de Derecho Internacional de las Naciones Unidas y son …

Ambulatory Versus Fixed Baselines Under The Law Of The Sea, Sean Murphy

American University Law Review

When “diving” into consideration of sea-level rise issues, one finds various “pools” of international law that are perfectly suited for answering some of the issues we are addressing. For example, Professor Galvão Teles spoke about the protection of persons in the event of sea-level rise. There are, of course, various aspects of human rights law and international law relating to disasters that can be employed to resolve some of the concerns in that regard. It is just a question of applying that law to a new, factual phenomenon.

Having said that, there are some areas where existing international law is …

The "Human Face" Of Sea-Level Rise: Protection Of Persons Affected, Patricia Galvao Teles

American University Law Review

Thank you so much, Professor Grossman. I will not take time from my presentation to do a long thank you or introduction, but I really wanted to thank you warmly, Claudio, for putting together these two days of conversation so that we can connect with the Americas and also have your contributions and your experiences to our work, which you, Claudio, have committed to and are delivering on your promise to help us to navigate through what is going on in the Americas concerning sea-level rise. This is very important because, as it was mentioned, the Commission works based on …

Are The Mdbs Accountable? Reflecting On The Independent Accountability Mechanisms Of The Multilateral Development Banks, Susan Park

Perspectives

The International Accountability Mechanisms of the Multilateral Development Banks provide important insights into how to hold intergovernmental organizations to account for their environmental and social impacts. This perspective identifies how the IAMs hold the Banks to account according to the six standard questions of accountability: who is accountable, to whom, for what are they accountable, and what are the standards, processes, and sanctions employed to demonstrate that the MDBs are accountable. This highlights what the IAMs can and cannot hold the MDBs to account for, and how this might shape further international grievance mechanisms for people seeking to defend their …

The Gendered Face Of Climate Change: Exploring The Impact Of Climate Change On Gender-Based Violence And The Role Of State And Non-State Actors In Effecting Climate Justice, Hannah Wilson

American University International Law Review

Climate change affects men and women differently. While some individual women may be less vulnerable to climate change than some men, the global perpetuation of discrimination, inequality, patriarchal structures, and systematic barriers contribute to an overall higher risk of women experiencing harmful effects of climate change. International human rights law prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender. However, in practice, systematic discrimination, harmful stereotypes, and social, economic and political barriers related to gender can lead to varied climate change impacts with respect to health, food security, livelihoods and human mobility, and more, which may significantly limit women’s and girls’ adaptive …

Criminalizing Environmental Degradation And Devastation: New Prospects For The Icc Rome Statute, Kelly Pisimisi

American University International Law Review

Over the last decade, steadily increasing voices are ringing the tocsin to the international community for the impact of human activities on climate and their potential consequences on human life and dignity. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in its recent (6th) Assessment Report, confirmed this assertion. Greenhouse gas concentrations and emissions (particularly CO2), as well as the retreat of arctic glaciers and the subsequent sea level rise causing—among other issues—the acidification of the oceanic waters, are some of the most evident human-induced implications on climate and the environment.

Using State Law Before The Glaciers Thaw: Climate Torts After Bp V. Baltimore, Jillian Mayer

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

We are living in the beginning stages of Earth’s sixth mass extinction. Since the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, the burning of fossil fuels has released huge quantities of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gasses (“GHGs”) into the atmosphere. The increased concentration of GHGs causes the atmosphere to retain more heat. Consequently, ecosystems and weather patterns shift and change faster than most plants, animals, and human societies can adapt. Climate change threatens global peace, crashes economies, and creates humanitarian crises.