Climate change, recognized as a serious international concern for decades, was never as visible and threatening as it is today. Its impacts have profound implications for human societies, especially in regions already vulnerable due to poverty, inequality, or political instability.  Among others, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its landmark rulings on climate change and human rights in 2024.  Australia and Tuvalu entered into the worldwide bilateral agreement on climate migration in 2023 (came into force in August 2024). A record number of States and international organizations participated in advisory proceedings before the International Court of Justice on Obligations of States in relation to climate change. This panel will discuss obligations of States and the international community to take measures reducing the necessity of migration due to climate change and ensure fundamental rights to those already forcibly displaced due to its adverse impacts. The panellists will argue that the notion of climate change emergency is inadequate, and suggest a paradigmatic shift to adequately address new realities, as the adverse impacts of climate change are not, and must not be tackled as, a one-off event.

Panellists:

Vasilka Sancin, PhD, is a Professor of International Law, Head of Department of International Law at University of Ljubljana. She has been recently elected as a Judge at the European Court of Human Rights (commencing in May 2025). She is also a member of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee; served (2019-2022) as a member and Vice-Chair of the UN Human Rights Committee; an arbitrator and Bureau member of the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration (OSCE); an expert of the OSCE Moscow mechanism on Human Rights; President of the Slovene Branch of International Law Association (ILA) and a co-chair of the ILA’s Committee on International Migration and International Law. Among many research activities, she is a project leader of basic research project titled (Re)Conceptualization of the Legal Paradigm on Climate Change: Developing New Legal Normality to Achieve Sustainable Practices, co-financed by the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency.

Sanzhuan (Sandra) Guo, PhD, is an Associate Professor in Law and Socio Legal Studies, College of Business, Government and Law at Flinders University, Australia. Sandra has been an accredited immigration law specialist in Australia since 2016. She has a PhD in international law from Peking Law School (China), a Juris Doctor from Melbourne Law School (Australia) and an LLM from Northwestern University School of Law (USA). She is currently a Visiting Fellow at Harvard Law School Human Rights Program. She is the Rapporteur of the ILA’s Committee on International Migration and International Law.  As part of her visiting research at Harvard, Sandra is working on a project on Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union Treaty, the first worldwide bilateral climate migration treaty.

This event is sponsored by The University of Chicago Law School's International Programs, International Law Society and Human Rights Law Society.

Lunch will be provided. Please submit dietary requests eight business days prior to the program to Aican Nguyen at aican@uchicago.edu. Although we will try to accommodate dietary needs, it is not guaranteed.