Five U.S. Indian tribes submitted a complaint to the United Nations alleging that the U.S. government has violated their human rights in failing to address climate displacement. The complaint calls on several Special Rapporteurs to intervene and investigate, and to recommend that the U.S. government and the states of Alaska and Louisiana take steps to address displacement caused by climate change.
The Alaska Institute for Justice submitted the complaint on behalf of five tribes located in Louisiana and Alaska: Point-au-Chien Indian Tribe, Grand Caillou/Dulac Band of Biloxi-Citimacha-Cochtow Tribe, the Atakapa-Ishak Chawasha Tribe of the Grand Bayou Indian Village, and the Native Village of Kivalina. The complaint is directed to the Special Rapporteurs on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, among others. The complainants assert that they are being forcibly displaced from their ancestral lands as a result of climate change, and that the U.S. government has failed to protect them despite knowing for decades that climate change threatens coastal communities. They further contend that the U.S. government's inaction has gone beyond basic negligence where the government has failed to engage, consult, acknowledge and promote the self-determination of the tribes as they develop adaptation strategies, including resettlement. The complaint also alleges that by failing to federally recognize the named Louisiana tribes, the U.S. government is further hamstringing efforts to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.
The complaint asks the Special Rapporteurs to recommend that the U.S. government recognize the self-determination and inherent sovereignty of all the tribes; grant federal recognition to those that have not yet received it; and take certain steps to protect the tribes' land and cultural heritage, among other things. The complaint further asks the Special Rapporteurs to recommend that the Louisiana state government allocate funding to the named Louisiana tribes to respond to the humanitarian crisis caused by climate change; require the oil and gas industry to give advanced notice of their intent to conduct operations that may pose a risk to tribal cultural heritage, land, and waters; and hold oil and gas corporations responsible for damages caused to the Louisiana coast, among other things. The complaint also seeks a recommendation that the Alaska state government allocate funding to implement the tribal-led relocation process for Kivalina, and that all three governments develop relocation institutional frameworks.
The complainants' claims arise out of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the Pinheiro Principles on Housing and Property Restitution, and the Peninsula Principles on human rights that must be enforced when people are forcibly displaced because of climate change. The complaint also cites the right to self-determination of all peoples, the Charter of the UN, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and Article 3 of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In September 2020, ten UN Special Rapporteurs, on cultural rights, environment, food, housing, indigenous peoples, internally displaced persons, poverty, racism, water and sanitation, jointly communicated the case the U.S. government, detailing the allegations and sought clarification on the measures taken by the government, and included a reference annex on international human rights law. The Rapporteurs refer to the applicability of Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), including right to food, water and housing; Article 12 ICESCR on the right to health; Article 15 ICESCR on cultural rights, and related civil and political rights, including likely Article 27 ICCPR; and the UN Convention on Racial Discrimination (CERD), along with several non-binding human rights instruments, such as the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the IASC Framework on Durable Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons, the United Nations Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement, and UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The rapporteurs note that whilst the USA is not bound to the ICESCR, it cannot against ‘the object and purpose’ of this instrument because it signed the treaty.
To date, the government of the USA did not respond to this particular communication.
On November 30, 2022, during the White House Tribal Nations Summit, the Biden administration announced a $115 million commitment to the Voluntary Community-Driven Relocation Program, administered by the Department of the Interior, “to assist Tribal communities severely impacted by climate-related environmental threats.” This commitment will be allocated among “11 severely impacted Tribes to advance relocation efforts and adaptation planning,” in the form of relocation ($75 million) and planning ($40 million) grants. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law commits $130 for community relocation and $86 million for Tribal climate resilience and adaptation projects. It does not appear that any of the tribes that were party to the U.N. complaint received funding via the commitment announced in November.
Rights of Indigenous People in Addressing Climate-Forced Displacement
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At Issue: U.S. tribes filed human rights complaint with UN, alleging U.S. government has failed to address climate-caused displacement.