The cable, seen by Al Jazeera, says the US is “strongly opposed” to the island nation seeking support for the ICJ’s landmark climate change ruling.
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Published February 14, 2026
The United States is calling on countries to pressure Vanuatu to withdraw a draft UN resolution upholding the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) landmark ruling that countries have a legal obligation to act on climate change.
The Trump administration “strongly opposes” a resolution circulated by the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu in support of last year’s ruling by the United Nations’ highest court, the ICJ, according to a State Department cable seen by Al Jazeera on Saturday.
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The Associated Press, which also reported the cable, said the cable was circulated to all US embassies and consulates this week, shortly after Vanuatu announced it would submit the draft UN resolution for consideration.
“We urge Vanuatu to immediately withdraw the draft resolution and cease any attempt to use the court’s advisory opinion as a basis to pave the way for the pursuit of false claims regarding international legal obligations,” a copy of the cable seen by Al Jazeera countries said.
The ICJ’s 15 judges considered tens of thousands of pages of written submissions and two weeks of oral arguments in the largest case in the court’s history, ruling last year that states have a legal obligation to act against the “existing threat” of climate change.
The ICJ case comes after Vanuatu secured support from 132 countries at the United Nations General Assembly, which allows it to consult the Hague-based court.
It also comes as the Trump administration seeks to undo US action on climate change, both domestically and at the United Nations.
U.S.C. claims that Vanuatu’s draft UN resolution supporting the ICJ opinion is based on “speculative climate modeling to fabricate legal obligations that seek to shift responsibility and encourage baseless claims.”
Louis Charbonneau, director of the United Nations Human Rights Watch, appealed for support for the draft Vanuatu resolution on Friday, saying “governments must fulfill their obligations” to protect human rights around the world through environmental protection.
“Responsible governments should not allow themselves to be bullied by governments that reject the global scientific consensus and continue to support dependence on harmful fossil fuels.”
Vanuatu’s Ambassador to the UN Odo Tebi said his country hoped to vote on the resolution by the end of March, stressing that the clarity of the ICJ ruling would “strengthen global climate action and multilateral cooperation”.
According to an article in Vanuatu’s Daily Post newspaper, the draft resolution was supported by countries including Barbados, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Jamaica, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, the Netherlands, Palau, the Philippines, Singapore and Sierra Leone.
Many of these countries are already experiencing the worsening effects of climate change, including increasingly severe storms.
President Trump, who promised to “drill, baby drill” oil in his second term, withdrew the United States from United Nations climate change agencies, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the United Nations’ highest climate change treaty body.
President Trump also threatened to impose sanctions on diplomats at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) who voted in favor of taxing polluting ship fuel.
