Download United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR REFUGEES
Dear delegates,
You are about to start the exciting experience of simulating the United Nations
High Comissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Our first mission in this Study Guide is to
introduce ourselves.
Anaís Medeiros Passos is a 6th semester student of International Relations at
Universidade Federaldo Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She is also a member of the
Strategy and International Relations Center (NERINT) at the same university. She took
part in the 6th and 7th edition of UFRGSMUN and this is her second experience as a
member of the academic staff. Her main area of interest is International Security and
International Politics.
Julien Delemeuster is a 5th semester student of International Relations at
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). He has participated as a delegate
in the 6th and 7th edition of UFRGSMUN and this is his first experience as a member of
the academic staff. Currently he is studying at China, therefore he will not be present
during the simulation.
Leticia Zevenich is a 5th semester student of Law at the Universidade Federal do
Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She took part in the 6th and 7th edition of UFRGSMUN and
this is also her first experience as a member of the academic staff. Currently she is
studying at France and also will not participate during the simulation days.
Helena Hoppen is a 5th semester student of International Relations at
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She has participated as a delegate
in the 6th and 7th edition of UFRGSMUN and this is her first experience as a member of
the academic staff.
Iara Binta Lima Machado is a 4th semester student of International Relations at
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She is also member of the
Strategy and International Relations Center (NERINT) at the same university. She has
participated of UFRGSMUN as a delegate once, in 2008, and this is her second time as a
member of the academic staff. Her main area of interest is Africa, most specifically South
Africa.
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Finally, Gabriel Machado is a 6th semester student of International Relations at
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) He has participated as a delegate
in 7th edition of UFRGSMUN. Therefore, this is his first experience as a member of the
academic staff.
Now that you know who we are, we would like to wish you a great time while
studying for the committee and reading this Study Guide. Let us remind you that this
document need not be your only source of preparation. We strongly suggest you read as
many works as possible on the issues internally displaced people and climate refugees.
We will see each other soon!
Anaís Medeiros Passos
Director
Gabriel Machado
Helena Hoppen
Iara Binta Lima Machado
Leticia Zevenich
Assistant-Director
Assistant-Director
Assistant-Director
Assistant-Director
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INTRODUCTION
The UNHCR
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was
established on December 14th 1950, by the United Nations General Assembly Resolution
n. 428(V), to guarantee the protection and assistance to victims of persecution, violence
and intolerance. Regardless the initial three-year mandate to deal with Europeans
displaced by the World War II, it has continued its works solving the problem of
refugees, aware that the humanitarian needs are unlikely to disappear. In 2003, the
General Assembly extended the organization's mandate "until the refugee problem is
solved" and this year, UNHCR will celebrate its 60th anniversary. The UNHCR is one of
the main humanitarian agencies worldwide and was awarded twice with the Nobel Peace
Prize, in 1954 and 1981, as recognition for its efforts. The fundamental basis of its work
is to ensure the respect and acknowledgment of basic human rights for refugees,
including the possibility of seeking asylum and the guarantee that no one will,
involuntarily, return to a country where there are reasons to believe one's life is
endangered. By its resolution 672 (XXV) of 1958, the ECOSOC established the UNHCR
Executive Committee, which came into existence as of January 1st 1959.
The UNHCR Executive Committee meets once every year to review and
approve UNHCR programs and its budget, to advise on international protection for
refugees and to discuss a wide range of other issues. It has 78 members. Due to its
subsidiary organ status, the ExCom does not have the power to approve resolutions.
General rules of procedure shall apply to UFRGSMUN’s UNHCR. In this sense,
the committee shall be simulated in the same way as any other General Assembly
committee; with the exception it shall not have the power to approve draft resolutions.
Final documents shall be submitted to the approval of the General Assembly for
consideration in the Third Committee.
This year, the delegates attending the annual meeting of the UNHCR Executive
Committee are invited to deal with and discuss protection of internally displaced people
and the impacts that climate change will have on human displacements.
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TOPIC AREA A: INTERNALLY DISPLACED PEOPLE
By Anaís Passos, Cláudia Pfeifer, Helena Melchionna Julien Demeulemeester, Letícia
Zenevich.
1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The outbreak and the maintenance of armed conflicts have had a negative impact
on peace, stability and security in many regions of the planet during world history, often
resulting in the movement of people inside and outside their home countries. During the
past few decades, the global juncture has caused the forced population displacement to
grow in size and complexity. Hitherto, the absence of a solution for millions of internally
displaced persons in protracted situations continues to pose a major challenge to the
United Nations High Commissioner Refugees and to other humanitarian agencies.
Although refugees have been a constant and accepted part of human
displacement for centuries, the development of the nation-state and fixed borders caused
countries to shun migration across State boundaries. Thus, this increasing difficulty to
cross international borders steered towards internal displacement – creating Internally
Displaced People (IDPs) – rather than international displacement – resulting in refugees.
At that time, groups of people facing religious or political persecution would often try
changing to a more tolerant religion or political sight in order to avoid discrimination,
since there was no international agency channeling protection to displaced people.
The largest people displacements of world history occurred during the twentieth
century, as a consequence of major political clashes and transitions. The Russian
Revolution of 1917 led approximately 1.5 million Russians who opposed to communism
to flee off their homes. In the Caucasus, more than one million Armenians fled their
homelands between 1915 and 1923 to escape persecution and massacre during the
Armenian Genocide (GIBNEY & HANSEN, 2005).
The first concerted international effort to assist displaced people was made
during World War I, when Herbert Hoover created a non-governmental organization
called Commission for Relief in Belgium1. By the end of the war, it had distributed five
1
The Commission for Relief in Belgium was an American organization, created by Herbert Hoover, to
arrange the supply of food to German-occupied Belgium and northern France during World War I.
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million tons of food and the equivalent to one billion dollars in aid to refugees and
internally displaced persons of German-occupied Belgium and northern France
(LAUREN, 2003).
By the time, refugees and IDPs were immediately perceived not just as people
displaced, but as people lacking protection and, explicitly, without the support of their
own State. The League of Nations sought to fill this gap when it created, in 1921, the
High Commission for Refugees to assist refugees and IDPs who were deprived of their
habitual rights due to the social and political instabilities of the time. The establishment
of this organization was the “first recognition that the international community has
responsibility for protecting those forced to flee their homelands because of repression or
war” (MINGST & KARNS, 2007, p. 168). The main activities of the agency included
assisting displaced people from the Russian Revolution, from World War I and protecting
other groups, such as Armenians, Assyrians, Assyro-Chaldeans, and Turks.
Fridtjof Nansen served the League of Nations as a delegate from Norway to the
High Commission for Refugees. One of Nansen’s most important innovations was a
document that specified which individuals were refugees; this became known as the
Nansen Passport, which was accepted by more than 50 countries and was a precursor to
many important documents regarding refugees and IDPs. For his work, Nansen received
the Nobel Peace Prize. After Nansen’s death in 1930, the League replaced the High
Commission
with
the
Nansen
International
Office
for
Refugees
(NOBEL
FOUNDATION, 2010).
During the Great Depression and the run-up to World War II, States became less
willing to help refugees and IDPs. This was partly the result of economic crisis and partly
the result of a desire in not to interfere in the affairs of other States.
For instance, although it was clear as early as 1933 that Jews and other
minorities were being persecuted by Gestapo – the official Nazi police –, the German
government protested against the accusations of breaking human rights; however, the
international community and the League of Nations took no action (GIBNEY &
HANSEN, 2005). As the Dutch foreign minister explained:
We have no wish to examine the reasons why these people have left their
country; but we are faced with the fact that thousands of German subjects have
crossed the frontiers of neighboring countries and refused to return to their
homes for reasons which we are not called upon to judge (HADDAD, 2008, p.
109).
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In 1939, the Nansen Office was replaced by the Office of the High
Commissioner for Refugees, under the protection of the League. Due to the outbreak of
World War II – which divided and incapacitated the League of Nations –, the new office
never complied with its objectives. Instead, each side dealt separately with refugees and
internally displaced people, both of whom were more numerous than ever before, due to
the worldwide scope of the conflict and to the war technological developments.
During the war, 65 to 75 million people died, about half of whom were civilians,
and million others were displaced due to persecution or to the imminent danger suffered
by the population (LEITENBERG, 2006). The first population movements were those of
the Jews and others fleeing off their homelands in Germany. Then, as Germany, Italy and
Japan began to expand, Poles, Danes, Ethiopians, French, Chinese and many others were
displaced from their habitual homes2. At the end of the war, the population movement
reversed. According to the researcher Joseph V. O’Brien, in the immediate post-war
period, millions of ethnic Germans that lived abroad were expelled from their homes,
many of whom died in displaced-persons camps (O’BRIEN, 2007).
As soon as the war ended, in 1945, the United Nations organization officially
came into existence and its General Assembly created the International Refugees
Organization3 (IRO). In 1950, the General Assembly replaced the IRO with the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). At that time – five years after World War II
ended –, there were still more than one million refugees and IDPs from the war
(LAUREN, 2003). The UNHCR remains until today the UN agency charged for
overseeing programs related to displaced persons and over the past 60 years, it has helped
more than 100 million people in finding durable solutions to their situations (UNHCR,
2009).
Following the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, around
two million Chinese fled off their homes to find shelter in Taiwan and Hong Kong. The
world’s largest population movement in history occurred in 1947 when 18 million Hindus
from Pakistan and Muslims from India were displaced from their homelands in the newly
created countries of Pakistan and India. Besides, approximately 3.7 million Germans fled
2
In China alone, 60 million people were homeless.
International organization founded on April of 1946 to deal with the massive refugee problem created by
World War II.
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from East Germany to West Germany between 1945 and 1961, when the Berlin Wall was
constructed.
After World War II, civil wars and conflicts caused by the bipolarity of the Cold
War regime were responsible for the vast majority of internal displacements of people. It
is remarkable that during the first fifty years of the 20th century, most of the people
displacements were hosted in Europe, Russia and China, whereas during the last fifty
years of that century, the displacements steered towards Africa, South Asia and Latin
America. Throughout the Cold War period, the majority of internal displacements of
people happened in Sudan, Guinea-Bissau, Indochina (Vietnam and Laos), Ethiopia,
Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Iraq (UNHCR, 1994).
In 1972, the civil war in Sudan forced 180,000 refugees to flee off their
homelands and internally displaced another 500,000 persons within the country. In 1974,
a local government was established in Guinea-Bissau and it requested assistance to the
UNHCR to stabilize the situation in the country; one of the main goals of the request was
the aid to internally displaced persons. There are no official figures, but UN agencies
estimate that there were at least 100,000 IDPs in the country, 30,000 of whom were
beneficiaries of the UNHCR activities (UNHCR, 1994).
The 1975 war in Southeast Asia, especially in Indochina (Vietnam and Laos),
displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians. In Laos alone, 700,000 were estimated to
be uprooted – either internally or externally displaced. During the late 1970s and early
1980s, Ethiopia was facing severe internal conflicts. In 1979, the Ethiopian government
requested assistance to the UNHCR due to the IDPs, estimating that some 500,000
persons were homeless in the Ogaden region; by March of 1980, the figure had risen to
750,000. Following the Ethiopian government’s initial appeal, the High Commissioner
delivered aid to 150,000 of the neediest internally displaced persons (UNHCR, 1994).
In the late 1970s, civil war uprooted around 660,000 persons in Zimbabwe. In
1980, the High Commissioner was asked by the United Nations Secretary-General Kurt
Waldheim and by the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe to coordinate aid programs for
410,000 internally displaced persons (UNHCR, 1994). The rehabilitation program
included the provision of agricultural equipment and training, shelter, food, water and
education. Similar episodes happened in Uganda and Chad.
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Following the peace treaty between India and Sri Lanka, the former requested
assistance to the reception of the returning refugees who were expected to be repatriated
from India and to aid the hundreds of thousands of IDPs who were spread all over the
country. This episode is one of the most successful UNHCR operations regarding
refugees and IDPs, due to the joint effort of the local government and UN agencies. By
1990, some 800,000 IDPs and 50,000 returnees were receiving assistance (UNHCR,
1994). The operation provided the rebuilding of schools and housing, the construction of
small-scale irrigation systems, a fishery and crop training, and the granting of temporary
shelter.
Additionally to the above mentioned cases, the Cold War period also entailed a
series of other small conflicts and localized quarrels that caused the upward of internally
displaced people in different regions of the world, where UNHCR was asked support.
The High Commissioner also delivered assistance to IDPs in Cyprus (1974), Uganda
(1979), Chad (1981), Lebanon (1982), Nicaragua (1987 and 1989), El Salvador
(1989), Guatemala (1989) and Honduras (1989), among others (UNHCR, 1994).
