Climate Changes and Migration - the
Environmental Refugees
An environmental refugee is a person displaced by climatically induced environmental
disasters. Such disasters may be evidence of human-influenced ecological change
and disruption of Earth's climate system.
The efforts of the international community to adequately address the global climate
change have so far rarely put in the focus of the attention the cases of the
population that is an actual victim of this change- millions of people whose
life is rapidly changed by natural disasters or new climate conditions, people
who are forced to leave their homes and have lost their everyday life becoming
a new group of vulnerable persons, refugees of environmental conditions.
The UN estimates at least 20 million environmental refugees worldwide—more
than those displaced by war and political repression combined. According to scholars
three major types of environmental refugees can be classified - environmental
refugee due to disasters, due to expropriation of environment, due to deterioration
of environment. The UNHCR counts 8,400,000 refugees worldwide at the beginning
of 2006, but at the same time the international community fails to adequately
address this new wave of migration due to lack of legal recognition.
The United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (the Geneva
Convention) definition of a refugee does not comply with the climate refugees.
Consequently, environmental refugees do not fall under the mandate of the UNHCR
and cannot be granted refugee status under international law. However the migration
flows related with environmental alternations are alarmingly increasing every
day, together with the expansion of different environmental changes such as deforetisation,
desertification, extreme weather events – factors that all together are
causing numerous humanitarian problems, conflicts and a whole new wave of people,
forced to leave their natural habitat and replace.
The focus of the 2010 MUNUSAL Human Right Council will be finding definite and
adequate solutions for the migration flows caused by climate changes, the legal
status of the environmental refugees, the international engagement and its future
initiatives on protection of climate migrants and preventing further migration
flows, as well as implementation of policies with multiply effect, enhanced management
for the problem, expanded approach to the issue addressing root causes, promotion
of sustainable development.
Repression and Brutality, Forced Disappearances and Gender Violence,
Addressing the key Violations of Human Rights in Central America.
In recent years, the countries of Central America have been backsliding badly
in respect to human rights. Naturally, this has resulted in severe social
unrest. If this is not dealt with quickly and efficiently by the United
Nations, then Central America faces the risk of once again being ripped open
in bloody civil war.
The brutal culture of repression of human rights across almost the entire continent,
has proved to be one of the most severe problems. Recent reports have
shown the existence of death squads that have been killing suspected members
of youth gangs in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador. The gang culture
in Central America, a legacy of the abhorrent and self-serving US policies in
the region, may be a stain on the continent’s reputation, but the real
concern to human rights activists is the conduct of the authorities. Off
duty police officers are being commissioned to operate in death squads, carrying
out some form of grotesque “social purge” against the young members
of Central America’s gangs. With most people entering gangs in Central
America due to gross levels of poverty and lack of available resources, this
policy of the ‘mano duro’ by the authorities, repressing the human
rights of gang members, must be stopped. For some form of stability to
be ensured in Central America, a policy of equal human rights, in whatever shape
is vitally needed.
Forced disappearances have a long and tragic legacy in Central America. In
the 1960s, the US helped to place the infrastructure not just for the murder
but also for the ‘disappearance’ of a large number of the civilian
population. The sad reality is that forced disappearances are still today
a frequent and appalling violation of human rights across Central America.
Gender based violence and sexual violence equally serves as one the most severe
and traumatic human rights violations across Central America. In a 2009
report by the UNDP, it was assessed that Central America is the region of the
highest levels of non-political violence worldwide. The sad reality is
that most of this is ‘invisible’ taking place in the home. Over
half the women killed in Nicaragua in the first half of 2009 were victims of
domestic violence.
Central America is region where human rights hang on a knife-edge. Delegates
of MUNUSAL 2010 will need to see these issues both as worldwide phenomena and
as phenomena specific to Central America. Until basic human rights can be assured
to the people of Central America, the chances of stability in the region remain
very limited.
E-mail: hrc@munusal.org
Angola
Badawy, Ahmed |
Argentina
AMELYUS, ADRIYANNI |
Bolivia
Robert Lucian, Kiss |
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Verstraete, Marie |
Brazil
Vara Rodriguez, Esther |
Burkina Faso
massali, maria |
Egypt
Akter, Sumru |
France
Dan Iulian, Stanciu |
Ghana
Zhang, Wensi |
India
Nguyen, Thao |
Indonesia
NICULAE, Ligia Ioana |
Italy
Lazar, Rodica Maria |
Japan
Silvia, Stefanuca |
Madagascar
Battier, Adeline |
Netherlands
Caprita, Elena Diana |
New Zealand
Bogdan Dumitru, Ciobanu |
Nicaragua
Öztürk, Hande |
Pakistan
Wagner, Michael |
Philippines
Klinder, Sarah |
Qatar
Fischer, Martin |
Republic of Korea
Dumas, Charlotte |
Slovenia
Jamond, Martin |
South Africa
Tan, Tamara Kisha |
Ukraine
Braho, Ledio |
United Kingdom
Mast, Maria |
Zambia
Alves Bonatti, Gisele |
