Climate change is causing mass migration as more than 200 million people may be forced to leave their homes by the end of the century due to impacts like sea level rise, extreme weather, and drought. These "climate refugees" have no international legal protection unlike traditional refugees. Advocacy groups are calling for expansion of refugee protections or a new legal framework to address this emerging crisis and ensure basic rights and support for displaced communities. However, others argue a new term is needed to avoid confusion with refugees defined in international law. While human rights frameworks provide some safeguards, a new international regime tailored to climate refugees may ultimately be needed.

1. The first climate
refugees

2. There is a new phenomenon in the global arena called ―Climate
Refugees‖. A climate refugee is a person displaced by
climatically induced environmental disasters. Such disasters
result from incremental and rapid ecological change, resulting
in increased droughts, desertification, sea level rise, and the
more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events such as
hurricanes, cyclones, fires, mass flooding and tornadoes. All
this is causing mass global migration and border conflicts.

4. Climate change threatens to cause the largest refugee crisis in human history. More
than 200 million people, largely in Africa and Asia, might be forced to leave their
homes to seek refuge in other places or countries over the course of the century.
Many climate refugees may seek refuge in their own countries; others will need to
cross borders to find a new home. Some local refugee crises, in particular in the
richer countries in the North, may be prevented through adaptation measures. Many
poorer countries, however, are unlikely to be able to initiate sufficient adaptation
programmes, and climate-induced migration might be the only option for many
communities in the South. In these situations, climate refugees will need to rely on
effective protection and support from the international community.
Different terms have been used to refer
to these future victims of climate
change, like ―environmental
refugees‖, ―environmental migrants‖
or ―environmentally displaced persons‖.
We propose to refer to these people as
―climate refugees‖, which we define as:
people who have to leave their
habitats, immediately or in the near
future, because of sudden or gradual
alterations in their natural environment
related to at least one of three impacts of
climate change: sea-level rise, extreme
weather events, and drought and water

5. WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE DISPLACED ?
No international or national legislation explicitly
No international or national
recognizes or defines ‘environmentally displaced
legislation explicitly
persons’ and there are no bodies mandated to offer
recognizes or defines
them protection. The Guiding Principles for Internal
‗environmentally displaced
Displacement covers those displaced by natural or
persons‘ and there are no
human-made disasters. Principles 10-27 detail the
bodies mandated to offer
protection that should be provided during
them protection. The
displacement but this only applies to those who have
Guiding Principles for
not crossed an international border. In order to
Internal Displacement
address these gaps advocacy groups are seeking
covers those displaced by
expansion of the term ‘refugee’. However, it needs to
natural or human-made
be asked whether this is the best way to offer
disasters. Principles 10-27
protection to those displaced by environmental
detail the protection that
degradation.
should be provided during
displacement but this only
applies to those who have
not crossed an international
border.
In order to address these gaps advocacy groups are seeking expansion of
the term ‗refugee‘. However, it needs to be asked whether this is the best
way to offer protection to those displaced by environmental degradation.

6. The first key point is that
‗environmental/climate refugee‘ is
legally incorrect. A ‗refugee‘ is
defined as someone who has a ―well-
founded fear of being persecuted for
reasons of
race, religion, nationality, membershi
p of a particular social group or
political opinion‖ and ―is outside the
country of his/her nationality‖.
Currently this definition does not
include those displaced by
environmental factors. Use of the
term without any legal expansion of
the definition potentially exposes
groups and individuals to
accusations of naivety and failing to
Avoiding the term ‗refugee‘, UNHCR has cautiously moved a sound alegal basisoffor
produce towards definition
environmentally displaced persons as those: argument
― e n v i r o n m e n ta l ly d i s p l a c e d p e o p l e‖ as
“who are displaced from or who feel obliged to leave their usual place of
residence, because their lives, livelihoods and welfare have been placed at serious risk
as a result of adverse environmental, ecological or climatic processes and events”
To avoid confusion with other categories, such a definition makes no reference to
cross-border movement, nor to displacement related to persecution, armed conflict or
human rights violations. Use of incorrect terminology gives governments grounds to
disregard advocacy on behalf of the environmentally displaced.

7. Promoting the development of more
sophisticated typologies of environmentally
induced migration;
Generating, collating and disseminating reliable
data on the numbers of people migrating
because of environmental impacts;
Promoting the identification and mapping of
potential environmental ‗hotspots‘, ‗tipping
points‘ and migration trends in relation to
environmental depletion;
Enhancing knowledge of livelihood
resilience, successful adaptation, preparedness
and coping strategies used by local populations
to mitigate the impacts of environmental change;
Supporting research which will enhance
understanding of the relationship between
environmental change and conflict;
Commissioning research on potential
governance models for areas experiencing
degradation and migration pressures.