The end of the Cold War led to the dissolution of countries, outbreak of local
conflicts and changes in politics that caused unbridling persecution and a huge increase in
the number of refugees and internally displaced persons around the world, most of which
last until today. Soon after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in the aftermath of Iraq’s defeat by
coalition forces in the Iran-Iraq War, at least one million persons were uprooted –
500,000 of whom still remain internally displaced. A similar episode happened in
Yugoslavia, when the breakup of the country in various new States led to internal
tensions and to the rise of IDPs. Many countries today still have a large number of IDPs,
such as Sudan, Colombia, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey, Democratic Republic of Congo,
Somalia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Azerbaijan, among others.
2. STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE
2.1 Definition of Internally Displaced People
There is no legal definition for Internally Displaced Persons as, for instance,
there is for refugees. Under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of
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Refugees from 1951, a refugee is as a person who has left his or her home country due to
fear of persecution and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection
of that country (UN, 1951). According to a United Nations report entitled The Guiding
Principles on Internally Displacement4 (UN, 1998), Internally Displaced Persons have
left their homes for similar reasons, but have not crossed an international border. The
definition is a descriptive concept rather than a legal one. The report defines IDPs as:
Persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to
leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or
in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, the situations of generalized
violence, violations of human rights or natural or human made disasters, and
who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border (OCHA,
2004).
Involuntary departure and, namely, the fact that the individual remains within his
or her country are the two core defining elements of an internally displaced person. The
first element distinguishes IDPs from persons who left their homes but could have
otherwise safely remained where they previously lived. The second key element
differentiates IDPs from refugees. Both the categories of displaced persons often face
similar deprivations; however IDPs remain within their country of habitual residence,
whereas refugees do not.
2.2 Protection of IDPs
Protection involves ensuring that all persons enjoy their rights on equal basis,
with safety and dignity. All persons have the equal right to protection and so do internally
displaced persons. People in this situation face various barriers which may threaten their
safety. After fleeing the effects of armed conflicts or human rights violations, IDPs are
often unsuccessful in finding security and safety in the place of displacement and still
face attacks and violence, usually specifically targeted to their settlements. In Darfur,
Sudan, IDPs camps are reported to be awash with arms and rebel fighters, making the
camps more susceptible to attack (COHEN & DENG, 2009).
It is import to acknowledge that displacement can affect individuals in different
ways. Specific groups of persons, such as women, children, elderlies and minorities
4
The Guiding Principles on Internally Displacement is available at http://www.reliefweb.int/ocha_ol/
pub/idp_gp/idp.html Last access: August 31, 2010.
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usually suffer marginalization in the communities and are less represented in formal
decision making structures. This lack of representation results in disregard of the specific
risks that they face.
To quote from Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination Against Women,
no distinction, exclusion or restriction is to be made on the basis of sex which
has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment
or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality
of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political,
social, cultural, civil or any other field.
Regarding child’s protection, according to the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child of 1989, three principles must be respected: non-discrimination,
participation, and the child’s “best interests”. Article 3 of the above cited Convention
provides that “in all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private
social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies,
the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.” This principle ought to be
applied to decisions affecting directly and indirectly individual and groups of children.
In several countries, displaced children were particularly at risk of abduction and
forced recruitment into armed groups while displaced women were exposed to risks of
sexual and gender-based violence and abuses. Ignoring these discrimination and the
particular risks faced by some members of the community may increase these risks and
reinforce the discrimination and exclusion.
As a matter of international law, it should be the duty of the government
concerned to provide assistance and protection to internally displaced persons within their
territorial State, in virtue of its sovereignty and the principle of non-intervention. Yet, as
many of the displacements are a result of civil conflicts or quarrels where the authority of
central states is in dispute, it is sometimes the very government, the one which should be
responsible for protecting and assisting its internally displaced population, that is unable
or even unwilling to do so. Sometimes governments may even be directly involved in
forcibly uprooting their own civilians (GPCWG, 2007).
At this point, the prevailing premises of sovereignty and non-intervention stand
potentially against other principles of the international law, such as the commitment to
human rights and to international cooperation in the unraveling of humanitarian
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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problems. This approach works towards the possibility of an international organization to
involve itself in the situation and help the civilians at risk (GOODWIN-GILL, 2006).
Even though sometimes national governments are unable or unwilling to protect
and assist their internally displaced populations, the role of international actors is to
reinforce, and not replace, national responsibility. International actors should support the
development of national and local capacities to fulfill these responsibilities. However, in
several countries, national authorities chose not to cooperate with international assistance
to fulfill their responsibility towards IDPs, openly rejecting any help, imposing serious
bureaucratic obstacles, and harassing humanitarian workers.
As IDPs do not cross international borders, they do not have a well-established
system of international protection. Unlike the case of refugees, there is no international
organization which has the overall responsibility of protecting and assisting internally
displaced persons, despite the fact that they are increasingly at the forefront of the
humanitarian agenda. In view of this situation, a number of organizations usually step
into the breach and help in their specific areas. In 2005, the Principals of the UN InterAgency Standing Committee assigned responsibility for the protection of IDPs to a
cluster of UN agencies – Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Health
Organization (WHO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), and the UNCHR - and
international organizations – International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Save the
Children, and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - to be
chaired by UNHCR. The cluster approach aimed at fulfilling significant capacity gaps in
the provision of basic rights of the displaced persons in shelters and camps, such as the
right to safety, education and food.
2.3 Population
Since the Cold War, the number of people uprooted by conflict, ethnic rivalry
and human rights violations has soared. Sometimes natural borders such as mountains or
rivers impede flight to other countries. In addition, some countries refuse to admit
refugees based on the costs and destabilization they cause, thus elevating even more the
population of internal displaced.
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The United Nations-led humanitarian reform process initiated in 2005, which
focuses on the cluster-approach, entails a view to reinforce leadership and coordination
and has provided over the last few years a considerable institutional improvement in the
response to the needs of IDPs. Meanwhile, an increasing number of states have developed
or are developing legal instruments based on the Guiding Principles on Internal
Displacement. Nonetheless, new internal displacement continues to occur and a relevant
number of IDPs are in a situation in which the possibility to return to their places of
origin seems quite distant.
It is very difficult to raise accurate figures for Internally Displaced Persons due
to the lack of a unified definition of the term and to the fact that these populations are
constantly fluctuating: some IDPs may be returning to their homes while others may be
fleeing. Moreover, if on the one hand IDP cases in large camps such as those in Darfur
Sudan, are relatively well-reported, on the other hand, it is very hard to assess those IDPs
who find shelter in large cities or in other people’s houses.
Since 2001, the global number of IDPs has remained almost untouched,
hovering around the 25 million mark. Neither the increase of international attention nor
State pledges to protect civilians from forced displacement has resulted in a substantial
reduction of its population. The UNHCR estimates that there are around 27 million IDPs
worldwide. Of this number, more than 16 million receive protection and assistance from
the organization5. UNHCR’s involvement with IDPs dates back to the engagement in
Sudan in 1972 and has grown to the extent that IDPs of concern to the organization
outnumber refugees and asylum-seekers (UNHCR, 2010).
In 2009, about 6.8 million people were forced to leave their homes as a result of
new outbreaks of conflict and violence in 23 of the 52 countries monitored. Nearly half of
them were in Pakistan, where some three million people fled offensives against the
Taliban and other armed groups by the Pakistan army. Other countries with large
numbers of people newly displaced in 2009 were the Democratic Republic of Congo (one
million), Sudan (530,000), Somalia (400,000), the Philippines (400,000), Colombia
(290,000), Sri Lanka (280,000) and Ethiopia (200,000). Together, these eight countries
accounted for 90 per cent of all new displacement. (IDMC, 2010)
5
The number of protected IDPs is the highest figure on record.
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Far more people were newly displaced than in 2008 (4.6 million people) and
2007 (3.7 million people). New displacement was predominantly caused by conflicts
which had already run for years or decades. Many people had been repeatedly displaced
in successive cycles of conflict. However the number of people who reportedly returned
during the year was also higher, at around five million compared to 2.6 million in 2008
and 2.7 million in 2007. Most of newly displaced people during the year were able to
return after a few weeks or months of displacement. In Pakistan, around two thirds of the
people displaced during the year had returned to home areas at the end of 2009; in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) half of the people newly displaced returned before
the end of the year (IDMC, 2010).
In 2009, the number of IDPs in Africa was the lowest recorded in this decade, at
11.6 million. The increases due new displacements in DRC, Sudan and Somalia were
offset by decreases elsewhere, in particular in Uganda where an ongoing gradual return
process continued. In Africa, Europe and Central Asia, the estimated number of IDPs did
not change significantly. South and South-East Asia and the Americas accounted for most
of the increase, with their respective totals 800,000 and 500,000 higher. These increases
mirrored the year-on-year growth in the internally displaced populations of Pakistan and
Colombia. In the Middle East, IDP figures increased because of conflicts in Yemen and
in Gaza in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), while in other countries the number
fell (IDMC, 2010).
According to a recent UNHCR report, Sudan has the largest number of IDPs in
the world, with an estimated population outnumbering 4 million internally displaced
persons. Sudan is closely followed by Colombia, Iraq and DRC. Together, they host
about half of the world’s IDPs and have more than 350 million dollars designated to aid
them, sponsored by the UN. Besides them, other countries also have enormous IDP
populations, such as Pakistan, Somalia, Uganda, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Côte d’Ivoire
(UNHCR, 2010).
2.4. Displacement by region
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With 45 per cent of all IDPs, Africa still is the continent which hosts its larger
population. However, compared to the continent’s total population, the ratio of IDPs has
fallen.
An upsurge in inter-ethnic violence in Southern Sudan caused a significant
deterioration in security in 2009, raising concerns over the risk of escalation of conflict in
the progress of the election of 2010 and the referendum on self determination of the south
due in 2011. More people were displaced in Southern Sudan than in Darfur in 2009. The
lack of humanitarian access to displaced communities was also an issue in the country
during the year. Following the March 2009 indictment by the International Criminal
Court of President al-Bashir on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, 13
international NGOs were expelled from northern Sudan and three Sudanese humanitarian
organizations were disbanded (IDMC, 2010).
In eastern DRC, intense fighting between various armed groups and government
forces have caused massive new displacement and violence against IDPs. Attacks against
the civilian population by various militia groups and by government troops caused largescale displacement and intense suffering for hundreds of thousands of people. At the end
of the year about 1.9 million people were internally displaced in DRC (IDMC, 2010).
In Somalia, the establishment of a coalition government in January 2009
between the Transnational Federal Government and moderate Islamic groups led to the
withdrawal of Ethiopian forces from Mogadishu. However, government forces continued
to fight remaining armed groups while conflict between different insurgent factions
across south-central Somalia led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
By the end of the year the estimated number of people internally displaced had risen to
1.5 million (IDMC, 2010).
In Ethiopia, fighting between the Oromo and Somalia clans over disputed
administrative boundaries and other resources displaced about 160,000 people in
February 2009 alone, while in Gambella Region, inter-clan fighting displaced hundreds
of thousands (UNHCR, 2010).
In the Americas, the situation in Colombia is still worrisome, considering that
the country has the second-largest displaced population in the world, mainly due to the
ongoing armed conflict between government forces and the leading rebel group, the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC); between the FARC and a smaller
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rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN); and between these groups and the new
post-demobilization armed groups. People in rural areas were not only displaced by
fighting, but also by land seizures by all illegal armed groups perpetrated as a way to
control territory and also grow coca (IDMC, 2010).
Despite increased efforts in the national and international response to the
displacement crisis, IDPs in Colombia continue to face protection problems, mostly
related to infrastructure deficiency and violence. The marginalization of internally
displaced Afro-Colombian and indigenous people reflected the structural discrimination
in the country. Only 60 per cent of displaced Afro-Colombians had access in 2009 to the
public health system, compared to 75 per cent of other IDPs (IDMC, 2010).
New displacement was also reported in Mexico and Guatemala in 2009 as a
result of actions of drug cartels and gang-induced violence. In Mexico it was reported that
thousands of people had fled Ciudad Juárez in Chihuahua State to escape wide-spread
violence caused by drug gangs (UNHCR, 2010).
In Guatemala, where the civil war ended a decade ago, the end of violence left
many thousands of people internally displaced, most of them from indigenous
communities or marginalized rural groups. These populations became increasingly
invisible as they returned, settled in new locations or blended with impoverished nondisplaced groups (UNHCR, 2010).
In the Middle East, where most of IDPs are in this situation for decades, the
population of internal displaced is continually increasing. Most of it has been displaced
by armed conflicts in Yemen and Iraq.
In Yemen, conflict between the army and al-Houthi rebelsin Sa’ada Governorate
flared up again in August 2009 in the sixth round of conflict since 2004, with the number
of people displaced growing through the year. By the end of the year an estimated
175,000 people were displaced in Sa’ada and neighboring governorates as the fighting
continued to intensify (IDMC, 2010).
