US pressures Vanuatu at UN over ICJ's landmark climate change ruling

"The United States is urging governments to pressure Vanuatu to withdraw a United Nations draft resolution supporting a landmark International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that countries have a legal obligation to act on climate change. A US State Department cable seen by Al Jazeera on Saturday says that the Trump administration strongly objects to the proposed resolution being circulated by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu in support of last year's ruling by the ICJ the UN's top court."

"The Associated Press news agency, which also reported on the cable, said that it was circulated to all US embassies and consulates this week, shortly after Vanuatu announced it was putting forward the draft UN resolution for consideration. We are strongly urging Vanuatu to immediately withdraw its draft resolution and cease attempting to wield the Court's Advisory Opinion as a basis for creating an avenue to pursue any misguided claims of international legal obligations, a copy of the cable seen by Al Jazeera states."

"The ICJ's 15 judges considered tens of thousands of pages of written submissions and two weeks of oral arguments during the court's biggest-ever case, before delivering their verdict last year that states have a legal obligation to act on the existential threat of climate change. The ICJ case took place after Vanuatu won the support of 132 countries in the UN General Assembly, which can request opinions from The Hague-based court."

A US State Department cable urges governments to pressure Vanuatu to withdraw a UN draft resolution supporting the ICJ's advisory opinion that states have a legal obligation to act on climate change. The cable says the Trump administration strongly objects to Vanuatu circulating the resolution and characterizes it as based on speculative climate models that fabricate legal obligations and encourage baseless claims. The cable was circulated to US embassies and consulates after Vanuatu put forward the draft. The ICJ's 15 judges, after extensive written and oral submissions, found states have legal obligations to address the existential threat of climate change.

Read at www.aljazeera.com