UN begins implementing resolution on sea-level rise

The United Nations has begun implementing a resolution on sea-level rise that it passed on 24 September, aiming to protect small island and coastal countries from the threats they face and to preserve their legal sovereignty. This is the first time the UN has passed such a comprehensive resolution at the international level on the issue of sea-level rise. Under the resolution, even if a country loses part of its land due to rising sea levels, international law has ensured that the country's independence and sovereignty, as well as its UN membership, will remain intact. The resolution also confirms that special economic zones and maritime boundaries established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea will not change despite changes to land. It further calls for increased financial assistance for developing small island countries to adapt to environmental threats. The Maldives is one of the countries that advocates most strongly in the international arena on climate change and sea-level rise. The Malé Declaration, drawn up at a meeting of small island states held in Malé in 1989, was an important beginning of this work. Under the new constitution, all presidents who have governed the Maldives, as well as current President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, have noted that the Maldives is one of the countries that will be most affected by sea-level rise and climate change, and have called for increasing international spending to address the damage caused by climate change.