Dear colleagues,
Apropos of our earlier discussions on sovereignty in the face of predicted rising tides, shrinking territories, and population exodus from some low-lying areas, this morning the UN General Assembly passed by consensus a resolution on "Climate change and its possible security implications" (A/RES/63/281). The resolution was concerned with the possible security implications of climate change (such as refugee flows and loss of territorial integrity) and strongly suggested that the Security Council take up the issue as part of its mandate for maintaining international peace and security. The resolution was advocated in particular by many Pacific small island countries, but the ultimate consensus was forged among a broad swath of developing and developed countries and had more than 60 co-sponsors.
Reuters article about the General Assembly action:
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE5525W920090603
New York Times article about the resolution:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/world/29refugees.html
Regards,
Peter Prows
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