Attorney General Ahmed Usham has called on the international community to provide assistance to vulnerable countries like the Maldives in coping with climate change. The Attorney General made this call while speaking at a hearing held today at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the case submitted by the UN General Assembly seeking an advisory opinion on the responsibilities of countries regarding climate change issues.
This is a case submitted by the UN General Assembly seeking an advisory opinion from the ICJ under Article 65 of the ICJ Statute regarding some legal questions arising from countries’ responsibilities on climate change issues. Representing the Maldives at today’s hearing, Usham highlighted President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s initiative in continuously advocating on climate change issues and called on the international community to provide assistance to vulnerable countries like the Maldives.
He also noted the Maldives’ vulnerability to long-term impacts of climate change and emphasized that this government opposes the relocation of Maldivian people from their islands due to these impacts. In the statements presented by the international lawyers representing the Maldives at this hearing, they highlighted the responsibility to provide assistance to developing countries like the Maldives under international environmental laws and detailed the obligation of countries to cooperate under customary international law.
The lawyers also noted that it is the responsibility of the international community to provide assistance to small island developing states in recovering from the adverse effects of climate change.
