Prospects for protection in light of the Human Rights Committee’s decision in Teitiota v New Zealand

The recent decision of the Human Rights Committee (HRC) in the case between Ioane Teitiota and New Zealand was hailed by many as an important step towards the protection of climate refugees. For the first time, it seems that a window has been opened in international law for the legal protection of those having to migrate due to the catastrophic results of climate change. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights referred to it as a ‘historic’ decision that ‘opens [the] door to climate change asylum cases’. Media outlets have labelled this ruling as a ‘landmark’ decision, and organisations such as Amnesty International defined it as ‘a ground-breaking asylum case’