Regional Symposium on Advisory Opinion to Action: Advancing Human Rights and Climate Justice

On 10-11 February, WYCJ co-organised a closed-door symposium with the Asian Research Institute for Environmental Law (ARIEL) and the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health in Bangkok, Thailand. Titled “Regional Symposium on Advisory Opinion to Action: Advancing Human Rights and Climate Justice”, the workshop saw legal practitioners, policy experts, and environmental advocates gather to share knowledge and formulate strategies in relation to the International Court of Justice's climate change advisory opinion (ICJ AO). 

WYCJ was represented by Nicole Ponce, Aditi Shetye, and Justin Lim. Together with legal experts on the ICJ AO, the team shared how the ICJ AO can be understood, socialised, and mobilised to ambitious implementation laws and policy at the national and regional level in Asia. The symposium statement can be read here. 

The symposium had focused discussions on climate-health governance integration, the ICJ AO's impact on regional governance, environmental impact assessment reform, climate law capacity building and education, and climate litigation and accountability. The connections and knowledge built during the symposium will contribute towards an interdisciplinary regional knowledge hub to advance the implementation of the ICJ AO.