Approximately 15 per cent of the Iraqi population was displaced inside and
outside the country since the 2003 US-led invasion. At the end of 2009, around 2.8
million people were believed to be internally displaced. Since 2006, around 1.5 million
people had fled sectarian and generalized violence including military operations by
multinational, Iraqi, Turkish and Iranian forces in northern Iraqi. In 2009, security
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measures, including checkpoints, curfews and security barriers continued to restrict the
movement of people, including IDPs (IDMC, 2010).
In Gaza in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), 2009 was one of the most
violent years since the Israeli occupation began in 1967. The Israeli offensive in Gaza
launched in December 2008 displaced more than 100,000 people, and the implementation
of policies of house demolition and revocation of residents’ permits in East Jerusalem
displaced hundreds more. Reconstruction was hampered by the continuing Israeli
blockade which prevented construction materials from entering Gaza. Palestinian
displaced population faces a deep protection crisis. Violence, restrictions on their
movement and discriminatory policies and regulations have increased their vulnerability,
while the humanitarian situation has worsened in Gaza as a result of its isolation since
2007 takeover by Hamas and the 2008-2009 offensives. In addition, Palestinian internal
displacement is generally not recognized by the government of Israel, since the country
doesn’t recognize the Palestinian state itself (UNHCR, 2010).
In South and South-East Asia, the displacements are particularly significant in
Pakistan and in the Philippines. The majority of the IDPs in this region returned home
after a relatively short period of displacement.
By far, the largest displacement in the region in 2009 was in Pakistan, where
three million people were forced to flee their homes owing to government forces’
operations against Pakistani Taliban militants in the north-western provinces bordering
Afghanistan. Offensives against the Taliban and other Islamist groups by the Pakistan
army in North West Frontier Province and subsequently in the Federally Administrated
Tribal Areas forced some three million people to flee in 2009. At the end of the year over
1.2 million people were still displaced (IDMC, 2010).
Conflict and displacement in Philippines have been ongoing for at least 30 years.
Most recently, in August 2008, renewed fighting between the government and the rebels
of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the southern region of Mindanao led to
internal displacement of an estimated one million people, before the parties declared a
ceasefire in July 2009. Before this latest surge in fighting, it was estimated that more than
two million people across the country had been displaced due to conflict since 2000
(IDMC, 2010).
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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In 2009, internal displacement in Afghanistan increased following the
intensification of conflict between armed opposition groups and pro-government forces in
the south, south-east and east of the country. Some civilians who had been forced to flee
were able to return after fighting around their home areas had ended, but many people in
2009 had been displaced for several years (IDMC, 2010).
In Sri Lanka, the long-running armed conflict between government forces and
those of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a separatist organization, ended in
May 2009. Between October 2008 and June 2009, more than 280,000 people were
displaced to government-controlled territory. The government held IDPs in close camps
until at least October, reporting that it needed to demine IDPs’ area of origin and screen
displaced civilians to identify LTTE combatants. In December, releases were accelerated
in the run-up to presidential elections, which were held in January 2010 (IDMC,
2010).The situation in Europe and Central Asia has changed little in the last few years
and the internal displaced population remains around 2.5 million, more than 40 per cent
of whom are in Turkey. A small number of it managed to achieve durable solutions to
end their situation of prolonged displacement (UNHCR, 2010).
Displacement in Turkey is the result of armed clashes, generalized violence and
human rights violations. Around a million people were displaced from towns and villages
in south-eastern Turkey during the 1980s and 1990s as a result of the insurgent actions of
the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the counter-insurgency policies of the Turkish
government. Over 60 per cent of these IDPs were forced from their homes between 1991
and 1996. Although security in the south-east has greatly improved since the 1990s,
clashes between government forces and the PKK have increased since 2004, when the
PKK announced the end of a five-year ceasefire, discouraging returns and even
threatening new displacement (UNHCR, 2010).
The generalized violence and armed conflict between Yugoslav, Croatian and
Bosnian armed forces and militias, accompanied by massive human rights violations, led
to the displacement of over a million people and the creation of ethnically homogeneous
areas within the newly independent Bosnia and Herzegovina. By the end of 2009, some
580,000 people had returned to their places of origin, and the government reported that
some 114,000 people remained displaced (IDMC, 2010).
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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People in Georgia have been displaced by several waves of conflict. Fighting
which erupted in the early 1990s in South Ossetia was soon followed by the conflict in
Abkhazia. At the end of 2009, at least 220,000 people were displaced in Georgia proper.
Around 45,000 people displaced in the 1990s, which Georgia still counted as IDPs, had
over the years returned to Gali district in Abkhazia (UNHCR, 2010).
Governments still largely prioritized the return of IDPs to their places of origin.
However, return remained impossible for most IDPs in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Cyprus
in the absence of peace agreements. Obstacles to return in other countries included
insecurity, ethnic discrimination, limited government support, infrastructure and social
services in areas of origin, as well as problems repossessing and repairing property,
earning an income, cultivating land, receiving a full pension and obtaining
documentation.
2.5. Jurisdiction
As citizens of their country, IDPs have the right to full and equal protection
under the State’s national law, which should be compatible with the State’s obligations
under international law. The challenge that international agencies, NGOs and States have
faced is to identify the rights and guarantees under international law that respond to the
particular needs and protection risks that arise during displacement.
Since the release of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the
international community and in particular the United Nations Representative of the
Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons have worked to provide national
authorities with the necessary guidance to fulfill their responsibility towards IDPs. This
document remains as the most important over IDPs. Introduced into the UN Commission
on Human Rights in 1998, the Guiding Principles set forth the rights of internally
displaced persons and the obligations of governments and the international community
towards these populations, tailoring the full range of civil, political, economic, social and
cultural rights according to their specific needs. Although the Guiding Principles on
Internal Displacement are not considered as a binding international convention, they are
based upon and reflect biding international human rights and humanitarian law. It gleans
the main rules of international law and refugee law, which are relevant for the protection
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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in internal displacement and establish the responsibilities of States and other authorities
towards internally displaced people. They address all phases of displacement, providing
protection against arbitrary displacement, offering a basis for protection and assistance
during displacement, and setting forth guarantees for safe return, local integration and
settlement elsewhere in the country. The States recognize this document as “an important
international framework for the protection of internally displaced persons”, as well as a
“tool” and “standard” to guide governments and others international actors in situations
of internal displacement6.
One of the most significant contributions of the Guiding Principles is the
statement that primary responsibility to protect and to assist displaced populations should
rest with national authorities; however, if governments lack this capacity or are unwilling
to do so, the principles stress that the international community has the obligation to
become involved. Thus, according to the document, sovereignty over uprooted
populations should be transferred to foreign legal bodies when governments do not have
the capacity or willingness to abide their responsibilities (COHEN, 2004).
There are still some key instruments, such as the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which cover a range of risks that IDPs often face and
reinforce protection for specific groups particularly affected by displacement. The
International Humanitarian Law is as well a significant protection mechanism,
considering that internal displacement often occurs in situation of armed conflict. In most
of the cases, the displacement could be avoided if the obligations imposed by
International Law were respected.
Governments are responsible for securing durable solutions for IDPs on their
territory. Most provide support to durable solutions through legislation, policies and
programmes. In the majority of cases, national policies developed to address internal
displacement do indeed focus on durable solutions, and particularly on return:
governments in 32 countries actively supported return, compared with only ten that
supported resettlement and eight that supported local integration. All three durable
6
United Nations General Assembly, 2005 World Summit Outcome resolution adopted by Heads of State,
UN doc. A/RES/60/1, 15 September 2005, parag. 132.
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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solutions were overwhelming achieved by IDPs acting independently, with little ot no
direct involvement of national authorities or the international community (ICRC, 2010).
However, return is not in itself a durable solution. In a few countries, including
Colombia, the Russian Federation and Sudan, national authorities actively push IDPs to
return, often against the will of the displaced, although conditions in the places of origin,
including
the
security
situation,
are
not
suitable
for
sustainable
return
(ESCHENBÄCHER, 2005).
Even where the political and security situation permit the displaced to return,
there are frequently lasting barriers to sustainable recovery. Ignoring the need to find
durable solutions for IDPs can negatively affect development since their continued
marginalization may hinder economic and social progress, both if they remain in hosts
areas or if they are able to return home. The lack of durable solutions can even become a
factor contributing to a relapse into conflict stocked by actors capitalizing on frustrations
among the displaced or the host populations in areas of exile or return.
Even though considerable achievements have been made in the last ten years in
the implementation of national laws and policies, it is noticeable the need to a more
effective international system to assist and protect IDPs. Major challenges to the
realization of rights of IDPs remain. The number of IDPs continues to increase, primarily
as a result of the growth in disaster-induced displacement, but also because of protracted
situations of displacement. Protracted displacement usually occurs as a result of
unresolved conflicts and lack of political will amongst national governments, as well as
insufficient support by international actors. In many countries, significant gaps between
policies and practices are observed, especially in relation to durable solutions. Moreover,
most states affected by internal displacement still do not have domestic laws or policies
on IDPs and many IDPs are still unaware of their rights.
A majority of states affected by internal displacement remain unable or
unwilling to take on their responsibilities for protecting IDPs. In some cases, the
humanitarian space required to prevent displacement or to provide protection to IDPs is
limited as a result of obstruction by governments or non-state actors. Concepts of
“sovereignty as responsibility” and the “responsibility to protect” – which acknowledge
that states have the primary responsibility to provide IDPs with life-supporting protection
and assistance and, if they are unable to do so, they are expected to request and accept
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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outside offers of aid – remain far ahead of international willingness and capacity to
enforce them. These concepts have been of limited value in the protection of human
rights of IDPs, as a number of states remain more committed to the doctrine of national
sovereignty when it comes to dealing with internal displacement.
In addition, many misunderstandings have arisen about the meaning of these
concepts. States in the Group of 77, for example, have expressed the fear that the
“responsibility to protect” could facilitate military intervention in their internal affairs by
the powerful states of the global north. The failure of states to protect their citizens has
too often met with a weak international response (COHEN AND DENG, 2009).
There is an urgent need for humanitarian and development actors, governments
and financial institutions to work together to ensure durable solutions to displacement.
Join approaches are also required to address the challenges resulting from the increasing
scale and complexity of forced displacement and to ensure that the standards set by the
Guiding Principles are met.
While refugees are entitled to seek international protection under the 1951
Refugee Convention and its 1957 Protocol, the international community is not under the
same legal obligation to protect IDPs. Internal displaced populations may flight for the
same reasons as refugees, but they receive markedly less international protection.
Ultimately, only political solutions to the underlining causes of the conflict causing
displacement will ease the IDP crisis and reduce its population.
3. PREVIOUS INTERNATIONAL ACTION
The debate over universal standards to address the plight of internally displaced
persons was incorporated into the international agenda in the post Cold War period, when
the number of persons uprooted within their own countries began to soar. While refugees
have been entitled to seek international protection under the Refugee Convention since
1951, the internally displaced were neither under the legal protection of international
instruments nor under the mandate of international organizations that could automatically
assist them. It was only in the late 1990s that an international document was adopted to
fill in this major gap and gray area in the legal system.
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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One of the most vivid examples of this recent institutional development was the
creation of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in 1998. Although not a
legally binding instrument and regardless that they were not drafted or formally approved
by an intergovernmental procedure, the Guiding Principles quickly gained substantial
international acceptance and authority. From the time they were introduced into the UN
Commission
on
Human
Rights,
international
organizations,
regional
bodies,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and a growing number of governments have
begun to cite and to apply them as a basis for policies and laws regarding IDPs.
Accordingly, regional organizations and national governments of African, American, and
European countries are increasingly engaged in addressing human rights issues recalling
the principles. However, most of Asian countries are still skeptical about the principles,
evoking sovereignty values.
In Europe, the fifty-five member Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) acknowledged the principles as a useful framework for the work of the
OSCE in dealing with internal displacement, which should affect its policies toward the
Russian Federation and Turkey, among others. In 2003, the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe urged its member states to incorporate the principles into their
domestic laws (COHEN, 2006).
In September 2008, eleven African countries adopted the first binding
multilateral instrument in the world focused on the issue of internal displacement, the
Protocol on the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons, signed in
20067. The objectives of the Great Lakes IDP Protocol are threefold: (i) to establish a
legal framework for the adoption of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and
a legal basis for their implementation in national law; (ii) to ensure legal protection of the
physical and material needs of IDPs and (iii) to reinforce member states’ commitment to
prevent and eliminate the root causes of displacement. Thus, the so called Pact on
Security, Stability and Development in the Great Lakes Region provides states-parties
with a comprehensive policy framework for their national response to internal
displacement, whose eleven signatories are Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic,
7
The Protocol on the Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons is available at
http://www.internal-displacement.org/8025708F004BE3B1/(httpInfoFiles)/29D2872A54561F66C12572
FB002BC89A/$file/Final%20protocol%20Protection%20IDPs%20-%20En.pdf. Last access: August 31,
2010.
