19 October 2015
Nansen Initiative Consultation Supports Protection for People Displaced by Disasters, Climate Change
story highlights

Delegates to a two-day Nansen Initiative Global Consultation have adopted the 'Agenda for the Protection of Cross-Border Displaced Persons in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change,' a voluntary agreement meant to protect those driven from their countries by natural disasters, including the impacts of climate change.

nansen_initiative14 October 2015: Delegates to a two-day Nansen Initiative Global Consultation have adopted the ‘Agenda for the Protection of Cross-Border Displaced Persons in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change,’ a voluntary agreement meant to protect those driven from their countries by natural disasters, including the impacts of climate change. The Global Consultation, which took place the 12-13 October 2015, in Geneva, Switzerland, brought together over 350 delegates, including ministers, from more than 100 countries.

The Protection Agenda, which is the result of a series of intergovernmental and civil society consultations convened by the Nansen Initiative, is based on three key areas: international cooperation; standards for treatment of affected people; and operational responses. It conceptualizes a comprehensive approach to disaster displacement, presents a set of effective practices, and highlights the need to link multiple policies and action areas to address cross-border disaster displacement. The Agenda also identifies priority areas for enhanced action, including: collecting data and enhancing knowledge; enhancing the use of humanitarian protection measures; and strengthening the management of disaster displacement risk in the country of origin.

In conjunction with the Global Consultation, The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), pledged its support to the Agenda and launched an updated version of its publication, ‘UNHCR, The Environment & Climate Change,’ which: explains why climate change and disaster displacement is a concern to the agency; how the agency is addressing these issues; and how the agency is enhancing the resilience of its “persons of concerns.”

The UNHCR report highlights that, “since 2008, an average of 26.4 million people per year have been displaced from their homes by disasters brought on by natural hazards,” with people “twice as likely to be displaced now than they were in the 1970s.” Noting that “climate-related displacement can be reduced through effective adaptation, disaster risk reduction (DRR) and development planning,” the report underscores that, instead of an international, binding convention, UNHCR supports the integration of effective practices into States’ and (sub-) regional organizations’ own frameworks and practices.

The Nansen Initiative, led by Norway and Switzerland, with support from the European Commission (EC), the German Humanitarian Assistance and the MacArthur Foundation, aims to “build consensus among States on key principles and elements to protect people displaced across borders in the context of disasters caused by natural hazards.” [UNHCR Press Release] [Nansen Initiative Website] [Agenda for the Protection of Cross-Border Displaced Persons in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change] [UNHCR Environment and Climate Change Webpage] [Publication: UNHCR, The Environment & Climate Change]

related posts