UN Finds Australia Violated Torres Strait Islanders' Rights By Failing To Act On Climate Change

A United Nations committee has found the Australian government have failed to protect Torres Strait islanders from the impacts of climate change.

The landmark decision comes three years after a group of islanders made a formal complaint against the Morrison government for neglecting to take adequate action to cut emissions or pursue proper adaptation measures.

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Drawing upon their spiritual connection to the land, the islanders claimed that food sources and ancestral burial sites have been damaged by rising sea levels, scattering human remains and putting homes at risk of being submerged.

The groundbreaking decision found the government had “violated their rights to enjoy their culture and be free from arbitrary interferences with their private life, family and home”.

ClientEarth lawyer Sophie Marjanac, who acted for the claimants, said the case was “a victory for all peoples who are the most vulnerable to runaway climate change”.

Nations can “no longer hide behind the myth that climate change is a collective problem and that they are free of legal obligation”, she said.

The case by the eight Torres Strait Islanders from the small, low-lying islands of Boigu, Poruma, Warraber and Masig is one of many claims around the world calling out governments for failing to protect individuals from negative impacts of climate change.

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