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania,
Uganda, and Zambia (COHEN & DENG, 2009).
The example shown by the Great Lakes IDP Protocol and the notion that it was
not yet enough to address the displacement issue in the continent as a whole, drove 17
African countries to sign the African Union Convention on IDPs – also known as the
Kampala Convention–, contributing to build a stronger legal framework on the plight of
internal displacement. The Kampala Convention resulted from a complex three-year
drafting process that involved national governments, non-governmental organizations and
experts, including some from UN agencies and departments. It represents the single most
ambitious initiative to deal with IDPs, filling the gap in the international humanitarian
law for Africa’s displaced populations. However, even before the ink dried on the
convention, many countries were already pointing to the numerous challenges the treaty
will probably face. The most considerable one is the challenge of ratification; it is very
unlikely that we will see all the 53 African countries ratifying the convention – by March
2010, only Uganda has ratified the treaty. Several governments, such as Algeria and
Zimbabwe, barely recognize the gravity of the internal displacement situation and are
unwilling to let international actors to engage in their domestic affairs. Sudan, specially,
along Ethiopia, imposed many restrictions on international NGOs activities in the country
(IDMC, 2010).
Recently the impact of the principles has also begun to be felt at the national
level, where a small but increasing number of governments are anchoring national
policies based on them and incorporating their provisions into national law, therefore
making them binding at the domestic level. In 2001 the government of Angola integrated
the Guiding Principles into its law concerning the resettlement of the internally displaced
returnees after the civil war; in 2004 the Peruvian Congress adopted a law based on the
principles that provides material benefits to IDPs. Similarly, in Colombia the government
announced more aid to IDPs in response to a Constitutional Court decision based on the
Guiding Principles, while the government of Georgia brought its laws on voting rights
into line with them. Nevertheless, on the other hand, several countries are questioning the
legitimacy of the Guiding Principles, alleging that they were not drafted or formally
approved by an intergovernmental process (COHEN; DENG, 2009).
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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Even though considerable achievements have been made in the implementation
of laws and policies regarding IDPs, it is noticeable that the international community
needs a more effective legal system to assist and protect these populations. Such steps at
the regional and international levels are promising, but it will take some time before they
translate into concrete actions on the ground that will actually improve conditions for
IDPs. While the Guiding Principles have been well received at the rhetorical level, their
implementation remains problematic, and often rudimentary. However, the authority of
the principles will continue to increase over time and, with its sustained usage and
acceptance, a growing number of national and regional bodies will incorporate them as
part of their domestic law system. Some even argue that that if a sufficient number of
countries make them part of their national legislation and international legal bodies
regularly cite them as a source of law, the nonbinding elements of the principles might
evolve in time into a legally binding instrument. Therefore, over time and with continued
usage, the Guiding Principles and its internalization are bound to make a difference in the
lives of displaced people throughout the world.
4. BLOC POSITIONS
Significant progress has been made in Western Europe towards a more
effective assessment of IDPs in the last decade. In 2006, the Committee of Ministers of
the Council of Europe agreed on 13 recommendations on IDPs (Recommendation Rec,
2006). These Recommendations not only restate the non-binding Guiding Principles, but
also underline the binding obligations undertaken by the members of Council. These
obligations regard taking in account a special treatment to minorities, national
commitment to prevent major displacements, primary national responsibility in protecting
IDPs, and several other rules of procedure regarding the treatment of IDPs and their
human rights during its displacement and re-accommodation.
In 2009, the European Committee for Migration, Refugees and Population
adopted a report and a resolution on protracted internal displacement in Europe, calling
for a renewed and improved response to internal displacement.
The Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern about continued
displacement in Turkey and Russia, and urged those governments to comprehensively
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
24
address the needs of IDPs and facilitate their voluntary return, local integration and
resettlement. In Russia, over 150,000 people had been displaced by successive separatist
wars that broke out in Ingushetia and Chechnya, victims of internal armed conflict,
generalized violence and human rights violations. In Turkey, the government is expected
to formulate a national IDP plan of action, since it has to deal with more than 1 million
IDPs, victims of fighting between the Kurdish PKK and Turkish military, especially in
the Southeastern provinces.
Also in 2009, several governments in Eastern Europe worked on implementing
plans for IDPs. The government of Georgia adopted and began to implement a revised
action plan to execute its State Strategy on IDPs. The Bosnian Ministry for Human
Rights and Refugees revised the Strategy for achieving durable solutions for refugees,
displaced persons and returnees which will be presented to Parliament in the present year
for approval. Bosnia has more than 130,000 Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks IDPs
displaced by the 1992-95 war. Meanwhile, in Armenia the government sought foreign
funds for its latest programme to help conflict-induced IDPs return. Armenian’s IDPs are
mainly victims from the conflict with Azerbaijan over Nogorno-Karabakh, and the
majority of them have returned home since the 1994 ceasefire. Most European states have
established domestic normative framework since 1998. However, only three countries –
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey – have made significant progress in bringing their IDP
legislation into line with the provisions of the Guiding Principles (IDMC, 2010).
Meanwhile, the IDP situation has improved in the Balkans, where there have been
internationally negotiated and monitored agreements as well as advances in EU
integration.
Being the larger donor of humanitarian aid, the United States of America has a
fundamental role in tackling the IDPs issue. The National Security Strategy of the US,
issued in 2002, elevated the importance of development mentioning internal displacement
as a fundamental element of U.S. security. The United States Agency for International
Development, created in 1961 to provide assistance for countries recovering from
disaster, trying to escape poverty, and engaging in democratic reforms, became the U.S.
Government lead coordinator on internal displacement. The Agency works closely with
the US Department of State and other US Government entities, United Nations agencies,
international organizations and local institutions in affected countries (USAID, 2004).
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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However, the absence of an overall US government policy on humanitarian aid and a
continued lack of institutional clarity in dealing with IDPs remain as challenges to be
addressed to improve US response to internal displacement (COHEN; CALABIA, 2010).
In October 2009 the adoption of the African Union’s Convention for the
Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced People in Africa – the Kampala
Convention – was recognized as a historic achievement (IDMC, 2010). The Kampala
Convention is the first regional instrument in the world to impose legal obligations on
States to protect people from arbitrary displacement, to provide protection and assistance
to IDPs during displacement, and to seek durable solution for them. The Convention will
come into force once it has been ratified by 15 member states of African Union. While
several countries are in the process of drafting national policies or laws to protect and
assist IDPs, only Sudan and Uganda have national IDP policies and only the Liberian
government has incorporated the Guiding Principles into domestic law (IDMC, 2010).
Sudan accounts for more than 6 million displaced by North-South conflict and
the ongoing conflict in Darfur region.
By the end of 2009, the Great Lakes Pact on Security, Stability and
Development in Africa’s Great Lakes Region had been ratified by its 11 member states.
Both the Great Lake Pact and the Kampala Convention mark a real opportunity to address
the protection and assistance needs of IDPs in African countries. The Protocol to the
Great Lakes Pact on the Prevention and Suppression of Sexual Violence against Women
and Children also addresses the problem of rape and sexual violence in Africa.
Ratification must now be followed by concrete action by member states to realize
commitments to ensure the prosecution of perpetrators and the protection of women and
children who are survivors of sexual violence. Lack of political will and financial
resources contribute for the aggravation of IDPs issue in the region.
In South and South-East Asia the responses of the national authorities to
internal displacement situation vary greatly, but overall they have been insufficient.
While in India, Myanmar and Indonesia’s Papua Region governments refused to
acknowledge the existence or severity of displacement situations, and restricted the
access of independent monitors or agencies seeking to assist IDPs, most governments
acknowledged their responsibility towards their displaced population and collaborated
with the international community to assist them. However, few had the capacity or the
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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will to comprehensively address internal displacement. The drafting of IDPs laws in some
countries, such as Sri Lanka and Philippines, did not make significant progress during
the year of 2009. There was no coordinated regional response to the problem, and most
countries continue to avoid acting across their borders.
Progress was made in the past year with the establishment of the ASEAN InterGovernmental Human Rights Commission, the region’s first human rights mechanism.
However, due to a number of limitations such as the weakness of its mandate and the
absence of a formal mechanism for individual complaints, there are still doubts among
countries and international community about its effectiveness as an instrument to
implement human rights principles and standards.
The national responses to internal displacement in Middle East remain uneven.
Several factors continue to undermine an effective response including restrictions on
humanitarian access, insecurity including targeting of humanitarian workers, lack of
resources or will to recognize, assist or protect IDPs, and will and capacity of the
international community to address crisis situations.
In Lebanon, state institutions, national societies, and the international
community have responded to several waves of displacement. However, the situation
remains unstable in southern Lebanon and Nahr el Bared.
In Iraq, several steps were taken to address the needs of returnees and IDPs, but
the ability of the government to provide durable solutions was weakened by insecurity,
lack of national reconciliation, and insufficiency of resources and institutional capacity.
Prevailing insecurity also limited the capacity of national and international NGOs and
UN agencies to respond effectively.
In Gaza, advocacy denouncing demolition order against Palestinian’s homes and
revocation of residency permits in the West Bank remained ineffective in changing Israeli
policies, while Palestinian authorities continued to be impaired by their limited
jurisdiction and political disunity (IDMC, 2010).
In Yemen checkpoints established by government forces, opposition groups or
warring tribes increasingly limited the movement of civilians, including those seeking to
flee. After the resumption of conflict in the second half of 2009, the government took
some steps to facilitate a coordinated response; however, humanitarian agencies still
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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facesa range of challenge in gaining access to IDPs due to the prevailing insecurity, the
restrictions imposed on them, and limited resources.
In Latin America, resolution 24178 adopted by the Organization of American
States in June 2008 urges member states to consider using the Guiding Principles as a
basis for their plans, policies, and programs in support of IDPs and to continue to
consider implementing them in their domestic laws or policies.
In Colombia, in 2009, the Constitutional Court declared the right of IDPs to be
included in the registry and directed the government to address under-registration once
and for all by launching information campaigns; by registering people displaced in
previous years whose application had been rejected; and by sharing information between
the IDP registry and other government’s databases. Colombian statutory law, case law,
and administrative law reference the Guiding Principles repeatedly. The first statute on
displacement was adopted in the country in 1997. This statute created the National
System for the Integral Attention to the Displaced Population (SNAIPD), which
comprises 18 governments’ agencies at different levels (IDMC, 2009). Also, as
mentioned above, Colombia faces the second-largest case of IDP in the world, and the
large numbers of newly displaced people are overwhelming the capacity of the
government and humanitarian agencies.
In Peru, a law on internal displacement passed in 2004 represented a positive
step towards the protection of IDPs rights (IDMC, 2010). It incorporated the Guiding
Principles on Internal Displacement into local legislation, and created a focal point within
the Ministry of Women and Social Development (MIMDES) to coordinate the response
to internal displacement. The IDP division of MIMDES has since improved the the
Peruvian policy regarding IDPs by starting to register them for eventual reparations and
to implement some livelihoods programmes. However, during 2009, there was no
progress in registering and accrediting IDPs according to the 2004 statute (IDMC, 2010).
In Guatemala, 13 years after the end of the conflict between government forces
and insurgent factions grouped under the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity, little
progress has been made in implementing the measures for reparations included in the
8
Organization of American States General Assembly, AG/RES. 2417 (XXXVII-O/08): Internally
Displaced Persons (2008), paras. 2 and 3.
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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peace accords. The government has proved itself unable to provide security,
accountability, and access to justice to IDPs.
5. QUESTIONS TO PONDER
1.
What legal definition for internally displaced people can be defined under
the UNHCR framework?
2.
What actions could be taken to better support IDPs? What particular
assistance should vulnerable groups such as women, children and elderlies receive?
3.
What are the difficulties regarding the conciliation of internal commitment
and the respect of national sovereignty?
4.
What could be an alternative approach from the cluster approach?
5.
How can the international community act to prevent internal displacement
causes – not only assisting people who have already been displaced? What measures
should be taken in order to tackle the origin of the problem?
6.
In what extension poverty causes or enhances internal displacement?
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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TOPIC AREA B: CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN DISPLACEMENT
By Anaís Passos, Cláudia Pfeifer, Helena Melchionna Julien Demeulemeester, Letícia
Zenevich.
“Our foot is stuck on the accelerator and we are heading towards an abyss.”
(Ban Ki-Moon, 2009, at the World Climate Conference)
1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The connection between climate change and human migration is not a recent
phenomenon. It is broadly acknowledged that throughout the course of history, climatic
changes of different kinds have noticeably altered the landscape, the flora and the fauna,
and, hence, man's way of life. Although aware that environment is not the only factor
controlling man's destiny, for many years academics have taken into account the role
played by environmental factors in explaining the history of population and the
emergence of cities. For instance, the passage across the Bering Straits to America 13.000
years ago was possible due to the low sea levels of the ice Age; whereas in a different
period of history, the desertification of the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula have played
a key role in the emergence of ancient Egyptian civilization.
