Vanuatu‘s Climate Justice Case at the ICJ

Six 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 chance 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 surroundings and culture – hoping that telling their stories might led to a better future.

In 2025, Aguon argued the case before the international court of justice (ICJ) in The Hague and months later, the court issued a landmark ruling which determined nations have a legal obligation