President urges UN to protect Pacific statehood from rising seas
Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu says countries must retain sovereignty and maritime rights despite rising seas
Saturday 26 September 2026 | 06:00
President, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu addressing the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, U.S.
Photo: Supplied
President Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu has urged the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to establish international law protecting a country’s statehood and maritime boundaries even when rising sea levels alter its coastline.
“No state should lose its rights, its identity, or its seat in this hall, because of a coastline altered by others’ emissions,” he told the Assembly in New York, United States of America.
Ratu Naiqama said statehood, once established, should continue, while maritime zones lawfully established and deposited with the United Nations should remain in place despite changes caused by sea-level rise.
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Fiji has previously supported the preservation of baselines and outer limits of maritime zones established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as continuity of statehood for countries affected by climate change-related sea-level rise.
Ratu Naiqama welcomed the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the obligations of states in relation to climate change, saying it demonstrated that climate responsibility was a legal obligation, not simply a political or moral issue.
He said the task now was to act on the opinion. Ratu Naiqama said US$173 million (F$388.7 million) had been pledged to the Pacific Resilience Facility, against a target of US$500 million (F$1.1 billion) by December.
He said the facility’s first grants were already reaching communities.
“A village seawall does not need a three-year accreditation process — it needs money that arrives,” he said.
He also called for the Loss and Damage Fund to operate at a scale that matched the needs of affected communities, with simpler access to financing.
Fiji and Tuvalu will host Pacific Pre-COP31 activities from October 5 to 8, ahead of COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, in November. The Pacific Pre-COP will focus on regional climate priorities and amplifying Pacific voices ahead of the global climate talks.
Ratu Naiqama invited delegations to “come to the Pacific” and see first-hand what a rising sea meant for villages with nowhere to move.
He said deep-sea exploitation should not proceed until there was sufficient scientific evidence and clear rules to govern such activities.
