Call for inputs on sea-level rise and human rights

United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee

This submission is made by the Sea Country Alliance. Rising sea levels impact the rights of many coastal Indigenous Peoples to practice their culture. This may be through the erosion of their coastal cultural sites, loss of cultural species or impact on marine use for trade. As cultural rights are collective in nature, it is important that in managing their use and recognition, it is the representative and collective entity that is consulted. As with many areas of regulation and law, the identification of individuals with whom to consult on cultural matters is erroneous in an Indigenous Peoples human rights context.