Thank you, Madam President.
1. Belize has the honor to speak on behalf of the members of the Alliance of Small Island States, AOSIS.
2. AOSIS celebrates the adoption of this resolution welcoming the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on “Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change”. This is a historic moment. The unanimous opinion of the world’s principal judicial organ now receives the collective recognition of this General Assembly.
Madam President,
3. For Small Island Developing States, this resolution provides essential legal certainty on maritime zones and the continuity of statehood in the face of sea-level rise in operative paragraphs 6 and 7, by recalling the Court’s conclusions and affirming key consequences of those conclusions.
4. On maritime zones, the Court’s conclusions in paragraph 362 are not a policy preference; it is an identification of existing international law. The Court found that UNCLOS does not require States parties, in the context of sea level rise, to update their charts or geographical coordinates once they have been duly established in conformity with the Convention. This conclusion rests on a solid legal foundation. The International Law Commission conducted a comprehensive study of state practice and found it to be consistent. To our knowledge, no state has submitted a change in baselines to the Secretary-General because of loss of land. Only one state has restated their baselines, and that was due to land reclamation. This is not a rule being invented by the Court or ILC; it is a rule that is being recognized based on the consistent actions of states and that is supported by the Convention and the legal principles underpinning it.
5. We are aware that some States may contest this rule. That is their right. The persistent objector doctrine exists for precisely this purpose. But disagreement does not negate the existence of the rule itself. Customary international law does not require consensus—it requires consistent State practice and opinio juris. Specially affected states have demonstrated clear common interpretations through our consistent practice regarding maritime zones. Our voice should carry particular legal weight on this issue.
Madam President,
6. On statehood, the legal foundation is also clear. The ICJ found in paragraph 363 that the disappearance of land territory would not necessarily entail the loss of statehood. This is not a novel proposition. Since the founding of the United Nations, no state has involuntarily ceased to exist. All dissolutions and reformation of states resulted from the express consent of the state itself. This consistent state practice reflects the existing rule. The ILC’s conclusions on statehood reflect it, and the Court affirmed it.
7. Today’s affirmation converts that finding into collective political and legal recognition by the General Assembly. Statehood and sovereignty persist regardless of sea-level rise. Our membership in international organizations will also persist, as a necessary corollary.
Madam President,
8. This resolution also advances climate justice through critical gains, including recognizing CBDR-RC as a guiding principle across customary international law, recognizing historical patterns influencing climate vulnerability, affirming the state responsibility framework with full remedies, and operationalizing the duty to cooperate on finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building.
9. Critically, the Court also clarified that the principle of lex specialis does not allow the climate change treaties to exclude other rules of international law from applying to climate obligations. Climate change is not governed solely by the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement. Human rights law, the law of the sea, customary environmental law, and the law of state responsibility all apply. Climate justice requires the application of the full breadth of international law, not a siloed approach that limits accountability to the climate treaties regime alone.
10. It also establishes a structured pathway forward through the Secretary-General’s report and continued General Assembly consideration. It allows the international community to operationalize the Court’s findings through enhanced cooperation and implementation, without undermining the ongoing work at the UNFCCC.
Madam President,
11. AOSIS thanks the Core Group led by Vanuatu for their leadership throughout this process. When future generations look back at this moment, they will ask whether we rose to meet the defining crisis of our time with the full force of international law. Today, this General Assembly answers YES. We recognize what the Court has clarified. We affirm what that clarity provides. And we commit to advancing compliance with these obligations for the sake of Small Island Developing States and for the planet we all share.
12. I thank you.