8. COPENHAGEN–Civil society groups Friday launched an International
Campaign on Climate Change Refugees‘ Rights on the sidelines of
climate talks here in the Danish capital.
The social movement groups from Asia, Africa and Latin America joined are
demanding the rights of millions of people being displaced by climate
change.
At the launching of the campaign, Ahmed Swapan Mahmud, executive
director of VOICE, a Bangladesh-based NGO, said, ―Global civil
society groups should come forward to build a wider constituency to
claim the justice and rights of the climate-induced refugees.‖
Mr Ahmed also demanded that ―a legal safeguard protocol should be
in place to ensure the political, social, cultural and economic rights of
the climate refugees by the international community.‖
Goldman Prize Winner and the Executive Director of Bangladesh
Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) Rizwana Hasan was also
present at the launch. She also stressed the need for a legal
institutional framework for the victims of climate change.

9. Dr Ahasan Uddin, one of the authors of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) from Bangladesh demanded a review of
the Geneva Convention on Refugees of 1951 in
light of climate change.
Demanding the recognition of climate
debt, Lidy Nacpil from Jublee South-Asia
Pacific Movement on Debt and Development
(APMDD) said ―We are not asking assistance
or aid butreparations from the industrialized
countries for the over extraction and
consumption of natural resources.‖
Demba Moussa Dembele, the Chair of the LDC Watch from Senegal, and a
member of the international committee of the campaign said, ―We don‘t want
climate change but system change.‖ He said the need of the hour is a new
type of relationship between the North and the South to combat climate
change and ensure rights and justice for climate refugees. The International
Campaign on Climate Refugees‘ Rights (ICCR) is a global independent
association aiming at asserting and realizing the rights and ensuring justice
to climate-induced displaced victims—climate refugees. Civil society groups
from Asia, Africa, Latin and Central America consisting of
Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri
Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Senegal, Uganda, EL Salvador etc, are the

10. Three areas of international law are relevant:
Refugee Law, Climate Change Law and Human
Rights Law. Climate change refugees are not
currently recognized or protected by any of
these international legal regimes.
The Refugee Convention definition of 'Refugee'
does not include climate refugees. The current
definition focuses on persecution based on
race, relation, nationality, political opinion or
membership of a particular social group. As
such climate refugees cannot make a claim for
asylum under the Refugee Convention.
In the face of climate change-related threats,
the human rights perspective adds one
important dimension. National and
international human rights law provide
important safeguards and guidelines for the
protection of affected individuals and
communities.
Giving priority to protecting the most vulnerable and ensuring access to adequate health
services, information and education, are not only indispensable to strengthening climate
change resilience and reducing risks; such measures are dictated by the legal
obligations of States under human rights law.

12. A specific regime is needed for the
people uprooted by climate change,
according to environmental policy
expert Biermann. Those affected share
a number of characteristics that set
them apart from the political refugees
and economic migrants that the world
has seen in the past: "climate
refugees" will not be able to return to
their homelands after a temporary
asylum. They are likely to migrate in
large numbers, collectively and
relatively predictably. And, most
importantly, they have a strong moral
and legal claim against the
international community, since the
world's richest nations have done
most to cause their problems.
That is why Biermann considers that
"a new legal instrument specifically
tailored for the needs of climate
refugees" needs to be created "as well
as a separate funding mechanism". A
protocol to the existing United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) could be such an

13. Given the recognised protection needs of the environmentally displaced in the Asia-Pacific region, as
well as the current legal and political obstacles of recognising this group as ‗refugees‘, the following
points may serve as a starting point for developing more effective advocacy for the protection of
‗environmentally displaced persons‘:
Develop a clear definition of an ‗environmentally displaced person‘ (EDP) as a basis for advocacy and
the development of policy
Encourage governments to recognise the plight of EDPs and support the development of migration
agreements to assist potentially displaced persons. New Zealand‘s agreements with Pacific states could
provide an example
Encourage governments to sign up to and adhere to the Guiding Principles for Internal Displacement
and to recognise their applicability to the protection needs of those displaced as a result of climate
change within country borders.

14. THIS PRESENTATION WAS MADE BY:
•KRITIKA CHOUDHARY, ROLL NUMBER 853, ROOM 10
•AFREEN KHURSHID, ROLL NUMBER 854, ROOM 10
•PREETI CHOWDHURY, ROLL NUMBER 855, ROOM 10
•KYNETHA TORCATO, ROLL NUMBER 856, ROOM 10