Sea Level Rise as a Form of Gendered Climate Violence: International Legal Implications for Migration

An only apparently neutral phenomenon, climate change and its effects, including sea level rise, exacerbate situations of discrimination, including gender-based discrimination, which are already present in societies. Like other phenomena of environmental deterioration caused by (a part of) humanity, it contributes to determining migration flows. The aim of this chapter is to conceive sea level rise as a form of what we have defined, in broader research, as ‘environmental chronic emergency’, and a form of climate violence, and to explain that migration because of sea level rise is not gender neutral. After explaining the notions of ‘climate violence’ and ‘gendered migrations’, the chapter will rely on the work of several UN bodies and rapporteurs to identify the connection between women, climate, and migration, and will explain what an ecofeminist method in international law means regarding this connection. It will then critically read the Teitiota case (Human Rights Committee (2019). Ioane Teitiota v. New Zealand: Communication No. 2728/2016. United Nations.) and argue that human rights justifications invoked by States in migration and climate adaptation and mitigation policies conceal patterns of discrimination and oppression.