On 28 August 2024, the Falepili Union Treaty between Tuvalu and Australia entered into force. As the first climate resettlement treaty ever adopted in history, providing a defined climate mobility pathway, this peculiar legal instrument on climate cooperation offers numerous reflections enshrined in its first four articles (e.g. the recognition of Tuvalu’s sovereignty and continuity of statehood, the support to human mobility with dignity and the collaboration for security and stability). Notwithstanding that the Explanatory Memorandum issued on 8 May 2024, tries to slightly overcome some of the main critical remarks linked to the Treaty, concerning Tuvalu’s loss of autonomy to make independent decisions, the perspective of the dilution of Tuvalian traditions and cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible – has been somehow neglected in the debate. As a result, the impression that the layers mentioned above are compromised in exchange for strategic security and economic benefits is far from being completely debunked. In September 2024 the Australian government, through the Department of Foreign…
UNESCO
The War of Aggression Against Ukraine, Cultural Property and Genocide: Why it is Imperative to Take a Close Look at Cultural Property
For too long, a great deal of energy has been invested in trying to decipher obscure statements made by Vladimir Putin (a true “masterclass of disinformation”: Åslund 2021; cf. Kappeler 2021). Now that Putin has started a war of aggression against Ukraine, it is high time that we take his denials of Ukrainian statehood and…
Deep Seabed Mining in the Area: is international investment law relevant?
The last decade has seen a renewed interest in the commercial exploitation of deep seabed minerals located beyond national jurisdiction. However, the respective responsibilities of deep sea miners and of their sponsoring states in this process have not been clarified fully. This short piece argues that international investment law is part of the legal framework applicable…
Who Can Apply to Add Sites Situated in Disputed territory to the World Heritage List?
Dr Shlomit Wallerstein is a CUF Lecturer in Law at the University of Oxford and Fellow of St Peter's College, Oxford. Recently (on 29 June 2012), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) accepted the Palestinian application for the recognition of the Church of Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route as a…
UNESCO Approves Palestinian Membership Bid – A Case for US Countermeasures Against the Organization?
Christiane Ahlborn is Ph.D. Candidate at the Amsterdam Center for International Law and member of the project on Shared Responsibility in International Law (SHARES) On 31 October 2011, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) approved the bid of Palestine for full membership with the necessary two-thirds majority. Although 107 UNESCO States voted in favor of Palestinian…