[WSIS CS-Plenary] We call global leaders to develop a new legal instrument to ensure social, cultural and economic rights of the climate change induced forced migrants
AHM Bazlur Rahman
ceo at bnnrc.net
Thu Dec 2 03:47:15 GMT 2010
We call global leaders to develop a new legal instrument
to ensure social, cultural and economic rights of
the climate change induced forced migrants
We the undersigned, the NGOs/CSOs (Non Government Organization/ Civil Society Organization) representatives of professional groups, would like to draw kind attention of the global leaders on the rights of the climate change induced forced migrants. The UNFCCC, which has near universal membership, provides the common international framework to address the causes and consequences of climate change, without however mentioning 'climate change induced forced migrants'. Given the context, we are calling global leaders to develop a new legal instrument under a Protocol under the UNFCCC to ensure social, cultural and economic rights of the climate change induced forced migrants. Our concerns and demand have been heightened by the following analysis on the future flood of the climate change induced forced migrants:
1)Climate change will significantly affect migration in three distinct ways; i) the effects of warming and drying in some regions, ii) increase in extreme weather events, and iii) sea
level rise. All these effects will permanently destroy extensive and highly productive low-laying coastal areas that are home to millions of people who will have to be relocated permanently. For instance, sea level rise is an impending threat to the coastal areas in Bangladesh that would force physical dislocation of more than 35 million people. Most of the Maldives would be turned into sandbars, forcing 300,000 people to flee to India or Sri Lanka. Vietnam could lose 500,000 hectares of land in the Red River Delta and another 2 million hectares in the Mekong Delta, displacing roughly 10 million people. In the Mediterranean, Egypt would lose at least 2 million hectares of land in the fertile Nile Delta, displacing 8-10 million people. In Guyana 600,000 people would be displaced - 80 per cent of the population.
2) The First Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR1) in 1990 noted that the greatest single impact of climate change might be on human migration. The report estimated that by 2050, 150 million people could be displaced by climate change. More recent studies estimates even more people to be displaced by the same period; for instance, Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change in 2006 and a Christian Aid report in 2007 estimates displacement of respectively 200 million and 250 million people by climate change by 2050. Thus, the number of future climate migration shows a ten fold increase on today's entire population of documented refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). It would mean that by 2050 one in every 45 people in the world would have been displaced by climate change.
3) Although many of scholarly articles warned about future floods of the climate change induced forced migrants but, still, no policy measures have taken; even the terms and concepts of referring climate change induced migrants are found dissimilar throughout the literature. They are termed as ecological and environmental refugees, climate refugees, climate change migrants, environmentally-induced forced migrants etc. In this context, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for Migration (IMO) have advised that the terms like 'Climate Refugees' or Environmental Refugees' have no legal basis in international refugee law and these should be avoided in order not to undermine the international legal regime for the protection of refugees.
4) Climate change is a consequence of the cumulative build-up of Green House Gases-GHGs, dating back as far as the Industrial Revolution. Although the industrialized countries, defined as annex I countries under the UNFCCC on climate change, have historically contributed most of the manmade GHGs emissions but the impacts of climate change would be distributed very unevenly and disproportionately. Those who have contributed least to the human-induced climate change should accept all the burden and distress. This unequal distribution of burdens of the effect of climate changes reflected in the article 3 of the convention (referred to as equity article).
The ongoing negotiation on this Equity Principle of UNFCCC is focusing two major strategies to address climate change e.g. mitigation and adaptation. Although the climate change adaptation includes wide range of actions and activities including relocating population from the flood-prone or from the at risk areas but, yet, it has not clearly defined how to address the multi-causality of forced displacement largely caused by climate change. There is a growing demand to recognize climate change- affected populations as a 'new' group in need of protection while existing legal frameworks and conventions are not sufficient to safeguard them.
5) Considering the notion of justice to the climate change induced migrants and also taking into consideration the article 13 of the 1948 Declaration of Human Right, the international community and especially the United Nations must ensure protection of the forced migrants. In line with the HR declaration and equity principle of UNFCCC a separate, independent legal and political regime needs to be created under a Protocol to safeguard the 'climate change induced migrants '. This protocol could be drawn on widely agreed principles such as common but differentiated responsibilities of the country Parties; also must consider the 3 basic principles;
a) The legal debate over the issue of climate migrants must take into account the dignity of the concerned population as their own responsibilities for the past accumulation of GHGs are small. The people forced to be migrated due to climate change should bestow a different status and a different term and they should be given a dignified status 'Universal Natural Person' with social, cultural and economic rights,
b) The climate migrants must be treated as permanent immigrants to the regions or countries that accept them and,
c) The climate forced migrants should be tailored as entire groups of people, such as populations of a village, cities, provinces, or even entire nation, as in the case of small island states.
