Transcript Migration and Communication

Climate Change
Where to Place the Displaced?
Sonia Caton
Coordinator/Principal Solicitor
Refugee and Immigration Legal
Service (RAILS)
Low Lying Areas at High Risk
Last year Bangladesh devastated by
Cyclone Sidr
 Cyclone Nigris devastated the
Irrawaddy Delta in Burma
 Tuvalu/Carteret Islands likely to be
submerged within 15 years
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Climate change occurring faster than
any other time in history – challenge
to adapt faster
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Global Context
• World population growth about 80
million/year.
• About 98% of growth in ‘developing’
world
• In next 30 years Asia’s population
will increase by over 1 billion.
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TODAY
 10 million refugees
 25 million internally displaced
people from conflict
 25 million ‘IDP’s from natural
disaster
 20 million children are refugees or
IDP’s - UNHCR
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Projected numbers of Climate
‘Refugees’
 At
risk due to sea level rise – 162 to
250 million by 2050 (
Meyer 2002, pp 609&611 quoted in
Biermann and Boas 2007, pp 9-10.)
 Climate
refugees from Bangladesh
alone will outnumber all current
refugees worldwide
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Australian migration, an update:
- Source countries for migration intake
- Migration intake levels
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2006 - 2007 Arrivals = 140,148
NEW ZEALAND
23906
UNITED KINGDOM 23223
INDIA
13496
CHINA
12009
PHILIPPEANS
5561
SOUTH AFRICA
3996
VIETNAM
3135
MALAYSIA
2899
SRI LANKA
2721
SUDAN
2513
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2008-09 Migration Program
Total Intake - 190,300
Skilled - 133,500 places
Generally young, have recognised work skills and speak
English well.
Family - 56,500 places
Sponsored spouses, fiancées, natural and adopted
dependent, children, parents, last remaining relatives,
carers etc.
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Refugee - 6,400 places
People outside country of origin.
Proven well-founded fear of persecution.
Special Humanitarian Program 7,000 places
Drawn equally from Africa, Middle East and Asia.
Outside of country of origin, suffered human rights
abuses.
Must be proposed by Australian Perm.
Resident / citizen
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2006-07 Refugee and Humanitarian
Program
13,017
visas granted
–11,186 Off-shore
–1,831
Top
On-shore
10 countries of origin
Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan,
Burma, Burundi, Congo
Liberia, Sierra Leone,
Eritrea, Iran.
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FACT
7% of Australians have
now either been through
the refugee experience
or have a parent or
grandparent who has.
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Settlement success can depend on:
Degree of similarity between original and new
culture
- Preparation prior to arrival
- Age and educational level
- Attitudes
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Courier Mail 18 August 2007
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Our Obligations?
Refugee
Article 1A Refugee Convention 1951
Well founded fear of persecution
•race,
•religion,
•nationality,
•social group
•political opinion
Outside the country of nationality
•unable or, owing to fear
•unwilling to avail themself of the protection of that
country;
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UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change (RIO 1992)
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All Parties shall “Take climate change
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And Article 4.4 “The developed country Parties
considerations into account to the extent
feasible, in their relevant social, economic
and environmental policies and actions…”
Article 4.1(f)
and other developed Parties…..shall also
assist the developing country Parties that
are particularly vulnerable to the adverse
effects of climate change in meeting costs of
adaptation to those adverse effects”
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Protection of the environment and environmental
law linked to numerous human rights.
2007, the Inuit lodged a claim with the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights in which
they say the impacts of global warming caused
by “acts and omissions of the US”, has violated
their fundamental human rights. Dr Jane McAdam
Loss of ice equates to loss of habitat, means of
subsistence, culture.
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Some Rights in UN Conventions
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Right to life – Art. 3 UDHR and Art. 6(1) ICCPR
Right to culture – 2007 UNDRIP
Right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment – ICCPR
Right to an adequate standard of living – Art. 11(1) ICESCR
Right not to be deprived of means of subsistence
Right to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health – Art. 12a ICESCR, Art 25 UDHR
Human rights tribunals - 'the use and enjoyment of the
land and its resources are integral components of the
physical and cultural survival of the indigenous
communities'. Source Dr Jane McAdam
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UN Conventions only binding on countries that
are signatories and have ratified them
UN Conventions do not contain enforcement
mechanisms. Reporting and Special Rapporteur role;
moral judgement of international community.
UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights
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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
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UN Convention on Biodiversity
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Protection for Climate
‘Refugees’?
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No legal protection as yet
Responsibility largely falls to home
countries
Emissions per capita (climate change
causation) very high from a selected few
wealthy countries – moral link
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Tensions
 Governments
and humanitarian
organizations are revisiting the
meaning of ‘refugee’
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Is an internally displaced person or
someone outside their country due to
environmental factors a ‘refugee’?
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United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) increasingly
assisting ‘IDP’s yet not mandated for
this.
•Preferred solutions for refugees:
•repatriation as soon as possible;
•integration in the country of first
asylum;
•resettlement in a third country.
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Waiting for repatriation,
integration or resettlement often
means living for decades in
unsanitary camps / detention
centers
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Proposed Labor Policy (Extract)
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“Australia should..accept climate
change refugees as part of our
humanitarian immigration program”.
