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Resolution 2307 (2019)
A legal status for “climate refugees”
1. The Parliamentary Assembly, recalling
its Resolution 1655 (2009) and Recommendation 1862 (2009) “Environmentally
induced migration and displacement: a 21st-century challenge”, and
the Committee of Ministers reply (Doc. 11999), notes that environmental
factors, including climate change, continue to have a dramatic impact
on those at risk of being deprived of their livelihoods because
of natural or man-made environmental disasters which force people
to migrate.
2. The Assembly welcomes the timely statement made by the Council
of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights on World Environment Day
(5 June 2019) entitled “Living in a clean environment: a neglected
human rights concern for all of us”, which makes reference to the
16 Framework Principles of Human Rights and the Environment issued
by the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment
in 2018, which state that: “Natural disasters and other types of
environmental harm often cause internal displacement and transboundary
migration, which can exacerbate vulnerabilities and lead to additional
human rights violations and abuses.” (Principle 14.41.h)
3. The Assembly considers that the absence of a legally binding
definition of “climate refugees” does not preclude the possibility
of developing specific policies to protect people who are forced
to move as a consequence of climate change. Human mobility and displacement
due to climate degradation require a better response. Council of
Europe member States should therefore take a more proactive approach
to the protection of victims of natural and man-made disasters and
improve disaster preparedness mechanisms, both in Europe and in
other regions.
4. In the light of the above, member States should recognise
human migration as a tool for increasing “livelihood resilience”
and as a legitimate form of adaptation to climate change, and therefore
review their management of migration taking this factor into account.
Migration being inevitable in certain cases, States need to take
a proactive stance to better identify and anticipate the impact
of climate change on population movements.
5. The Assembly therefore calls for specific action to be taken
at local, national and international levels, as follows:
5.1. To increase local communities’
thresholds of resilience:
5.1.1. local communities’ thresholds
of resilience must be increased in accordance with Goal 11 of the
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). More specifically,
by 2030, the number of victims of disasters – including water-related
disasters – must be significantly reduced, and economic losses in
global gross domestic product that are directly attributable to
these disasters must be substantially decreased, with a focus on
protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations;
5.1.2. by 2020, the number of cities and human settlements adopting
and implementing integrated policies and plans for inclusion, efficient
use of resources, and mitigation of and adaptation to climate change
must be substantially increased to improve resilience to disasters, and
“holistic disaster risk management at all levels” developed, in
line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030;
5.1.3. measures must be taken to improve disaster preparedness
at local level, targeting vulnerable populations such as children
and people with disabilities, who should be actively involved in
the planning, shaping and implementation phases of disaster management.
Those responsible for disaster management (such as specialised experts
in this area) need to be appropriately trained and educated;
5.2. To improve the capacity to react and cope with disasters
at national level:
5.2.1. disaster preparedness strategies
should include measures to protect people affected by disasters
induced by climate change that force displacement. Human mobility
must be mainstreamed at all levels. Specific action plans to implement
the Sendai Framework of Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and the
Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development should be set up as a matter
of priority, and the recommendations put forward by the Global Platform
for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) on 13-17 May 2019 should be implemented,
with a specific emphasis on the protection of vulnerable groups
(migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, people with disabilities, children);
5.2.2. disaster risk reduction should be integrated into sustainable
development policies and planning in accordance with internationally
agreed action plans, such as the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015;
5.2.3. institutions, mechanisms and capacities for building resilience
to hazards and for incorporating risk reduction approaches into
the implementation of emergency preparedness, response and recovery
programmes should be reinforced, including by making disaster risk reduction
a priority, improving information about risks and early warning
systems, building a culture of safety and resilience, reducing the
risks in key sectors and strengthening preparedness for an efficient
response;
5.2.4. the thresholds and the triggers of displacement should
be the object of further research, while acknowledging the multiple
causes of displacement that lead to an interaction between climate
change and conflict/violence;
5.3. To enhance co-ordination, mediation and funding:
5.3.1. developments in international human rights law should
be taken into account with a view to strengthening overall protection
of human mobility following environment-related disasters or climate
change. In particular, implementation of mechanisms such as the
2009 African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance
of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) should
be promoted through European development co-operation programmes;
5.3.2. the obligation to protect internally displaced persons
(IDPs) for environmental reasons must be considered as the first
level of legal protection in the legislation of each member State. The
reception of natural disaster victims in the territory of member
States should be foreseen in domestic law, inter
alia by the granting of temporary residence status;
5.3.3. consideration should be given to the establishment of
an international solidarity fund to provide protection to people
forced to migrate due to climate disasters. Co-operation with the Council
of Europe Development Bank (CEB) could be considered, in accordance
with the Declaration on European Principles for the Environment
signed by the CEB on 30 May 2006 together with the European Commission
and several other international financial organisations (the European
Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,
the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation, the Nordic Investment
Bank) in a joint effort to implement the fundamental right of present
and future generations to live in a healthy environment;
5.3.4. disaster preparedness and risk reduction strategies should
be implemented, thereby strengthening resilience and capacity to
adapt to climate-related hazards and natural disasters; climate
change measures should be integrated into national policies and
planning, and progress monitored regularly;
5.3.5. education, awareness raising and human and institutional
capacity as regards adaptation to and mitigation of climate change,
reduction of its impact and early warning systems should be developed,
with a focus on women, young people, local populations and marginalised groups;
5.3.6. the commitment undertaken by developed countries that
are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change to the goal of jointly mobilising US$100 billion annually
by 2020 should be fulfilled and the Green Climate Fund fully operationalised;
5.3.7. comprehensive cross-disciplinary research and co-operation
between centres dealing with the environment, migration, climate
change and demography should be carried out to produce reliable
forecast data on environmentally induced migration.
5.4. To develop in the asylum systems of member States and
in international law protection for people fleeing long-term climate
change in their native country. The industrialised member States
of the Council of Europe carry a particular responsibility to those
countries, especially the countries of the “global South” affected
by man-made climate change, and should therefore provide appropriate
asylum for climate refugees.