WYCJ participation at the Stockholm +50 Event

Day 2

On Friday 3rd of June, for the second and last session of the event, the day began with a strong start: a meeting with Ambassador Olof Skoog, Head of the EU delegation at the UN. He seemed not to be well-informed about the AO procedure and impact, so our conversation began with a quick recap, leading us then to explain to him how he could possibly give us a hand. Basically, given his position, we definitely thought he might have an influence on some European countries where we don’t have any campaigners or that might be difficult to convince to support the vote for the AO in September. The Ambassador said he would try to gather most European countries around a unique position in favor of the AO, though it might be a difficult goal to reach. In fact, although some European countries are more likely to vote for or have already confirmed their support, such as Germany, others appear to be more reluctant toward climate change and human rights issues.

The last morning side events were already full and it was difficult to find any seat left. Meanwhile, we decided to write some mails to people we met the previous day. At this moment, a lawyer we had quickly talked with Thursday afternoon wanted to meet us longer again. The meeting didn’t end up well. Though he believed in the philosophy and the merit of the campaign, he undermined the lack of a “clear outcome” of the campaign and also pointed out our “poor concern of the procedures”. In fact, he argued that “climate justice” is not a legal term and therefore isn’t relevant. He also added that the ICJ’s judges, who can be very conservative and procedural, will never consider the question because it crosses two fields of law, human rights law and environmental law.

After this “unusual” meeting, I headed to a side-event conference around Environmental Crises as Humanitarian Crises, which was followed by another conference entitled “Towards A Sustainable, Youth-Inclusive Future: Presenting the demands of the Stockholm+50 Youth Policy Paper ». This last one presented the work done by the youth task force over the past few months in preparation for Stockholm+50, which consisted in writing a paper summarizing their key policy demands. For instance, the first part of the paper was entitled “Reflecting on the Urgent need for Actions to Achieve a Healthy Planet and Prosperity” and included demands such as “1. Recognize the right to a healthy environment, and introduce a large scale environmental destruction, ecocide, as a punishable crime in international law”.

The previous day, after a conference, an American journalist for InsideClimateNews, Katie Surma, came up to us saying she would be very interested in interviewing us. Hence, I were appointed by Mrs. Surma for an interview by the end of the day. She showed a strong interest for the campaign. The questions were first mainly focused on our personal background, on the campaign itself and on our personal involvement. Then, Mrs. Surma asked us a couple of question on what was the impact of an AO in our opinion and how it might make things change from a legal point of vu.

To sum up these two days, our main goals have been achieved: we gave more visibility to the movement, we found new potential “Friends of the Initiative” and contacts that might be helpful, we met influential political leaders in person, and we reached out with success new campaigners. We are very satisfied of the work done by the team during the Stockholm+50 conference. It was great seeing some of the members again and meeting other nice stubborn optimists at the event!

Share this content:

Webinar: Peace with the biosphere: opposing scientific, political and legal forces?
Climate Justice
24 August 2023 from 5pm to 7pm by Prof. Gilles-Eric Seralini (University of Caen Normandy, co-director of the Risks, Quality and Sustainable ...
Read more
Join-us! June, 29th 2023: Recognizing and strengthening Rights of Future Generations: From the ICJ Climate Case to the UN Summit of the Future -
Climate Justice
Diplomatic Roundtable Thursday June 29  The Diplomat Ballroom, Millennium Hilton, One UN Plaza, New York  9:45-13:00 New York Time / ...
Read more
Join-us! June, 29th 2023: Recognizing and strengthening Rights of Future Generations: From the ICJ Climate Case to the UN Summit of the Future -
News
Diplomatic Roundtable Thursday June 29  The Diplomat Ballroom, Millennium Hilton, One UN Plaza, New York  9:45-13:00 New York Time / ...
Read more
The ICJ case on Climate Change : How to influence the hearings
Climate Justice
A webinar organized by Normandy Chair for Peace and World’s Youth for Climate Justice Monday May 22, 2023 - online Session 1: ...
Read more
The ICJ case on Climate Change : How to influence the hearings
Climate Justice
A webinar organized by Normandy Chair for Peace and World’s Youth for Climate Justice Monday May 22, 2023 - online Session 1 : ...
Read more
Professor Aragão praises NCP’s open approach to research & interdisciplinary teams.
Climate Justice
The Normandy Chair for Peace, an interdisciplinary platform for research and education, has been making strides in promoting responsible legal ...
Read more
David M. Forman’s Inspiring Journey with Normandy Chair for Peace and Unforgettable Co-Authoring Experience with Emilie Gaillard
Climate Justice
David M. Forman, Director of the Environmental Law Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, recently discussed ...
Read more
12-hour Inter-Regional Dialogue: Human Rights in the Face of Climate Crisis
Climate Justice
A youth-led initiative to bring Climate Justice to the International Court of Justice–a historic time! The United Nations General ...
Read more