In that sense, it is important to observe that climatic events have had various
effects over communities in different parts of the world and throughout different periods
of history. Their influence in a given time and place have been greatly connected with the
way those communities were organized and their sources of subsistence. For example,
cereal cultivation by settled societies who have based their livelihood in non-irrigated
agriculture was highly dependent on the amount and incidence of precipitation during the
growing season. When the level of precipitation decreased significantly – or on the
occurrence of a drought period –, the usual outcomes were harvest failures and famines;
which in turn would, most of the times, cause the affected communities to leave their
homes. For example, in the case of the Zhou tribes, in China, around 3550 and 2200 B.C.,
the climatic conditions were one of the main factors that contributed to the constant
relocations of that community on the proximities of the Yellow River.
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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The situation is quite different, however, in societies that based their subsistence
on irrigated agriculture. The Ancient Egyptian civilization, for instance, had its powerful
crop production totally depending on the Nile River. Its territory had an arid climate with
extremely low levels of precipitation, but because they have developed a rather
sophisticated irrigation system, the people’s livelihood was not threatened by climatic
events. Hence, in those conditions, climate was not a migration driven force.
Taking that into account, it is important to realize how the phenomena resulted
from climate events have influenced humankind and its history throughout time. For
instance, the strong link between pluviometry and population density has been clearly
shown in the case of the droughts verified in the American Great Plains, in the 1890s,
1910s and1930s, which were responsible for the mass displacement of up to 75% of the
population from drought-stricken regions towards California. The same connection
between climate phenomena and population displacement was also noticed in the Sahel
region, between the years of 1969 and 1974, where the droughts triggered the migration
of millions of farmers and nomads to the cities (PIGUET, 2008). Other significant
examples of droughts causing great population displacement can be given by the Sudan
case, in 1988, when nearly 2.7 million people were forced to migrate (MAHRAN, 1995);
as well as in the North-east of Brazil, in 1985, where severe climate conditions were the
main responsible variable for a mass rural-urban displacement (SMITH, 2001).
Nevertheless, drought has not been the only climate related circumstances that
had affected communities and caused human migration. For millennia, people have
sought to protect themselves against the negative impacts of high-magnitude floods. In
fact, city walls against flooding are reported to have been built as early as 4000
years ago in China (WU, 1989). This ancient concern is well justified, considering that
extraordinary floods – which were part of a climate variability period that lasted
approximately from 4200 B.C to 4000 B.C – have caused the collapse of the highly
developed Neolithic civilizations over the plains along the lower course of the Yellow
River and the Yangtze River for destroying the settlements and farmlands. Floods have
continued on causing destruction and deaths in China, as exemplifies the floods of 1954
along the Yangtze River, which killed more than 30.000 people, and the floods of 1998,
which devastated parts of central China killing more than 3.600 people and leaving 15
million people homeless (SUH, 1998 and CHINA DAILY, 1998)
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Similar flood tragedies have also happened in different parts of the world,
tending to have more drastic effects on developing countries. This is illustrated, for
example, by the Mexican flood of 1999, when widespread flooding hit Gulf of Campeche,
and devastated mudslides in nine Mexican states. More than 400 people died, and at least
200.000 people lost their homes, being either temporarily or permanently displaced. In
that sense, it is noticed that flood disasters have also been accounting for a major force of
displacement all over the world as 167 million people were affected by them by the year
of 2002 (IFRC, 2003).
At last, other climate related natural phenomenon that has significantly affected
mankind for ages are the hurricanes and tropical cyclones. Bangladesh was one of the
world most affected countries by this kind of natural disaster, facing a total of 117
tropical cyclones from 1877 to 2003 (ISLAM and PETERSON, 2009). The Bhola
tropical cyclone that hit Bangladesh in November of 1970 was one of the most
devastating of the century with a loss of at least 300.000 lives. In that case, the storm not
only had social implications, but also some political side-effects, since the Pakistani
government was severely criticized for its handling of the relief operations following the
storm, what helped trigger the revolution that brought independence from Pakistan and
the establishment of Bangladesh as a country. Nevertheless, the region has yet suffered
again with another cyclone of high magnitude, in April of 1991, which killed
approximately 140.000 people and destroyed more than 800.000 homes.
Despite the fact that climate, as well as the phenomena linked to it, has been an
important variable to determine population movements throughout history, only recently
the matter of human migration caused by climate change related factors has more
seriously aroused in the international arena. In fact, the issue strongly emerged
concomitant to the increasing concerns of the international community on climate change
and its consequences. In 1985, the term "environmental refugees" was first coined as a
report title for the United Nations Environment Programme, underlining the early
concerns of the international community to the effects that climate change and natural
disasters in general could have upon people. Ever since, even though it is not a consensus
within the international community, the term has been widely diffused in both political
and academic circles (EL-HINNAWI, 1985).
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Other significant contribution to the debate of climate change and the human
displacement linked to it was made with the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC), in 1988, and the release of its First Assessment Report, in
1990, which stated that “the greatest effects of climate change may be those on human
migration as millions are displaced by shoreline erosion, coastal flooding and severe
drought.” (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 1990) That point was certainly
reinforced by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, at the United
Nations Climate Change Conference of 2009, in Copenhagen, who stated that “climate
change will become the biggest driver of population displacements, both inside and
across national borders, within the not too distant future” (UNHCR Website, 2009).
The past experiences described above regarding the relationship between human
migration and environmental changes throughout history are very important to be taken
into account when tackling the current climate change conjecture. Although, as
previously argued, this situation is, by no means, a new one; it has recently been taking
growing and devastating proportions. The international community, in this regard, must
be aware of the challenges of the past as to elaborate better manners to address the matter
of discussion within the UNHCR scope.
2. STATEMENT OF THE ISSUE
2.1 Climate change
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon stated that climate change “is the greatest
collective challenge we face” (CBC News, 2009). It is a clear-cut fact that it is a natural
phenomenon. However, it is also remarkable that anthropogenic action has performed an
extensive role in deepening this otherwise natural event. Hence, it is beyond any cavil
that the greenhouse effect is a naturally-driven effect, which has permitted life in earth to
develop, in retaining heat in the atmosphere. Briefly, greenhouse gases, such as carbon
dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, are responsible for naturally maintaining some of the
sun’s radiation on earth, instead of reflecting it back into space, thus keeping the world a
warm place. Nonetheless, when compounded with greenhouse gases originated from
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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anthropogenic action, the global temperature may achieve levels that could lead to the
elimination of all forms of life on earth.
On this sense, studies estimate an increase of the global average surface
temperature of 0.74°C over the last century, and the temperature is still expected to
increase even more, between 1.8°C and 4°C by the year 2100 – a rapid and profound
change – should the necessary action not be taken. Even if the minimum predicted
increase takes place, it will be larger than any century-long trend in the last 10,000 years.
Hence, it is not on discussion whether climate change can be stopped – it is irreversible,
as its consequences are already being brutally experienced. What can be done, on the
other side, is the larger possible reduction of its future effects, which includes agricultural
and hydrological drought, tropical cyclones, inundation, flooding and desertification,
among others. All these factors, bringing serious consequences by themselves, do also
aggravate one of the already most triggering questions of public international law – the
(forced) human migration, be it as refugees or as internally displaced persons – a major
issue which urges for a proper and humanitarian solution, as it involves human dignity,
free will (the will of oneself to determine where to live and where to go), human rights
and sovereignty, in a difficult – yet necessary – balance of values and principles.
In order to establish consensus over these questions, which are highly
charged with a political voice on how to respond to climate change, the IPCC, a political
neutral organ, charged with the production of non-biased researches on climate change
was created in 1988. This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was
planned by the World Metereological Organization and the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP). In 1990, this group delivered a first assessment report, which
contained the views of 400 scientists. This report stated that global warming was real and
action towards it was urgent. These findings induced governments to create the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was ready for
signature at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
popularly known as the "Earth Summit", in Rio de Janeiro. IPCC has now a wellestablished role, in reviewing worldwide researches and issuing regular assessment
reports. Moreover, the UNFCCC propose definitions in order to bring consensus over this
matter. Thus, climate change is thereby defined as “a change of climate which is
attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global
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atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over
comparable time periods” (UNFCCC, Art.1). This conceptual systematization allowed
governments to seek for a joint response, guided by the principles and commitments set
forth in the UNFCCC, to decrease the worst projections which come along with the
increase of the global temperature.
Nevertheless, surrounding the global commitment theoretically reached by this
convention, there is also an intriguing ethical problem to be approached: the countries
which did contribute largely for the emission of carbon dioxide, namely, the countries of
the socio-political North, are the ones which are less likely to experience the worst effects
of climate change. Concretely, the developed countries emitted two thirds of the carbon
dioxide resulting from anthropogenic action in the atmosphere, while countries in
development have only contributed with one third of these emissions (NOBRE, 2010).
Accordingly, there is an increasing debate on how to balance the unequal contribution of
each country to this problem, and yet to find a wide array of gradual and permanent
solutions which can arrange for each country to low its dioxide emissions without barring
its progress and development. Here, it is important to underline the principle of ‘common
but differentiated responsibility’, that is, despite their common responsibilities, important
differences exist between the stated responsibilities of developed and developing
countries. This principle evolved from the notion of the ‘common heritage of mankind’
and is a manifestation of general principles of equity in international law. As so, it
recognizes historical differences in the contributions of developed and developing States
to global environmental problems, and differences in their respective economic and
technical capacity to tackle these problems.
The Rio Declaration states:
In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation,
States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed
countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international
pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place
on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they
command (UNEP, 1992).
Similar language exists in the Framework Convention on Climate Change; parties
should act to protect the climate system “on the basis of equality and in accordance with
their
common
but
differentiated
responsibilities
and
respective
capabilities.”
Furthermore, in order to counterbalance this sensible situation, in which political voices
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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can be louder than science itself, it is important to recourse to the IPCC's findings, once
they reflect global scientific consensus and are apolitical in character. Thusly, IPCC
reports are frequently used as the basis for decisions made under the Convention, and
they played a major role in the negotiations leading to the Kyoto Protocol, a second, more
far-reaching international treaty on climate change that entered into force on 16 February
2005, after long rounds of negotiation to try to conciliate these disparities, in imposing
varying limits on carbon dioxide emissions.
Moreover, in December 2009, officials from over 110 countries met in
Copenhagen, Denmark, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in order to
conclude an agreement that would enter into force after the first phase of the Kyoto
Protocol expires in 2012. The meeting was the culmination of a process that began in
2007, when Governments at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali,
Indonesia, launched the Bali Road Map – a two-year negotiating process to design an
ambitious and effective international climate change deal to follow on the first phase of
the Kyoto Protocol. Although the rounds of negotiation ended with only 26 countries
signing the Copenhagen Accord, this Accord, yet to prove its value and not binding in
character, has, at least, a symbolic strength by drawing the world leaders’ attention to this
issue. Some countries left Copenhagen unsatisfied with its outcome, as Brazil, Bolivia,
Cuba, the Maldives, Tuvalu and Venezuela. Others were pleased, in recognizing in the
Accord a joint start to a further commitment, as Australia, Great Britain, India, People´s
Republic of China and the United States.
2.2 Human displacement
In its First Assessment Report in 1990, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) stated that the gravest effects of climate change may be those on human
mobility (IPCC, 1990). In this context, it also alarming to understand that, whether more
rigid or more complacent measures are taken, one fact is indisputable: people moving as a
result of environmental changes by the middle of this century, either within their
countries or across borders, on a permanent or temporary basis, will vary between 50 and
200 million.
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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A series of challenges is imposed for the displaced, as well as for the authorities
concerned, such as evacuations before and during disasters, relocations when returning to
the original place of residence is not possible or too dangerous, and, more generally, the
need to find durable solutions for those among the displaced who cannot return and
resume their normal lives in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Another point to
complicate this issue is the double obligation carried by States – which have to, under
human rights obligations, prevent ensuing threats to the life and property of persons; at
the same token, the State has also the duty to respect its individuals´ decisions, abstaining
from exerting any pressure regarding the freedom of movement of its population. It
means that people displaced by natural disasters or other effects of climate change have
the right to freedom of movement, including the right to freely decide whether to remain
in or to leave an endangered area and the right to opt freely to return to their homes, to
relocate elsewhere in the country or to locally integrate. It should encourage governments
to structure an institutionalized solution to provide to these persons an efficient
withdrawal, conditions to a proper reestablishment, balancing all these factors with the
guarantee of respect for their crystallized human rights. Notwithstanding the future
provisions, brutal results of climate change are already being sensed on the sphere of
human displacement, although it is important to highlight that climate change and human
migration
have had
a long-term
association
throughout
human
history,
as
abovementioned. Climate change could be associated with the increase of migration in
several ways, either directly or indirectly, for in the discussion of environmental refugees
many scholars agree that migration caused to a substantial part by environmental change
is happening. Nonetheless, what generally stands out is the key concept of multi-causality
of migration. There are many other factors interacting dynamically that play an important
role in movements of migration, even where the effects of climate change are present.
