A Kiribati man who made an unsuccessful bid to become the world's first climate change refugee will apply to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations as he awaits deportation from New Zealand.
Ioane Teitiota has for years argued his family's health was at risk if they returned to low-lying Kiribati, which suffers from rising sea levels and water supplies that are contaminated by salt and sewage.
The Supreme Court of New Zealand in July declined an appeal by Teitiota to overturn a decision to not grant him refugee status on those grounds.
Teitiota was on Tuesday morning taken into custody and is expected to be deported in the next week, his lawyer says.
Michael Kidd said Teitiota will be making a bail application in Waitakere District Court on Thursday morning in a bid to stay the deportation.
"We are applying to the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations," Mr Kidd.
Mr Kidd said he had written to the Immigration Minister Michael Woodhouse following the Supreme Court decision but had never received a reply.
A spokeswoman for Mr Woodhouse said the minister had no intention to intervene and had referred the letter to Immigration New Zealand.
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