Fernand Guevara Mekongo Mballa

Biography

Fernand is a doctoral candidate in international law, and an experienced humanitarian and project manager with focus on education. He is currently working on a book about african youth and climate change under the supervision of springer nature ( conceptual note). He served as mentor for the Yale Young Global Scholars Program in Cameroon for three years , and frequently serves as application reviewer for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Program.

Interview

1. What’s a climate litigation case or trend that has caught your attention recently, and why?

The climate litigation trend that caught my attention recently is the request for advisory opinions about state responsibility / obligations vis à vis the consequences of climate change before the International Court of Justice and regional courts in Africa and Americas. It proves that there’s a dissatisfaction about the actual implementation of State Parties ‘obligations in tackling climate change, especially regarding the Pari’s Agreement. This dissatisfaction is global because, although there’s actually no request for advisory opinion before the European Court of Human Rights, climate litigation cases like Urgenda or Klimansenioren, both by their procedures and outcomes demonstrate that judiciary authorities and the civil society are at the frontline to enhance effective action against climate change and protect  human rights. At the regional levels, the requests for advisory opinions in the context of climate emergency aims to better address the specificities of the impacts of climate change at the regional level. That is why I feel the advisory opinions of regional courts are also very important in determining the scope of State responsibility. You will observe that the requests for advisory opinions at the regional levels are more detailed than the request submitted before the ICJ. There is a large specter approach in the request for advisory opinion at the regional level because of the extreme vulnerability of those regions and their populations to the consequences of climate change. Those consequences, they cannot face alone because of their limited resources and technical capacities. This is why the advisory opinions at the regional level also include sub questions regarding international cooperation. I think they complement the request for advisory opinion submitted by Vanuatu with the support of the united Nation’s General Assembly before the ICJ.

2. What’s one project or aspect of your work in climate litigation that you're particularly excited about in the next six months?

The project I am particularly excited about in the next six months is the completion and hopefully the defense of my thesis on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. I seize this opportunity to express my thanks to my thesis director at the Catholic University of Central Africa, professor Jean Didier Boukongou for his patience during all those years. Embarking on a thesis journey is demanding, both intellectually and materially. Those demands are draining and at times intersperse with episodes of discouragement. Fortunately, I have an experienced thesis director who understand these struggles and is always willing to accompany his doctoral students because he feels it is a duty for him. He is a great source of inspiration and motivation to us. I would also like to seize this opportunity to thanks Dr Maria Antonia Tigre for all the trust she has placed on me for two years now as rapporteur for Cameroon and the Africa region in the Sabin Center’s network of rapporteurs. The various opportunities for collaboration in this network are really eye opening for me because, it provides me with both the global and specific analysis of climate litigation I need for my thesis. Additionally, she has leadership skills I learn a lot from. Thanks to her I really appreciate the meaning of universalism of science. Finally, I would also like to thank Professor Maia Hamrouni of Sorbone University Abu Dhabi, whose thesis on the very same principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, provided me the adequate footing I needed to get started with my own work.

Apart from my thesis, I would like as Rapporteur for the Africa region, to increase the number of rapporteurs covering the region. I have noticed that, there is not a sufficient number of rapporteurs from the francophone region of the continent in our network. There are critical regions like Sahel (Niger, Burkina-Faso, Mali, Chad…) which are not yet covered. We need rapporteurs covering those regions, but also key francophone countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin. In the Central Africa Region (Central African Republic, Republic of Congo…). I feel achieving the total coverage of the continent will make our work as Rapporteurs more efficient. I seize this opportunity to ask to my fellow co-rapporteurs of Africa and other regions not to hesitate to recommend potential rapporteurs for those abovementioned countries. Although this work is voluntary, it is extremely beneficial. I was honored to participate in the ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change: Summary of Briefs and Statements Submitted to the Tribunal she co edited, and happy to be involved in the forthcoming projects. I hope within the next six month we may work on a specific project related to climate litigation in the Africa region that may be published next year.

3. Is there any specific place in the world that inspires you to continue your line of work in advancing climate justice/action?

Of course, the specific region that inspires me is Vanuatu. I am very impressed by the diplomatic achievements of such a small country (Island) by geopolitical and geographic standards. It is a tribute to all Vanuatuan because the request for an advisory opinion initially started with the students of the University of South Pacific, Elamus campus in Vanuatu. How a simple student’s initiative became a request for an advisory opinion to the ICJ, supported by United Nation’s General Assembly is a case study that should be taught not only in schools of Law but also in schools of diplomacy. I was also impressed by the moving testimonial of Naima Te Maile (whose name is that of a small island in Tuvalu) before the International Tribunal of the Law of Sea, who told the judges her daughter would certainly never know the Island she is named after because, it will have disappeared, submerged by sea level rise by the time she becomes adult. The fate of Tuvalu is the epitome of the consequences of climate change if no serious action is taken. I hope these gloomy perspectives do not materialize because for what I could see online, it is a beautiful Island, which I hope someday to visit.