ABSTRACT
Natural catastrophes, droughts, and other weather occurrences are forcing a growing number of people to evacuate their homes as the global climate crisis deepens. These folks are frequently referred to as "climate refugees." Who exactly are these climate refugees? And how can the international community solve this issue effectively?
INTRODUCTION
Many people in underdeveloped nations are currently suffering from unprecedented droughts and windstorms, depriving them of daily food and other necessities. Many migrants from the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, which were ravaged by two huge storms last November, streamed across the border into Mexico and proceeded for the US border.
The term "climate refugees" was developed to reflect the growing large-scale migrations and cross-border mass migrations of people induced in part by such weather-related tragedies.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released data in April showing that the number of people displaced by climate change-related disasters has risen to 21.5 million since 2010, noting that "in addition to sudden disasters, climate change is a complex cause of food and water shortages, as well as difficulties in accessing natural resources."
Another issue is sea-level rising. The number of people living in coastal regions at high danger of rising sea levels has doubled from 160 million to 260 million in the last 30 years, with 90% coming from impoverished developing countries and small island governments. For example, it is anticipated that by 2050, 17% of Bangladesh would be drowned by rising sea levels. As a result, 20 million people will be displaced.
According to the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), an Australian international think tank, the Ecosystem Threat Register (ETR) issued in September 2018, at least 1.2 billion people might be displaced by these hazards by 2050. The worldwide approach to the problem has gradually begun to evolve in this setting.
A GLOBAL RESPONSE
The United Nations Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, adopted in 2018, states unequivocally that one of the factors causing large-scale migration is "the adverse impacts of climate change and environmental degradation," which includes natural disasters, desertification, land degradation, drought, and rising sea levels. The compact clearly states that governments should work to protect climate refugees in the countries of their arrival by devising planned relocation and visa options if adaptation and return is not possible in their countries of origin for migrants who are forced to leave their countries of origin due to environmental degradation.
Previously, in March 2018, the UN Human Rights Council issued an outcome paper that addressed the problem of cross-border migration caused by climatic disasters from the standpoint of human rights protection.
The document stated that many people who are forced to migrate long distances and cross borders due to climate impacts do not fit the definition of "refugees," and that the legal system to protect their human rights is insufficient because the "non-refoulement principle," which states that people who have crossed borders should not be deported or repatriated to their original countries against their will, is not applied.
It then urged governments to "incorporate the concept of human rights protection into the planning and implementation of climate change measures," such as preventing large-scale displacement by allowing people to live in conditions that protect their human rights and promoting human rights-conscious planned relocation as a means of climate change adaptation.
The judgement reached by the UN Commission on Human Rights in January 2018 drew a lot of attention from those involved.
Ioane Teitiota of Kiribati, a South Pacific island country threatened by rising sea levels, requested for refugee status as a "climate refugee" with the New Zealand government, but his application was denied, and he was deported to Kiribati in 2015.In 2016, he filed a complaint with the UN Covenant on Civil Liberties, saying that the repatriation violated his right to life.
Although the Committee backed the New Zealand government's judgement, finding that Mr Teitiota's life was not in danger, it recognised that "the impacts of climate change," such as rising sea levels, "represent a substantial threat to the right to life of persons living in nations like Kiribati." It found that national courts and others must consider this when contesting migrants' repatriation to their countries of origin. People experiencing climate change consequences that breach their right to life cannot be deported to their place of origin, according to the judgement. The decision has been hailed as “a decision that opens the door to climate change-related refugee claims.”
GOVERNMENT ACTIONS
Governments are becoming more aware of the problem as well. In his policy address in 2015, just prior to the Paris Agreement's approval, the then-president of the European Union, Jean-Claude Juncker, stated: "Climate change is even one [of] the fundamental causes of a new migration phenomena." Climate refugees will be a new issue if we do not act quickly," he added, emphasizing the significance of stepping up efforts. The European Parliament has also begun to hold discussions.
CONCLUSION
Given the gravity of the situation, it is difficult to argue that the international community and countries are doing enough to assist climate change refugees.
One reason for this is the lack of a clear definition of climate refugees, as well as the absence of international organisations and institutions to address and explain the issue. The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which protects those who have a well-founded fear of persecution, does not apply to climate change refugees. They are not protected under the Convention on racial, religious, or other grounds. Climate refugees are the "forgotten victims of climate change" since official data on them is essentially non-existent.
As the crisis of climate change refugees worsens, there is an urgent need to define climate refugees, including comprehensive data on internally displaced persons (IDPs), and to establish an international mechanism to protect them. It could be worthwhile to continue discussing how to address this issue within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
This Editorial Column is authored by Ayushi Singh, first year student at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law
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