Hence, the concomitance of climate change and migration is an indicator for but should
not be mistaken as evidence for a causal linkage. Another point at stake is that it cannot
be presumed that natural disasters are the only drivers, in the sphere of climate change, of
displacement. On this sense, it is important, prior to providing cases of direct relation
between climate change and human displacement, to highlight that, in this movement, the
indirect relations between climate change and displacement shall also be brought to
attention (Perch-Nielsen, 2004). On the other hand, for a more concrete framework, it is
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important to bring to the spotlight the effects already in course of the rising sea in the
Pacific Islands, which is, so far, the most affected region in the world by this
consequence of climate change. At these islands, the rising sea levels have been a source
of great insecurity for the populations in question, which are being forced to consider
relocation as a very likely option.
One of the most extreme cases is the island of Tuvalu, which has its territory
invaded by sea water at every high tide – interrupting the potable water supplying on the
island, threatening the inhabitants’ subsistence. An unilateral action has been developed
by New Zealand to support the Tuvalu people. It has created a special immigration
program aiming to relocate on its territory the entire population of Tuvalu – which is
currently estimated in approximately 11 thousand people. Nevertheless, the international
community as a whole still has to undertake several other actions regarding situations
involving the rising of sea levels. It should be stressed that these circumstances are not
restricted to the Pacific Islands. More than 600 million people live in low-lying coastal
zones; out of this number, 438 million live in Asia and 246 million in the poorest
countries of the world. The flood zones are particularly populated in South Asia (near the
Indus and Ganges-Brahmaputra rivers) and East Asia (near Mekong and Yangtze rivers).
If effective measures of mitigation and adaptation are not taken, large numbers of people
may have to migrate in decorrence of floodings in these areas.
Similar conditions are faced by the Carteret Islands of Papua New Guinea,
where a combination of coastal erosion, destruction of sea walls and inundation by salt
water has severely damaged the fertility of the lands, which are the source of subsistence
to most citizens. Since emergency food supplies are not likely to last for long, there is a
very clear possibility of relocation of these population to the plantations on the
neighboring island of Bougainville as soon as 2011 (UNHCR Website).
Another effect of climate change has been frequent drought conditions and
desertification in some regions of the planet. According to the International Disaster
Database, 146 million people, on average, were affected by droughts between 2000 and
2005 (International Disaster Database, 2009). The latest report of the IPCC predicts
increased water shortages especially in the Asian and African continent, which threatens
to affect 74 to 250 million by 2020. For instance, Ethiopia has been facing serious
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drought conditions since 2007, which have led to starvation and driven population
migration to refugee camps in other parts of the continent (IPCC, 2010).
These conditions are also being faced by the people in Somalia, which is
considered to be one of the most vulnerable states of the world to the impacts of climate
change (UNDP, 2008). Somalia, a collapsed State that has faced 20 years of armed
conflicts, droughts and floods, had its drought cycle changed over the last decades from
once every ten years to become an unpredictable constant. “In 2009, the drought
intensified in many regions, and in the places that experienced rain, it often came in the
form of unexpected and heavy rainfalls that often killed off much of the livestock that
was already weak from the drought” (KOLMANNSKOG, 2009). For a country that has
livestock and rain-fed agriculture as its main livelihoods and components of the economy,
this environment circumstances are of the utmost gravity. In addition, the combination of
armed conflicts with climate change effects has been working as a major stimulator to
mass migration flows both inside and outside Somalia’s borders. In one hand, the scarcity
of resources appears to escalate the preexisting conflicts by increasing competition;
whereas these conflicts, on the other hand, may exacerbate the droughts, considering that
war and military activities have detrimental impacts on the environment. Initially, many
Somalis have been fled, from the intense conflict in Mogadishu and its surrounding areas
towards the countryside; however, due to constant drought and environmental
degradation in these areas, they have often been forced to go across the border to Kenya
(Refugee Studies Centre, 2008). The climate situation in Kenya, nevertheless, is also very
fragile, considering that some parts of the country has faced severe flooding conditions in
1997, 2003, 2006 and once again in 2009-2010; whereas other parts of the country have
been threatened by terrible droughts (Refugee Studies Centre, 2008).
Conversely, in Burundi, where 94 percent of the working population is
employed in the agricultural sector, many as subsistence farmers with rain-fed farms, the
effects of climate change are devastating The drought in Kirundo, for example, in 2007,
in the northern region of Burundi, was characterized by family separation with the male
head of household leaving in search of work, while in conflicts and sudden-onset
disasters entire families are often forced to move (UNDP, 2010).
Also in Africa, climate changes in Nigeria are making some land uninhabitable
and affecting water supplies – threatening people’s basic needs and triggering
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displacement. Nigeria is working to meet the Hyogo Framework for Action’s (HFA) five
priorities for action9. The HFA is a key instrument for implementing disaster risk
reduction, adopted by the UN Member States to the period 2005-2015. Its overarching
goal is to build resilience of nations and communities to disasters, by achieving
substantive reduction of disaster losses by 2015 – in lives, and in the social, economic,
and environmental assets of communities and countries. Ten years after being set up,
Nigeria’s National Emergency Relief Agency (NEMA) has achieved great improvements
in terms of structures put in place for managing disasters. However, it is obvious that in
many cases there has been poor execution of responsibilities by the authorities at state
and local government levels. Most flood victims do not get compensation or relief during
flood disaster; if it comes, it usually comes too late or with strings attached (UNDP,
2010).
Moreover, climate change has caused sudden-onset disasters, such as floods and
storms. According to the International Disaster Database, between 2000 and 2005
approximately 106 million people were affected by flooding worldwide, whereas 38
million were affected by hurricanes (International Desaster Database, 2009). An example
of that is the Katrina Hurricane, a Category 4 Storm that hit the Gulf Coast region of the
states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, in the United States of America, on 29th
August of 2005. Katrina has brought about the displacement of over 1 million people,
mostly
of
whom
have
moved
to
other
states
in
the
US,
especially
Texas, Tennessee, Georgia and California (International Desaster Database, 2009).
However, after a certain level a region can no longer be capable of sustaining
itself. At this point, national (and regional) adaptation strategies should therefore
incorporate migration as an adaptation option – recognizing, for instance, that people can
often live and keep their assets in more than one place. In Botswana, for instance, many
of the urban poor rely on livestock and farmland in rural home areas for food and income
reserves. Yet, as non-residents in their home area, they are not entitled to drought relief
and risk heavy losses without compensation in the event of failure of the rain.
Moreover, besides these effects already in course, the so-called hotspots should
be brought to the spotlight. Hotspots are zones where the consequences of the climate
9
The HFA five priorities action are: (1) Make Disaster Risk Reduction a Priority; (2) Know the Risks and
Take Action; (3) Build Understanding and Awareness; (4) Reduce Risk; and (5) Be Prepared and Ready to
Act. More information available at http://www.unisdr.org/eng/hfa/hfa.htm Last access: September 2, 2010.
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variability are to be of the utmost gravity for humanitarian purposes. Hence, these zones
are also more likely to have either migrance and/or internal displacements. Moreover,
specific hazards associated with climate change, such as floods, cyclones and droughts,
were mapped in relation to factors influencing human vulnerability. In this sense, floodrisk hotspots were identified in Africa (particularly in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, the
Great Lakes region, Central Africa and South-east Africa); Central, South and South-east
Asia; and Central America and the western part of South America. Concerning droughtrisk hotspots, they are mainly located in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia (particularly
Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India) and South-east Asia (notably Burma, Vietnam
and Indonesia). Finally, the cyclone-risk hotspots include Mozambique and Madagascar,
Central America, Bangladesh, parts of India, Vietnam and several other South-east Asian
countries (Perch-Nielsen, 2004).
2.3 Climate change and conflicts
Another crucial correlation that should be addressed is the one between climate
change and the increase of conflicts
According to the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), the
sudden disaster conflicts are likely to occur more frequently in the future (WBGU, 2010).
In this sense, Darfur is often used to illustrate how climate change can interact
with other factors to trigger a violent conflict. When Darfur first made headlines, the
most common explanation of the violent conflict emphasized the ethnic differences
between Arabs and Africans. However, more recently prominent officials such as the UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon have argued that “the Darfur conflict began as an
ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change” (Washington Post, 2007).
Specifically regarding Darfur, UNEP’s post-conflict environmental assessment
(UNEP, 2007) indicates that there is a very strong link between land degradation,
desertification and conflict in Darfur. The boundary between desert and semi-desert is
shifting southwards partly due to declining precipitation. This is commonly attributed to
climate change, although some authors maintain that the semi-arid Sahel with strong
climate variability is not a good case for illustrating or proving climate change. The 20year drought, regardless of cause, played an important role by reducing the land available
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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for farming and herding, but as the UNEP assessment also recognizes, climate (and/or
environmental) change alone does not offer the full explanation for the outbreak or the
extent of the violent conflict. All countries in the Sahel have felt the impact of global
warming, but so far only Sudan has experienced such devastating conflict (UNEP, 2007).
Also storm and flood disasters along densely populated regions, like the coasts of the
Indian subcontinent and China, can cause major damage and initiate or intensify
migration processes which in turn could trigger a conflict. For instance, Bangladesh is
likely to suffer natural disasters (OCDE, 2003), resulting in longer-distance and longerterm migration, causing neighboring India to build a fence-wall along the border to avoid
mass migration from Bangladesh (OCDE, 2003). Besides, Bangladesh is plagued by
political violence and a growing trend toward Islamist extremism.
Finally, another country that is important to be mentioned is Indonesia. It faces
increased vulnerability to the effects of climate change, especially rising sea levels,
changes in precipitation and extreme weather events. Climate projections indicate that the
mean wet-season rainfall will increase across most of Indonesia while the length of the
dry season is expected to increase, bringing increased risk of floods during the rainy
season and drought in the dry season (DFID, World Bank, Ministry of Indonesia, 2007).
This will have a particular impact on water resources, agriculture and forestry, health and
infrastructure. Such an impact could also lead to migrations and/or displacement.
2.4 Jurisdisction and concepts
Furthermore, not only the major scale of effects due to climate change is deeply
preoccupying; another issue at stake is that people displaced solely due to the effects of
climate change cannot be described as climate refugees, since there is no accepted
definition for it. This lack of classification was already called “the main normative
protection gap” (UNHCR, 2009) for persons displaced. According to the United Nations,
a refugee is
[any person who] owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons
of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or
political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or,
owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that
country (UN, 1951).
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Consequently, the terms “environmental refugee” and “climate refugee” have no
legal basis in international refugee law, creating a point of controversy among scholars
and practitioners. On one hand, the term “climate refugees” implies a mono-causality that
one rarely finds in human reality. A drought, for example, depending on where it
happens, on the measures taken and on the people awareness, may or may not cause a
forced migration or a conflict. That is, we cannot establish a direct relation between
climate change and forced migration without counting on several other factors which may
contribute for these migrations. On the other hand, the lack of a refugee status turns out to
be a barrier against international support and action towards persons on the move because
of climate change-related factors.
Because of the controversy in regard to the classification, two main opinions
arise: 1) some states and NGOs have suggested that the aforementioned convention
should simply be amended and expressly extended to include people who have been
displaced across borders as a result of long-term climate change or sudden natural
disasters; and 2) other NGO’s, however, fear that the broadening of the scope of
protection given by international instruments, as the Convention of Cartagena, will lessen
their efficacy and jeopardize the willing of the governments to properly apply their
clauses (UNHCR, 2009).
While there is aprioristically no legal protection to an environmental (or climate)
refugee crossing borders, there is already a crystallized definition of environmental
refugees, which is
people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or
permanently, because of a marked environmental disruption (natural and/or
triggered by people) that jeopardized their existence and/or seriously affected
the quality of their life. By ‘environmental disruption’ in this definition is
meant any physical, chemical and/or biological changes in the ecosystem (or
resource base) that render it, temporarily or permanently, unsuitable to support
human life (El-Hinnawi: 1985).
Thus, although there is consensus about the definition of a person who flee
home, the lack of a proper legal instrument to deal with these individuals exists and
presents its effects in the international scenario of climate-driven migrations.
Yet, it is important to underline that many of the forced migrants are likely to be
internally displaced, a category which is recognized in the 1998 Guiding Principles on
Internal Displacement (UN Comission of Human Rights, 1998). Additionally, in cases of
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severe environmental degradation and sudden disasters, the human right principle of nonrefoulement could also apply. It means that when the risk of certain ill-treatment exists,
people are protected against return to their home. Another solution concerning
international protection could be met by granting humanitarian asylum or another
protected status to those who cannot fit the refugee status, even though not being
considered internally displaced.
