Rising tides in climate change litigation: the case of the Torres Strait Islanders at the UN Human Rights Committee

Our culture starts here on the land. It is how we are connected with the land and the sea. You wash away the land and it is like a piece of us you are taking away from us. – Kabay Tamu, #TorresStrait8 claimant

This event will explore the impacts of climate change on the human rights of Indigenous peoples, as well as many others who live in a way that is sensitive to accelerating environmental harm. We will hear from one of the claimants in the ground-breaking Torres Strait Climate Case (Billy et al v Australia, Communication No. 3624/2019, UN Human Rights Committee) who will describe how climate breakdown affects daily life and the cultural traditions of the Torres Strait Islanders, who hail from a remote chain of low-lying islands between Australia and Papua New Guinea and are First Nations Australians. Lawyers and legal scholars will then discuss the implications of the Human Rights Committee’s recent Final Views in the case for climate adaptation and mitigation policies, as well as the future of climate change litigation before human rights fora. 

Speakers:

Yessie Mosby:

Yessie is a Masgialgal man from Masig (Yorke Island), located in the Torres Strait, Australia. He is a claimant in the ground-breaking Torres Strait Climate Change Case, against the Australian Government, and a spokesperson for his people about the serious impacts of climate change on his island. He is a board member of the Masigalgal Native Title Prescribed Body Corporate (Masigalgal PBC), which is the grassroots organisation that manages the native title for Masig, and he represents the Mosby family clan in all land related matters on the island. The Masigalgal PBC is a human rights body that protects and manages Masig on behalf of the traditional owners. The aims of the Masigalgal PBC are to manage land in accordance with traditional law and custom, and to encourage indigenous independence and to manage and protect Masig in accordance with traditional ecological knowledge. Yessie has six children, aged from 12 to 2 years old. He is also a successful artist, and produces traditional dhoeris (head-dresses) from local materials that have been acquired by collectors around the world. He is extremely knowledgeable about local custom, law and traditional culture in the Torres Strait, and is passionate about protecting his home and from the effects of climate change.

Sophie Marjanac:

Sophie Marjanac is an internationally recognised expert in climate change law and litigation, human rights and corporate management of climate risk. She leads the Climate Accountability Initative of ClientEarth, which focusses on strategic litigation and other legal interventions to drive governments and companies towards reducing their emissions in line with the Paris Agreement. She is the lead lawyer in the ground-breaking Torres Strait Climate Case, which was the first climate case to be brought against the Australian Government on human rights grounds, and also the first successful climate change case before any international human rights body. She also leads the team’s work on corporate accountability for greenhouse gas emissions, and financial sector stewardship on climate risk with high emitting companies. She regularly comments on and writes about climate change law and litigation in a range of forums.

Martin Scheinin:

Martin Scheinin is British Academy Global Professor at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights and has a long career as international human rights law academic and practitioner. He has served as member of the Human Rights Committee and as UN Special Rapporteur. After the experience of 15 years in those independent expert functions within the United Nations human rights system, he returned to human rights litigation. He was or currently is counsel in several cases initiated by the indigenous Sámi people. He submitted an amicus curiae brief in the Torres Strait Islanders case, focusing on how it is a core aspect of the right of a distinct people or group to enjoy its own culture to be able to transmit to new generations their living culture based on their lands and natural resources.

Discussion:

Brief statements or comments will be heard from emerging scholars at the University of Oxford, including Katie Pentney and John Croker.

Convener: Professor Martin Scheinin, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights

Infrastructure on Masig destroyed by storm surge in a 2019 cyclone. Photo by ClientEarth.