The significance of sea-level rise for the continuation of states and the identity of their people
Abstract
This article considers the legal institutions which give people
identity and may anchor them to particular places. But what
happens to that identity when "place" no longer exists? The
focus of this article is the question of the legal status of those
whose homelands disappear under the waves. Unlike persons
displaced by war or political upheaval, as experienced after the
Second World War, such persons do not fall within the usual
understanding of the term "refugee". The erosion of the
foundations of their identity has, in some cases, been gradual
and incremental, but without territory can we talk of the
sovereignty of states or the citizenship of individuals? Is the
latter "place bound" or does citizenship mean more than just
affiliation or "rootedness" to a particular place? Does nationality
depend on a nation and if so, what is it that makes a nation?
These questions are pertinent to all those whose homelands
may disappear as a result of natural disasters or rising sea
levels. They are particularly, but not only, relevant to people in
the Pacific living on low-lying atolls such as in Tuvalu, Kiribati
and parts of the Solomon Islands. In the Pacific, exchanges
among strangers start with the question "Where are you from?"
Can a person be a Pacific islander if he or she has no island?
This article considers how that will be answered by those who
are from lands under the seas, and what changes may have to
be made to the international legal frameworks that determine
identity in these circumstances.
Collections
- PER: 2021 Volume 24 [71]