Finally, broadening or limiting the scope of the term “refugee” does not alter the
fact that the degree of people’s vulnerability to climatic hazards is determined by a
complex interaction of social, economic, and political processes, which brings us back to
the economical disparities among countries and their consequences in finding a global
solution to refrain the worst projections of the effects of climate change from becoming a
reality.
3
PREVIOUS INTERNATIONAL ACTION
3.1 The UNHCR and climate change
The UNHCR is a humanitarian agency whose mission is to lead and coordinate
international action to protect refugees, internally displaced persons and stateless persons,
solving their main problems worldwide. Although dealing with climate change and its
consequences was not originally in the UNHCR mandate, the agency has been engaging
in some important activities in order to manage climate change and its threats to human
lives. Its actions range from small and long-term projects to mitigate climate change
effects inside the refugee camps and surrounding areas to a myriad of active
participations of its High Commissioner, António Guterres, at the United Nations Climate
Change Conference and other meetings aiming at alerting to the impacts of climate
change upon communities and their relation with human migration.
The agency started to involve with the matter because the effects of climate
change have begun to challenge its operations, threatening the well-being of refugees as
well as undermining UNHCR’s core mandate of asylum protection. This is especially true
in Africa, where many refugee camps, already overcrowded and facing a myriad of
necessities, have also been struggling with severe droughts and floods. In Kenya, for
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example, a severe flooding in 2006 left 78,000 uprooted people, and seriously disrupted
UNHCR’s operations. Attempting to mitigate the situation, the UNHCR airdropped 200
tones of relief supplies for thousands of refugees in the area. The aid to address floods in
that region has intensified, considering that, in 2009, UNHCR and its partners adopted a
series of emergency measures such as improving drainage in critical locations around the
areas where the camps are located. They have also been working on some long-term
projects including reforestation, water harvesting and the possibility of using water from
swamps, dams and shallow wells to meet the needs of livestock kept by the refugees and
by the local communities (UNHCR Website, 2009).
In a number of African countries such as Chad, Ethiopia, Namibia and Sudan,
UNHCR is collaborating with the Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE)
to promote sustainable forms of agriculture in refugee camps that are confronted with the
problem of deforestation (UNHCR, 2009). For instance, in eastern Chad the effects of
climate change have been causing increasingly strong droughts as the desertification
problem aggravates. UNHCR, hence, acted upon it in partnership with other
organizations and the Chad government to combat the problem with programmes seeking
better management of dwindling water resources, the introduction of alternative fuel
sources (such as gas and biogas), and the mitigation of desertification by reforestation
projects. Furthermore, in order to protect eastern Chad's scarce water reserves, UNHCR
and the Ministry of Environment have implemented a more sustainable strategy that
comprises a three-year approach. Based on it, in 2009, new wells and boreholes have
been dug in the camps and surrounding villages, while a special team searches for new
underground reserves. In the same year, refugee and local communities have been taught
to use different water sources for various purposes: drinking, livestock, cultivation and
construction work. As a next step, electrical pumps will be replaced by manual pumps,
which are easier to use and cheaper to maintain (UNHCR Website, 2009).
The UNHCR also justifies its current role in dealing with the consequences of
climate change by stating that the environmental circumstances have been adding up to
the scale and complexity of human mobility and displacement, further contributing to
conflict and intensifying competition for scarce resources (UNDP, 2010).The agency
stresses that refugees, displaced persons and stateless persons constitute some of the
world’s most vulnerable groups and they are and will continue to be affected by
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climate change. Not all of them have the resources to manage or adapt to it. In that sense,
whether the change is slow (such as desertification) or sudden (such as natural disasters),
the impact might be the cause of more displacement both within national borders and
beyond (UNDP, 2010).
In that sense, the UNHCR has engaged in climate change related disaster
prevention and relief only under specific circumstances. That is to say, when refugee and
other persons of concern to the UNHCR were affected; when, within the UN Cluster
Approach for internally displaced people (IDPs), UNHCR assumed the global lead for the
Protection Cluster and Co-lead for the global Camp Coordination and Camp Management
Cluster (CCCM) and for the Emergency Shelter Cluster; or when the UNHCR had the
emergency stocks and the capability to help. The latest case can be illustrated by the
actions of the agency in 2008, when it moved 430 tons of shelter and basic household
supplies into Myanmar in order to aid 130.000 cyclone victims (UNHCR website, 2010).
So far, the UNHCR strategy to help refugees and IDPs affected by climate
change has been based upon four pillars. The first of it is related to the management of
operations, in which the agency has engaged with several partners within the
humanitarian community – including Governments, NGO’s and other international
organizations –, in order to integrate disaster risk reduction in national programmes.
Bearing that in mind, operations in the field have been functioning in accordance with the
UNHCR Environmental Guidelines10, always seeking to increase usage of renewable
energy sources and look for disaster-resistant locations, thus minimizing impact on the
environment. The promotion of environmentally-friendly shelter-construction practices is
another UNHCR priority and, in this respect, it has encouraged the use of sun-dried mud
bricks and reusable roofing components (UNHCR website, 2010).
The second pillar is the Protection Policy, through which UNHCR has been
assisting and protecting all persons that can be qualified as refugees according to the
1951 Convention as well as IDPs fleeing natural disasters, based upon the 1998 Guiding
10
The UNHCR Environmental Guidelines (1996) intends to establish some criteria in order to address
environmental concerns in refugee operations. It comprises a number of projects aimed at preventing and
mitigating deforestation, depletion of water supplies and the disappearance of wild food resources within
the refugee camps and surrounding areas. Its projects include promotion of energy efficient stoves, as well
as solar and ethanol stoves where appropriate; environmentally friendly shelter constructions; sustainable
agriculture within the camps; reforestation within the camps and surrounding areas; environmental
educations and awareness raising among refugees and IDP populations.
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Principles on Internal Displacement. Nevertheless, for not filling in the status of refugee
defined by the 1951 Convention, people who cross borders fleeing climate change related
effects may be considered as simple migrants and, hence, not be granted the proper
protection to match with their latent needs. In that sense, there is a major protection gap
that ends up limiting the framework for action of the UNHCR, which can only
superficially tackle the issue.
Furthermore, the UNHCR third strategic pillar is Advocacy. This was pursued,
for instance, through the participation of the agency in the Conference of the Parties
(COP 14)11, in Poznan, in December of 2008, where UNHCR representatives underlined
the need to anticipate the humanitarian response of the international community to
climate change implications, especially when adaptation and mitigation of effects fail.
More recently, the UNHCR has also advocated its cause by a number of submissions to
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to ensure
climate-induced displacement was properly dealt with in the outcome document of the
United Nations Climate Change Conference, which was hold at Copenhagen in
December of 2009. In that occasion, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António
Guterres, stated that “climate change will become the biggest driver of population
displacements, both inside and across national borders, within the not too distant future”
(UNHCR Website, 2009).
At last, the fourth pillar is the strengthening of strategic partnerships with other
UN agencies, International Organizations, NGO’s and State Governments. For instance,
UNHCR has been closely working in field missions with UNICEF, the World Food
Programme (WFP) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA). Whereas some of its main partners outside the UN framework are the
International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Norwegian Refugee Council, and the
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Cooperation
with these institutions often includes joint organization and execution of programs and
activities, as well as close coordination and the provision of complementary services.
Furthermore, the UNHCR has also recently started to coordinate its actions with
the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on the Human Rights of Internally
11
The 14th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC), along with the 4th Session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, which took
place on 1 – 12 December 2008 in Poznań, Poland.
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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Displaced Persons in order to raise awareness about the humanitarian and human rights
implications of climate change (FONTE).
3.2 State Governments and climate change
Besides the United Nations, there were also some important multilateral and
unilateral initiatives by State Governments in order to tackle the matter of climate change
and its impacts on communities. However, so far, International Cooperation between
state parties in order to address the issue has been very limited.
The European Commission, for instance, has taken many climate-related
initiatives since 1991, when it issued the first Community strategy to limit carbon dioxide
(CO 2) emissions and improve energy efficiency. Later on, it launched European Climate
Change Programmes I and II (ECCP I). The goal of the first ECCP, established in 2000,
was to identify and develop all the necessary elements of an EU strategy to implement the
Kyoto Protocol. The second ECCP, which was launched in 2005, is currently the
Commission's main instrument to discuss and prepare further development of the EU's
climate policy.
However, the most significant actions undertaken by state governments on
climate change consequences concerns the matter of rising sea levels and the threat of
sinking faced by the Pacific Islands. A remarkable example of that is the initiative taken
by the New Zeland Government regarding the situation of the Tuvalu people - who faces
a serious risk of statelessness in the future as the sea levels rise. New Zeland created a
special immigration program aimed at relocating in its territory the entire population of
Tuvalu – which is currently estimated in approximately 11 thousand people (UNHCR
website, 2010).
In addition, also concerned about the rapid increase of sea levels, a heterogenic
group of 43 Island-Nations has gathered to form the Alliance of Small Island States
(AOSIS) in the 1990s. The group has intended to call the attention of the international
community to their pressing matter and push international organisms to take the
necessary measures to prevent major climate changes; however, they are not achieving
much success over the last years due to a general lack of interest from some developed
countries to further engage in this situation.
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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3.3. The international community and climate change
The International Community started to officially recognize climate change and
its consequences in 1988 with the establishment of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), which led to the further creation of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992. So far, there were 14
Conferences of Parties to the UNFCCC and the next Conference is scheduled to
December 2010, in Cancun, Mexico. The last conference, held in the city of Copenhagen
in 2009 resulted in the Copenhagen Agreement, which recognizes the need for keeping
temperature rises to no more than 2ºC, but does not contain commitments to reductions in
the level of greenhouse gases emissions to achieve that goal. Since this conference made
little concrete progress comparing to what was previously stated in the Kyoto Protocol,
the Cancun Conference (COP 16) is expected to advance in the dialogue between
countries in order to generate a more powerful agreement.
The Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force in 2005, without being ratified, aims
at limiting and reducing the carbon dioxide emissions and has been an essential reference
for refraining environmental degradation and mitigating climate change in an
international scale. Its goal was to reduce the overall emissions of the greenhouse gases12
by at least 5 per cent below 1990 levels within the period from 2008 to 2012.
Following the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities”, the Kyoto
Protocol did not impose any legally binding reduction commitments on developing
countries. In addition, the Protocol allows for trading in assigned amount units and for the
fulfillment of commitments by using the certified emission reductions generated by the
implementation of projects in developing countries under the Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM)13. Its first phase of implementation is to be concluded in 2012; hence
the need of the UNFCCC to establish a new agreement that can make significant progress
on the reduction of green house emissions and other issues related to climate change.
12
A to the Protocol defines the greenhouse gases as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide
(N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
13
The CDM allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction
(CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2. These CERs can be traded and sold, and used by
industrialized countries to meet a part of their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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The UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol are, so far, the greatest achievements of the
international community concerning climate change and its consequences. Nevertheless,
these conventions, even though recognizing, to a certain extent, the consequences that
climate change might have as a migration force, do not stipulate any specific measures
regarding humanitarian matters related to climate change phenomena, including
migration, displacement and, in some cases, statelessness. Hence, humanitarian agencies
and organizations such as the UNHCR keep on stressing the necessity of reaching an
international agreement able to fulfill the gap of protection to affected communities.
Other important steps in addressing climate change include the Bali Action Plan
and the Nairobi Work Programme on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate
change. The former intended to provide a roadmap towards a new international climate
change agreement to be concluded by 2009, leading to a post-2012 international
agreement on climate change. Its importance is partly due to the emphasis it attributes to
disaster risk reduction, which reflects a growing recognition that climate change
adaptation and disaster risk reduction agendas are closely linked (UNISDR Website,
2009). The latter is a five-year programme (2005-2010) implemented by Parties,
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, the private sector, communities
and other stakeholders. Its objective is to assist all Parties, in particular developing
countries, to improve their understanding and assessment of impacts, vulnerability and
adaptation to climate change, as well as to make informed decisions on practical
adaptation actions and measures to respond to climate change on a sound scientific,
technical and socioeconomic basis, taking into account current and future climate change.
Furthermore, in regard to natural disasters, which are the climate change’s most
serious consequences, the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) was established at the
World Conference on Disaster Reduction, in 2005, under the United Nations International
Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). Taking the previously mentioned
conventions into account, it is perceived that, until the present moment, the international
community has focused primarily on the scientific aspects of climate change, with the
aim of understanding the processes at play and mitigating the impact of human activity.
In this sense, not much has been done to tackle the humanitarian problems and challenges
climate change is likely to pose in a not too distant future.
