Secretary-General: Rising seas are sinking futures

I am pleased to be with you today, at a moment of great challenge to international law.

The work of this Commission has rarely been more vital, and I say so with full awareness of how often those words are spoken in these halls.

These are trying times for the rule of law, for multilateralism, and for the United Nations itself.

The norms that form the bedrock of the international legal order are being challenged, eroded – and at times openly defied.

Institutions that represent decades of hard-won achievement are under mounting strain – and in some quarters, under open attack.

And impunity is on the rise.

Finding legal solutions to today’s crises is a fundamental duty for us all.

And shaping the future of international law – by anticipating tomorrow’s challenges – falls with particular weight on this Commission.

Let us be clear: international law is under pressure – but it will prevail.

Most States continue to defend it – and trust in it.

The dockets of international tribunals demonstrate as much.
And its language is invoked even by those who do not always honour it.

That is a testament to the enduring authority of the framework this Commission helps develop and codify.

I welcome the recent convening of diplomatic conferences on two issues born of work done in this very house.  

First, on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity.

And second, on the protection of persons in the event of disasters.

They are living proof that the progressive development and codification of international law endures – and advances.

I also offer my warm congratulations to the Commission for completing, in 2025, its landmark report on sea-level rise in relation to international law.

This is a seminal contribution to the international legal order: rigorous, forward-looking, and of lasting consequence.

Rising seas are sinking futures.

They endanger coastlines, livelihoods – and even the very existence of States themselves.

For small island developing States – the least responsible for this crisis – the threat is existential.

Sea-level rise is a threat multiplier.

We must act now to close the gaps in existing legal frameworks – before it’s too late.

The Commission’s report lays essential groundwork for the work the General Assembly will take up later this year.

And the next steps now rest with Member States.

My hope is that the international community will rise to the moment with the same resolve this Commission has brought to the task.

The world needs rigorous legal thinking – drawing on different legal traditions, diverse points of view and backgrounds.

It needs the wisdom and lived experience that the women and men in this room bring to the work of the Commission.

It needs the patient, careful development of legal norms and rules that can hold firm under pressure.

And the steady conviction that law – not power – must govern relations among nations.

I look forward to the results of this session, and I am deeply grateful for your dedication.

When I opened the general debate of the General Assembly last year, I challenged world leaders to reaffirm the imperative of international law;

To reassert the centrality of multilateralism; to reinforce justice and human rights;

And, simultaneously, to recognize the purposes and principles that gave rise to this Organization.

That call rings more urgently today than ever.

The work of this Commission is one of its clearest answers.

And I congratulate you for your extremely important contribution to the rule of law in today’s world.

Thank you.

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