During its closing session on 25 August 2006, the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human rights recommended to the recently established UN Human Rights Council the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on the legal implications of the disappearance of States and other territories for environmental reasons. The decision follows studies undertaken by the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the Sub-Commission, which note that, as opposed to issues of State succession, the question of the extinction of a State, without there being a successor, is unprecedented. Questions related to the forced relocation of extinct States populations have been highlighted by the Sub-Commission, in States that will totally disappear, mostly island States, but also for States with a significant proportion of whose territory will disappear, leaving only such territory as will be unable to support the existing population.
Link to further information
UN press release
(25 August 2006)
Ignoring cross border impacts of large infrastructure projects will spark conflict along rivers, argues Peter King. National level environmental impact assessments that ignore cross border impacts are likely to create conflict between countries.
Peat areas have played a pivotal role in conflicts globally, and have also been a point of contention during post-conflict recovery. Communities in Southeast Asia as well as in the countries of the Congo are facing challenges as finding political solutions for this problem.
On a visit at short notice to Germany, Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss a range of bilateral and international issues, including the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine, and the future of the controversial gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2. The pair met for the second time within just three months to talk about the project.
Australia’s new prime minister will not walk away from the Paris climate agreement, although his new policies now make it unlikely the country will meet its emissions reduction goal. Ongoing trade talks with the EU could also hinge on how climate policy continues to develop.