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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4. BLOC POSITIONS
In Australia, the Government believes that the Carbon Pollution Reduction
Scheme (CPRS) is the cheapest and most effective way of tackling climate change.
Australia is investing in clean energy technologies has both signed and ratified the Kyoto
Protocol (UNFCC Submissions, 2009). Furthermore, Australia’s geographic location
warrants further leadership on the issue of climate refugees, since the South Pacific
countries are likely to have their populations relocated to Australia or New Zealand in
case of displacement.
The Government of Canada is committed to tackling climate change through
sustained action, aiming at the construction of a low-carbon economy. This includes
reaching a global agreement, working with its North American partners and prioritizing
domestic actions. Canada has signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol and is aware of the
climate refugees’ issue, being recognized around the world for its leadership in resettling
refugees and people who need protection (UNFCC Submissions, 2009, Government of
Canada, 2010).
Despite being the world biggest producer of greenhouse gases (GHG), China
expressed at Copenhagen its intent to set a “binding goal” to cut CO2 per unit of Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) by 40 – 45% below 2005 levels by 2020. Furthermore, China
requires rich countries to pay 1% of their GDP per year to help the adaptation of
underdeveloped countries. For this adaptation, however, China also pledges the West to
provide low-carbon technology. It signed Kyoto as a developing country; thus, it is not
obliged to cut emissions (BBC News, 2009, UNFCC Submissions, 2009). Furthermore,
China’s huge territory and location is subject of several natural disasters, such as
droughts, floods and earthquakes, and the Chinese government calculates that 30 million
people may be displaced due global warming impacts in the country.
The European Union is composed by 27 European States, accounting to the
world’s third-biggest GHG producer. It desires to cut emissions by 20% from 1990 levels
by 2020, and encourages countries in development to slow the growth of their emissions. It
signed Kyoto, and thus has to get average emissions for 2008-2012 8% below 1990 level.
(BBC News, 2009; UNFCC Submissions, 2009). European countries are not at high risk
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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zones regarding the impact of climate change on human displacement. However, migration
movements from the South towards the region are to be expected.
Iceland defines a long-term global goal as a central element, considering that the
IPCC data gives enough comfort to be translated into a quantitative goal. Iceland states
that global emissions need to be reduced by at least 50% by 2050 with a peak in
emissions no later than 2020. It also brings to attention the fact that mitigation policies
regarding climate change and human displacement should include gender perspectives
(UNFCC Submissions, 2009).
New Zealand believes that it is necessary to identify cost effective mitigation
opportunities. Therefore it has agreed to accept migrants from Tuvalu, which experts
believe will be completely submerged by the middle of next century. Moreover, New
Zealand finds it essential to use objective criteria and mutual accountability to guide
measurements, reports and verifications on actions and support. It further considers that
national interests should be observed (UNFCC Submissions, 2009).
Norway considers that national strategies should include, as a priority, the
establishment and development of the necessary institutional framework for systematic
national inventories for emissions and removals (UNFCC Submissions, 2009).
With 17.4% of the world's greenhouse gases emissions, Russia’s ratification of
the Kyoto Protocol swiftly pushed its entering into force in February 2005. It supports
recognition of voluntary actions by developing countries (UNFCC Submissions, 2009).
Russia, even though not facing an immediate threat of climate disasters, may be a
destination country for refugees in the region.
In 2010, the United Kingdom’s emissions are predicted to be around 11% lower
than the levels required by Kyoto. UK also has long-term plans to lower CO2 and other
greenhouse gas emissions even further. Furthermore, in 2008 the UK passed a legislation
which introduces the world’s first long-term legally binding framework to tackle the
dangers of climate change. The Climate Change Act includes legally binding targets,
which amount to an 80% cut in greenhouse gases by 2050 (UNFCC Submissions, 2009;
UK Government website, 2010; Climate Change Act, 2008).
The world's second-biggest GHG producer, the United States of America is
prepared to work "with other countries" to raise $100bl/year by 2020 to reduce the effects
of climate change. Despite its intent to cooperate with other countries in fund-raising
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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activities, US is against Kyoto-style treaties, imposing international legal obligations.,
claiming it would hamper its economy. The US signed, but never ratified Kyoto, and
insists that China, India, South Africa and Brazil must commit to slow the growth of
emissions (BBC News, 2009, UNFCC Submissions, 2009). More concrete actions from
US are fundamental to diminish the consequences of climate change on populations, and
the country itself has already faced several outcomes of climate changes with thousands
of refugees, such as hurricanes, fires and floods.
African Union (AU) comprises 52 African States and accounts for 8.1% of
global emissions. It requires climate funds from rich countries to help poorer nations,
amounting to $100bn a year by 2020. Furthermore, it demands at least 50% of the
aforementioned fund for vulnerable and poor regions such as African and small island
states. Likewise China, the AU requires rich countries to be legally bound to cut
emissions to 40% below 1990 level by 2020. On this path, it describes 20 to 30% cuts as
"unacceptable". African nations signed the Kyoto Protocol as developing countries, thus
not obliged to cut emissions (UNFCC Submissions, 2009). The region hosts several flood
and drought-risk hotspots, what means it will probably have lots of human displacements
related to climate change. If further national measures are not taken, this factor can lead
to the occurrence and aggravation of already ongoing conflicts.
Climate change poses significant risks for Bangladesh, yet the core elements of
its vulnerability are primarily contextual. Between 30-70% of the country is normally
flooded each year and this situation is expected to get more severe in the next decades.
Bangladesh considers that an action plan can be climate specific, addressing the climate
refugees issue; or climate relevant, being reported as part of a Registry to be maintained
by UNFCCC (Bangladesh Climate Action Plan, 2008; UNFCC Submissions, 2009).
Brazil plays a prominent role in the discussions on climate change. It took the
initiative of introducing the idea of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which
was incorporated in the Kyoto Protocol. Moreover, as a developing country, and
according to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, Brazil is not
required to take specific actions to meet targets established by the Kyoto Protocol. Also,
the country is convinced that the international regime embodied by the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol is the
most appropriate legal instrument for directing efforts towards the reduction in the
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emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) (Embassy of Brazil in London, 2010; UNFCC
Submissions, 2009). Mitigation measurements regarding climate displacements have yet
to be implemented. Brazil’s Northeast may face more severe droughts causing thousands
of people to migrate, and due to recent floods in the North, South and Southeast regions
the country showed that more infrastructure is needed to avoid mass movements and
deaths.
Colombia is the second biggest producer of ethanol in Latin America, being the
first place in bio-diesel. Furthermore, Colombia also commits to promote the
development and utilization of wind power, solar, geo-thermal. Moreover, it believes that
economic compensations should be given to countries which protect its biodiversity.
Finally, Colombia has signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol (Government of Colombia,
2009; UNFCC Submissions, 2009). Colombia is a country that already suffers from
severe internal displacement, and its local administrations already have enormously
strained budgets and capacity to deal with IDPs. Therefore climate refugees will be a
complicating factor for the government.
The Gulf States (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United
Arab Emirates) account for 2.3% of global emissions. They insist on a deal which
would advance the utilization and storage of carbon capture. Moreover, Saudi Arabia, in
cooperation with OPEC, is seeking for financial aid for oil-producers, in the case that
new agreements require cuts to fossil fuels1 usage. Finally, the Gulf States signed Kyoto
as developing countries and, as so, they are obliged to cut emissions. (BBC News, 2009;
UNFCC Submissions, 2009). Displacements due to the occurrence of droughts are a
probable scenario at the region, a situation that would aggravate the already critical
conditions of Iraqi and Palestinian refugees, for instance.
India is the world's sixth-biggest GHG producer. As so, India rejects legally
binding targets, but wants rich countries to be legally bound, in order to be committed. It
considers that rich countries are the ones which did aggravate climate change the most.
To make its point, India shows the big gap in the per capita emissions of developed and
in development countries. As so, the country requires a 40 per cent cut in rich country
emissions by 2020. Furthermore, it opposes the goal of halving world emissions by 2050.
India signed Kyoto as a developing country; hence, it is not obliged to cut emissions.
(BBC News, 2009; UNFCC Submissions, 2009). Being a drought-risk and cyclone-risk
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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hotspot, its population is expected to suffer from major displacements due to climate
change and natural disasters. Also, India has suffered several times in recent years from
floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains.
Indonesia believes that developing countries should pursue a sustainable
development strategy. It has become one of the three largest emitters of greenhouse gases
in the world. Furthermore, Indonesia is progressing towards expanding biofuel
production, both for domestic use and technology (National Portal of the Republica of
Indonesia, 2010; UNFCC Submissions, 2009). The country is a drought risk hotspot and,
therefore, will suffer from harder consequences related to climate human displacement.
Because of it, adaptation to climate change is now a major concern of the Indonesian
government. The Ministry of the Environment has initiated the development of a national
strategic approach to adaptation planning. Challenges faced include the availability and
dissemination of relevant information and planning tools, as well as raising awareness of
the issue among decision-makers (DFID, World Bank, Ministry of Indonesia, 2007).
Furthermore, Indonesia is located in a high-risk area for Tsunamis, being the most
affected country (with near 130,000 deaths and 700,000 refugees) in the aftermath of
2004 Tsunami.
Mexico sees that the mitigation activities to be supported shall be defined by
contributing countries, based on their own development needs and in accordance with
their national circumstances, and shall be measured, reported and verified by the
government (UNFCC Submissions, 2009). However the country is not in a high- risk
zone of possible human displacement related to climate change.
The Philippines highlight the importance of early cuts from developed
countries. On that sense, it stipulates at least a 70 per cent decrease of GHG emissions
from 1990 by 2017 and 50 per cent by 2022. The Philippines also recognize that
economic and social development and poverty eradication are the overriding priorities of
developing countries in implementing the balance of obligations when dealing with
climate change (UNFCC Submissions, 2009). The country is at a vulnerable position
regarding human displacement, since it has experienced extreme high temperatures
brought about by climate change.
Singapore believes countries should be permitted to make voluntary but binding
commitments that reflect their own abilities and circumstances. Moreover, it takes
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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account of “alternative energy-disadvantaged” countries, whose dependence on fossil
fuels and inability to switch over to alternative energy sources are recognized in the
UNFCCC (UNFCC Submissions, 2009). The country is at a vulnerable position
regarding human displacement since it is a cyclone-risk hotspot.
Small Islands (AOSIS) is comprised by 42 islands and coastal states, mostly in
the Pacific and Caribbean Seas. These countries are immensely threatened by climate
change, which can cause – in the most extreme cases, such as Tuvalu’s one – even a
complete flooding in the islands, which would amount to the complete disappearance of
some of these countries and total removal of the population. In some regions, inhabitants
have already been relocated and forced back inland by the sea. Consequently, they regard
climate change as a major issue to their existence, being the hardest affected countries. It
is relevant to highlight that these islands correspond for 0.6% of global GHG emissions,
although they are the ones who will suffer the most from it. Finally, AOSIS members
signed Kyoto as developing countries, as so not obliged to cut emissions (BBC News,
2009; UNFCC Submissions, 2009).
South Africa states that all sources of financing should be mobilized by the
UNFCCC through at least 4 types of funds: (1) public funding (e.g. grant financing,
subsidies); (2) market-linked sources of funding (e.g. revenues from auctioning of
allowances); (3) carbon market (e.g. CDM, ETS, no-lose sectoral crediting baselines); (4)
market financing (e.g. loans on preferential terms, revolving credit, venture capital); and
others. There should be facilitative mechanisms for both mitigation and adaptation, as far
as human displacement due to climate change (UNFCC Submissions, 2009). As well as
other African states, the country is a flood-risk hotspot, which increases the risks of
greater human displacements related to climate change.
Turkey believes in the necessity of a change in the categories of countries, for the
current ones do not reflect the present reality. Furthermore, suitable criteria must be developed,
including: historical responsibility, economic capability, per capita energy consumption,
mitigation capacity, technological capacity, human development index and vulnerability when
addressing the climate refugees’ issue. It further considers using the principle of common but
differentiated responsibilities and equity (UNFCC Submissions, 2009). Even though
Turkey is reached by thousands of refugees every year, the country has a geographic
limitation, according to the Refugee Convention, in which refugees from countries
ufrgsmodelunitednations2010
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outside Europe are not eligible to receive international protection from the Turkish
government.
5. QUESTIONS TO PONDER
1. What mechanisms can be developed for poor countries to be compensated for
climate changes impacts regarding its population?
2. How can regional and international organizations work towards adopting common
asylum policies to protect climate displaced people?
3. How can the UNHCR develop actions or work along with other organizations in
order to prevent conflicts related to climate displaced persons?
4. What definition is more adequate to classify climate displaced persons under a
legal basis in international refugee law? How can a legal instrument be
implemented in order to protect climate displaced persons?
5. What policies will be needed to meet necessities of internally displaced people
due to climate changes?
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