List of Signatories to the Call
1
Adarsha Kajer Sandhanay (AKAS), Bangladesh
42
Movimiento Migrante Mesoamericano, Mexico
2
ADEPTTs, Czech Republic
43
Movimiento Social Misiones, Argentina
3
ALBA SUD, Spain
44
MUVACOFUM, Guatemala
4
Alteatequieroverde association, Spain
45
Nadi Ghati Morcha, Bangladesh
5
All Nepal Peasants' Federation (ANFPa), Nepal
46
Nadi Ghati Morcha, India
6
AMUMRA, Argentina
47
National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFOS), Sri Lanka
7
Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM), Hong Kong
48
NGO Coordination Council for Climate Change, NC4, Bangladesh
8
Asia Pacific Research Network, Philippines
49
Observatori del Deute en la Globalització, Catanunya
9
Asociación Salvadorena para la Formación y Capacitación, El Salvador
50
OCSI, Spain
10
Bangladesh Disaster Preraredness Centre (BDPC), Bangladesh
51
OFRANEH, Honduras
11
Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS ), Bangladesh
52
One World Action, UK
12
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication, Bangladesh
53
Ongd AFRICANDO, Spain
13
BARSA, Bangladesh
54
Otros Mundos-Chaipas, Mexico
14
Bia´lii, Asesoría e Investigación, A.C, Mexico
55
Pakistan labour trust
15
Campaign Peria Ritoma della Banca Mondiale, Italy
56
Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee
16
CEDAL, Peru
57
Pakistan National Trade Union
17
CENTRO DE DERECHOS ECONOMICOS Y SOCIALES, Ecuador
58
PAPDA, Haiti
18
Campaign for Rural Sustainable Livelihoods (CSRL), Bangladesh
59
Peace and Justice Service in Latina America, Uruguay
19
Civic Bangladesh, Bangladesh
60
Periódico EL ESPEJO, Argentina
20
Dwip Unnayan Songstha, Bangladesh
61
Platform on Economic, Social, Cultural & Environmental Rights, Uruguay
21
Equity and Justice Working Group (EquityBD), Bangladesh
62
Red de solidaridad y desarrollo comunitario, Nicargua
22
Grumipe callao, Peru
63
Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio (RMALC), Mexico
23
Human Rights Defenders Network,HURIDEN, Bangladesh
64
RED SINTI TECHAN, El Salvador
24
Human Rights&Information Training Center, Yemen
65
REDSDCOM, Nicaragua
25
Institute of Alternative Policies for the Southern Cone of Latin America - PACS, Brazil
66
Social Help & Research Organization (SHRO), Pakistan
26
INHURED International, Nepal
67
Social Un-Obstructive Help Association (SUHA)
27
INSAF, India
68
Social Watch Malta
28
Jubilee 2000 Angola - LiJuA, Angola
69
Social Watch Suriname Women's Rights Centre, Surinam
29
Jubilee Debt Campaign, UK
70
South Asian Network for Social & Agricultural Development (SANSAD), India
30
Jubileo Sur/Américas, Argentina
71
South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAPPE), Nepal
31
Jubilee South APMDD, Philippines
72
Sri Lanka Nature Forum
32
Krisoker Saar (Farmers' Voice), Bangladesh
73
The Climate Outreach and Information Network (COIN), UK
33
Labour Party, Pakistan
74
Unidad Ecologica Salvadorena, El Salvador
34
Labour Education Foundation, Pakistan
75
Unidad Ecologica Salvadorena-UNES, El Salvador
35
Labour Health and Human Rights Development Centre, Nigeria
76
Unnayan Dhara Trust, Bangladesh
36
LDC Watch, Nepal and Brussels
77
Washington Office of Public Policy, UMC, USA
37
Local Environment Development and Agricultural Research Society (LEDARS), Bangladesh
78
Women Development Program (WDP), Bangladesh
38
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, USA
79
World Development Movement, UK
39
MAUCHAK, Bangladesh
80
World Forum of Fisher Folk People (CWFFP), Sri Lanka
40
Migrant Forum in Asia, Philippines
81
Women Workers Helpline, Pakistan
41
Migrant CARE, Indonesia
Still you can sign up the call and join the movement, visit
http://www.equitybd.org/English/campaign/index.html
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