This update covers developments relating to the civic space conditions in Tuvalu from 1st November 2024 to 12th May 2025.
GENERAL
According to data published in 2024 by NASA, in the next 30 years, Tuvalu will experience a rise in sea level of at least 6 inches (15 centimeters), regardless of whether greenhouse gas emissions change in the coming years. Tuvalu has been sounding alarm bells for years about climate change, and CSOs are integral partners in Tuvalu’s fight against it. Most events reported in this update relate to this issue. Climate variability and limited terrestrial resource stores impact Tuvalu’s food and water security and increase displacement and reliance on international aid during disasters. According to the numbers of the Lowly Institute Pacific Aid Map, Tuvalu has the highest Official Development Assistance to Gross National Income ratio in the Pacific Islands region, with aid accounting for 80% of national income. In a global context, Tuvalu is the most aid-reliant country in the world.
The future of the young people of Tuvalu is already at stake. Climate change is more than an environmental crisis. It is about justice, survival for nations like Tuvalu, and global responsibility.
- Grace Malie, youth leader with the Rising Nations Initiative
Grants to to Enhance Climate Financing, Disaster Response
On 1st March 2025, the World Bank committed US$7 million in new grants to help Tuvalu promote climate and disaster oriented fiscal resilience and improve the institutional framework for climate and disaster resilient infrastructure. Tuvalu is highly vulnerable to rising seas, cyclones, prolonged droughts, and other climate-related events.
Proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change
In 2023, the UN General Assembly requested the International Court of Justice to clarify the obligations of States under international law to ensure the protection of the climate system. Tuvalu participates in the proceedings. On 20th December 2024, Tuvalu replied to the questions asked by judges. Tuvalu submits that States have due diligence obligations to use all means at their disposal to limit the global average temperature rise to prevent ongoing significant harm and avoid future harm to the climate system and other parts of the environment, including, at a minimum, by transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Tuvalu may soon become uninhabitable. In these circumstances, there can be no question that our fundamental right to self-determination is being violated
- Laingane Italeli Talia, attorney-general of Tuvalu, during the oral hearings head at the ICJ.
Special mobility pathway for Tuvaluans to move to Australia
In April 2025, the details of a new visa were released enabling Tuvaluan citizens to permanently migrate to Australia. The visa was created as part of a bilateral treaty signed in 2023, known as the Australia–Tuvalu Falepili Union. It aims to protect the two countries’ shared interests in security and stability and was adopted against the backdrop of the “existential threat posed by climate change”. A total of 280 visas will be allocated each year, allowing people from Tuvalu to move to Australia to live, study or work.
Substantial challenges to achieve gender equality
On 9th April 2025, Prime Minister Feleti Teo appeared before the Pacific Technical Cooperation Session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in Fiji. He said that discriminatory laws and cultural norms continue to be obstacles to full gender equality in his island nation and that "unique structural challenges”, such as the island’s geography, constrains the government's capacity to enforce laws and policies and complicates access to justice and essential services for women experiencing gender-based violence or those seeking economic opportunities.
Increase in Tuvalu’s connectivity through undersea telecommunications cable
On 12th November 2024, the land-based works started for the Tuvalu Vaka cable project, Tuvalu’s first international undersea telecommunications cable. The Vaka cable is a USD56 million project delivered by the Government of Tuvalu, Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation, Google, and supported by four funding partners. Originally developed to enhance internet connectivity for isolated islands among others, undersea fibre optic cables are also becoming a strategic issue among rival countries. According to the general manager of the Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation, this cable will increase access to information and essential services.
ASSEMBLY
Tuvalu Participates in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence
On 24th November 2024, the 16 Days of Activism Campaign Against Violence Against Women and Girls was launched by community groups, organisations and the Prime Minister’s Office with a motorcade through Funafuti. During the 16 days, activities took place across Tuvalu to raise awareness and promote a safer and more equitable society. The campaign was organised with the support of the Government of Australia.
Te Aso o te Paula: Remembering the Day of the Bomb
On 23rd April 2025, Tuvalu commemorated the 1943 bomb attack by Japan on Funafuti by holding memorial services, storytelling, and fatele dances, which preserve the lived memories of war through Tuvaluan tradition and oral history. The Tuvaluan government emphasises that it is also a time for remembrance and renewed calls for peace.
ASSOCIATION
On 22nd April 2025, the Department of Trade handed over a grant of $15,000 to the Tuvalu National Council of Women to assist the CSO in conducting assessments on handicraft production with island women’s groups, developing training modules on handicraft and basic business skills, and creating an e-commerce platform.
EXPRESSION
State of the Media Report
On 4th March 2025, the State of the Media project led by ABC International Development issued a report on the state of the media in Tuvalu. The report notes that the media sector consists solely of the national broadcaster: Tuvalu Broadcasting Corporation (TVBC), which operates Radio Tuvalu and Tuvalu TV. There is no print media. As there are no private media, diversity of news content is limited. As mentioned above, the undersea cable system is expected to enable improved and cheaper internet connectivity.