Ayman shape
A recent Bahraini study warned of an existential threat to some countries that may disappear by the year 2100, such as Tofalo, and called on the Kingdom of Bahrain to deposit its marine coordinates with the United Nations without the intention to update them in the future, while legalizing this legally as a precautionary measure to face the impact of sea level rise, which is a legal and diplomatic reference in international forums when needed.
The leading academic thesis highlighted the international legal framework for the protection of countries that are threatened with disappearance; Because of the rise in sea level, it demanded the redefinition of the concepts of sovereignty and the region in international law, while the supervisors of the study recommended that they be approved as an official work document for the Kingdom of Bahrain.
In light of the exacerbation of the climatic challenges, the thesis presented by the researcher Dalal Al -Mishari came, through which she obtained a master’s degree in public law from the University of Bahrain with a grace of privilege with honors, which is marked by “international responsibility for the damages that the state remains as a result of the rise in sea level” to raise the alarm from the repercussions of climate change to the existence of the state.
The researcher pointed out that the rise in the sea level, which may threaten the sovereignty of the island states (such as Tuwalo) and the low coastal areas (such as Bangladesh) with the loss of its territory, which raises questions about their legal continuity in the international community.
Vulgues of the current agreements
The researcher said that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) does not provide sufficient protection for the island states in the event of a change in their geographical features, and that the Montevideo Convention (1933) is known as the standards of the state (region, residents, government, sovereignty), but it does not specify the situation of the countries that lose its territory.
The researcher also indicated the lack of clarity in the state’s continuity standards in the Montevideo Agreement, and the absence of mechanisms to stabilize the maritime borders of the island countries in light of geographical changes.
New legal concepts
Dalal Al -Mishari put in her thesis on new legal concepts such as the “virtual region”, which suggests recognition of the sub -countries ’sovereignty over their previous marine extensions.
The concept of the “marine state”, which suggests granting a legal status to protect entities threatened with drowning as a result of the high sea level, which loses its land lands, but maintains its political existence.
The thesis concluded with a set of results and leading practical solutions, the most important of which are: freezing marine foundation lines through a flexible interpretation of the Seas Convention, so that the deposit of marine coordinates to the Secretary -General of the United Nations is considered a clear intention to confirm these lines, in the absence of an explicit text obligated to update them when changing the landmarks of the land region.
The study also saw the possibility of protecting the maritime borders from skepticism by concluding bilateral or collective agreements between the affected countries, based on the Vienna Agreement for the Treaties Law that prevents the nullification or amendment of these agreements due to the change of conditions.
The affected countries are solidarity
Through her thesis, the researcher presented an integrated legal vision through a number of recommendations at the international, regional and national levels, the most prominent of which are: Calling the countries affected by the phenomenon of marine immersion to solidarity within the Conferences of the parties to formulate a binding legal protocol attached to the 1982 Law Agreement, to emphasize the stability of marine basic lines, and classifies the sea height as an exceptional natural circumstance that requires organization Special, similar to the Delta areas.
The researcher, Dalal Al -Mashari, also called on the Gulf Cooperation Council states to follow the approach of the member states of the Pacific Islands to adopt a regional practice that included the fixation of its marine lines and not to question them, even after its wild regions were damaged by immersion.
The researcher called on the Kingdom of Bahrain to deposit its maritime coordinates with the United Nations without the intention of updating it in the future, with a legal reason for being a precautionary measure to counter the impact of sea level rise, which constitutes a legal and diplomatic reference in international forums when needed.
For its part, the discussion committee emphasized the scientific value of the thesis, and recommended that the external examiner adopt an official work document for the Kingdom of Bahrain, because of its close connection with the Kingdom’s interests at the international level, especially with regard to the consequences of climate change, the rise in sea level and its impact on the island states and low coastal countries.
The discussion committee consisted of: Dr. Ali Omar Al -Misrati as a supervisor, and Dr. Lulwa Ahmed Al Khalifa is an internal examiner, and a Mohamed Zakaria Abu Al -Dahab from Mohamed V University in the Kingdom of Morocco is an external examiner.
The researcher, Dalal Al -Mishari, confirmed that her goal of this study was not only academic, but humanly and nationally in the first place, so her motivation behind the study stems from a national feeling, and from a deep belief that the rules of international responsibility must be a tool to protect the presence of states in light of the consequences of sea level rise.
