'Developed nations responsible for climate change' 08.11.2010
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A shadow climate tribunal has held developed countries singularly responsible for destroying the livelihoods of fisherfolks communities in coastal Bangladesh.
The shadow climate tribunal observed that climate change was responsible for bringing about the misery to these communities dependent on nature, and thus held the Annexe-1 countries (as in Kyoto Protocol), who are large emitters, to be responsible.
UK-based international NGO, Oxfam organised the tribunal, aiming to find ways to safeguard victims of climate change in a legal context.
Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood (CSRL), an alliance of local NGOs and civil service organisation, coordinated the event, held Monday at the city's Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
A five-member jury panel headed by Bangladesh Human Rights Commission's chief Mizanur Rahman heard testimonies of four climate victims from different backgrounds, ranging from housewives in cyclone affected coastal regions to fishermen lost at sea and landing up in Indian jails.
It also heard from a two experts of climate change and international law in an effort to establish a link between the science of climate change, its national and international legal aspects and the on-going multilateral negotiations.
Unfortunately, the world still lacks a legally binding international instrument which could facilitate ensuring compensation to the climate change affected countries by the developed world, the carbon emitters, according to law expert Ahmed Ziauddin.
"Bangladesh as a state can file its complaints in the Hague-based UN international court, the WTO and UNESCO, but there's now way to move individually for such damages," he said.
An act for climate change as well as an article in this regard should be included in the constitution of Bangladesh, added Ziauddin.
"There is no legal definition of climate change in Bangladesh," he added.
Climate change expert Ahsan Uddin Ahmed told the tribunal that the developed nations ask for specific accounts of damage due to climate change in an apparent effort to shirk their responsibilities.
"This is just impossible," he said, "that climate change is responsible, is scientifically proven but a separate account for that is hard to establish."
After hearing testimonies, the jury recommended formulation of a separate law and including an article in the constitution on climate change.
The jury ruled that since the developed nations were mostly responsible for the atrocities of climate change, it was their liability to pay for the mitigations.
It also observed that the human rights of the coastal area people had been violated by the affects of climate change.
The jury panel consisted of lawmakers Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Tarana Halim, Hasanul Huq Inu and economist Quazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmed.
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