“Australia should..ensure appropriate
recognition of climate change
refugees in existing Conventions, or
through the establishment of a new
convention on climate change
refugees.” p. 10 ‘Our Drowning Neighbours’ ALP Policy
Discussion paper 2006
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Endorsed Labor Policy
no mention of ‘refugee’ or ‘displaced’
Develop
Strategy
Pacific Climate Change
Assistance
with intra-country
evacuations;
Establish
Pacific Climate Change
Establish
Pacific Climate Centre
Alliance;
p4 Federal Labors Plan for International Development and Climate Change 24 July 2007
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Past Government
 At
Senate Estimates committee
hearings (Nov ‘06, Feb ‘ 07, May ‘07)
the Department of Immigration and
Citizenship admitted they had not
conducted any research into the
likely migration impact of climate
change and would manage any such
need on an ad hoc basis.
Website of Senator Kerry Nettle 2008
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What is present Govt. doing?
28 May 2008, Senate Estimates Committee
Senator NETTLE-I want to ask another general question in
relation to climate refugees: is there any update to give the
committee on the work that the department or the
government are doing on the issue?
Senator Chris Evans-Apparently Mr Hughes is the world
expert.
Mr Hughes-I will not claim to be that, but we have had
discussions on this in the past. I think one issue in
another portfolio that you are probably aware of, Senator
Nettle, is government commitment to funding for the
Pacific climate change strategy, which is not through this
portfolio. The one new thing I can add to what I said
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to you in February is that, through the Commonwealthstate officials process for immigration and multicultural
affairs, there has been agreement to a research project to
do a literature survey on literature relating to climate
change and displacement of people in the Pacific. We
expect that to be completed throughout this year.
Senator NETTLE-Who is involved in doing that?
Mr Hughes-The Commonwealth-State officials and ministers
process for immigration and multicultural affairs has a small
joint research capacity, where there is a small
program of research usually agreed to every year. I am not
quite sure precisely how we will implement the decision
to do it, but I think primarily it will be done by officers of
our department in conjunction with interested states
and territories.
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Senator Chris Evans- Can I indicate that the question of
climate change and climate refugees is on the agenda for
our ministerial council meeting on 4 July. Obviously all the
states are represented, but also New Zealand is attending.
So there is some interest in that area, and it will be
considered as part of that meeting as well.
Senator NETTLE-That was immigration ministers?
Senator Chris Evans-They are more multicultural affairs
ministers in other states that have immigration
responsibility. The New Zealand representative will bring
with him immigration responsibilities, but the state
ministers are generally responsible for multicultural affairs;
those interested in settlement and those sorts of issues.
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NZ Approach
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The Pacific Access Category (PAC)
introduced in July 2002.
Offers permanent residence.
75 residents from Tuvalu and Kiribati
each and 350 from Tonga
Selected each year by ballot
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PAC Shortfalls
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No acknowledgement that originated as a
response to displacement by climate change
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Must be between 18 and 45;
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offer of full-time employment;
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minimum level of English;
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minimum income requirement if have a
dependant;
meet certain health and character criteria
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Ballots not filled
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The elderly, young, sickly and poor don’t
qualify as primary applicants.
Acceptable offer of employment =
“permanent, full-time, genuine, and paid by
a salary or wages”.
Training not available on some islands.
Difficult to find offer of permanent full-time
employment.
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The Way Forward
 As
yet no consensus definition of
‘Climate refugees’
 Australia
ideally placed to lead the
way in constructing an international
burden sharing arrangement that
provides for displaced people both
within and across national borders.
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An alternative solution?
A
UN Protocol on Recognition,
Protection and Resettlement of
Climate Refugees (Climate Refugee
Protocol) to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate
Change?
(F. Biermann and I. Boas, 2007, p.26)
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One Proposed Definition of climate
‘refugee’
 “People
who have had to leave their
habitats, immediately or in the near
future, because of sudden or gradual
alterations in their natural
environment related to at least one
of three impacts of climate
change:sea-level rise, extreme
weather events, drought and water
scarcity” (Biermann and Boas, 2007, p.8)
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Australia - Migration Amendment (Climate
Refugees) Bill 2007
 Defined
climate refugees as “displaced
persons due to environmental disaster that
results from both incremental and rapid
ecological and climactic change and disruption
that includes sea level rise, coastal erosion,
desertification, collapsing ecosystems, fresh
water contamination, more frequent occurrence
of extreme weather events such as cyclones,
tornados, flooding and drought; that mean
inhabitants are unable to lead safe or sustainable
lives in their immediate environment”.
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Bill gave Immigration Minister power to make a
‘climate change induced environmental
disaster’ declaration.
Minister to consider the geographical scope of the
disaster; possibilities for adaptation and the longterm sustainability of the area; capacity of the
country and neighbouring countries to absorbed
displaced persons; other international efforts to
assist.
Could set the number of visas issued to people
displaced by a declared disaster.
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Conclusion
Australia’s response to population
displacement in the Asia-Pacific Region
through sea-level rise is incrementally
progressing, but given urgency and
complexity of the challenge, should there
be a dedicated agency coordinating a
multi-disciplinary/multi-national approach?
 Australia has knowledge, experience,
resources to take the regional lead.
 There is strong moral argument that it
should do so.
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