Pacific lawyer Julian Aguon to be honoured with Right Livelihood award for his work that led to ICJ ruling on climate harm
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ix years ago, human rights lawyer Julian Aguon received a call from Vanuatu’s foreign affairs minister. The minister had an unusual request – he wanted Aguon to help develop a legal case on behalf of dozens of law students who were seeking climate justice from the world’s highest court.
Aguon, a Chamorro lawyer based in Guam, was excited by the opportunity and believed they could clear up legal ambiguities he says had “long hobbled the ability of the international community to respond effectively to the climate crisis.”
Over years, Aguon and his team gathered testimonies from all across the Pacific about losses inflicted by climate change. They heard from people in Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and other places who broke with cultural protocol to share sacred knowledge of their environment and culture – hoping that telling their stories might lead to a better future.
