wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Climate refugees: It's time to talk about their rights

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>World Council of Churches - Feature

IT IS TIME TO TALK ABOUT THE RIGHTS OF "CLIMATE REFUGEES"

>For immediate release: 10 May 2010

>By Annegret Kapp (*)

The international tug-of-war over carbon emission thresholds and  other
instruments meant to limit the deterioration of the earth's climate  has
caused a big stir in recent months, but yielded little results.  Therefore
the international community must now get ready to take care of those  who
will be forced from their homes by climate change.

As the global climate changes, millions of people will be uprooted  by
sea-level rise, extreme weather events, droughts and water scarcity.  While
many players – ranging from development consultants to security  pundits
– have incorporated this fact into their rhetoric, the internatio nal
community so far has done little to protect the rights of "climate
refugees".

When it comes to climate change induced migration "everybody jumps  the
bandwagon and waves their own agenda" said Prof. Dr Frank Biermann,  an
expert in global environmental governance, in a keynote presentation  at a
recent conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

Even environmentalists have gratefully used the fact that some Pacific
islands are likely to be submerged by the end of the 21st century  in order
to stress the urgency of the problem, the professor says: "To them  Tuvalu
is a canary in the mine."

"In order to put the rights of these vulnerable populations on the  agenda
of the international community we must build bridges between academia,
civil society organizations, governments and churches working on  the issue
of climate change," Dr Guillermo Kerber, World Council of Churches  (WCC)
programme executive on climate change, explained. That was the purpose  of
the 3-4 May conference organized by the WCC, the Pacific Conference  of
Churches (PCC) and the Protestant German development agency Bread  for the
World.

"I am mindful of the enormous work that needs to be achieved in  order to
create a language that will be heard in the corridors of power,"  PCC
climate change campaigns officer Peter Emberson said at the opening  of the
meeting, "but I have come here with prayerful hope."

>Refugees, migrants and displaced people

Finding the right words to describe those people who will be forced  to
leave their homeland due to deteriorating climatic conditions is  the first
difficulty on the road towards a protection that would be enshrined  in
international law.

United Nations terminology makes fine distinctions between migrants,
refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), depending on the  how's
and why's of their displacement: did they cross international borders?
Were they the target of persecution? How immediate was the threat  to their
lives and their human rights?

"We call them climate refugees because they seek refuge. This is  the best
term that will convey the urgency of the issue," said Saudia Anwer,
coordinator for prevention and awareness-raising of the Network  on Climate
Change Bangladesh. Her presentation on the effects climate change  has on
her country illustrated the need to see the link between displacement
within and across a country's borders, as well as between forced  and
voluntary migration.

Pointing to a picture of people who had to flee from their homes  in
Bangladesh's coastal belt, she explained: "Suddenly water came into  the
village of these people and forced them to leave."

Already now, similar scenes are seen in Bangladesh every year, but  they
affect more and more people, Anwer added: "It is not possible for  our
country to rehabilitate all people who will be forced to migrate."

>A strong moral and legal claim

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
instrument.

"Resettlement is already taking place in the Pacific," said PCC  officer
Emberson. As an example he cited the Carteret islanders whose evacuation
was decided by the Papua New Guinean government in 2003.

The ongoing 14-step relocation process put in place for them is
comprehensive, Emberson said, but could be improved with regard  to
psycho-social accompaniment for those displaced as well as for the  host
communities in Bougainville, their new home.

The PCC emphasizes the need to involve those affected in the decision
making – an opinion that is shared by Dr Jeanette Schade,  a researcher
with the Bielefeld Centre on Migration, Citizenship and Development.

She presented a case study on Mozambique, where the government resettled
thousands of families from flood-prone areas to higher lying settlements.
The move was combined with an ambitious plan to improve people's  lives by
providing better housing, schools and sanitation.

However, studies conducted in 2008 found that many had returned  to live in
the more fertile valley. Local knowledge on the needs of the people  and
the best places for resettlement had not been taken into account,  Schade
explains.

These and other lessons on how to protect the rights of climate  refugees
will need to be learned by the international community –  and quickly.
Judging by the lack of action on the reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions, politicians will need some pushing before they get down  to the
job.

>[918 words]

(*) Annegret Kapp, WCC web editor, is a member of the Evangelical  Church in
Württemberg, Germany.

Listen to interviews with Peter Emberson and Prof. Dr Frank Biermann
(Link: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=aae56622f4c28f69c9f7  )

WCC work on climate change (Link:

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=55098083c87618b36547 )

WCC work on migration and social justice (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=bc8e9be36ebf781d9a6b )

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,  witness and 
service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship  of churches 
founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant,
Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560  million 
Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the  Roman 
Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse  Tveit, from 
the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.