Uncharted Waters

Abstract

This Article examines the Human Rights Committee’s decision in respect of Teitiota v New Zealand. The Article argues that the most significant aspect of Teitiota is that the decision confirms an emerging tendency on the part of the Human Rights Committee to consider issues of climate change in the context of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The author considers three key sources of international human rights law: General Comments, Concluding Observations, and Individual Decisions and highlights the emerging trend as evident in the Committee’s recent treatment of each of the three sources of law. Given that environmental protection and the future of the planet are truly global issues, which may only be combatted through global action, the author proposes that it is entirely appropriate for the Human Rights Committee to develop its jurisprudence in line with this new departure.