New protocol demanded for climate displacement

They also demanded a new protocol for the displaced like that of 1951 UN Refugee convention that ensures justice for the most vulnerable as a result of global warming. “I must say that United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) does not consider the issue seriously, and thereby it needs a new protocol,” said Azeb Girmi of LDC Watch from Ethiopia. The call came from a seminar titled  “Climate Displacement : Protecting and Promoting Rights of the Climate Migrants” held at COP22 in Marrakech. Sharing his experience of working with climate change migrants, Climate Action Network South Asia, Director, Sanjay Vashist said the number of displaced people and their migration in South Asia has been increasing which also has a higher impact on women. “It also has been creating tensions among communities and an imbalance of competition for scarce resources,”he added. Harjeet Singh of ActionAid International said that states especially most the vulnerable countries must push to include this issue in Warsaw Implementation Mechanism (WIM) in reference to the Doha decision. Nina M Birkeland of Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said that the responsibility of climate displacement should not only be placed with the WIM, it should be an important issue in the UNFCCC process too. She urged for policy coherence on the issues with SDGs, Sendai Frame Work, UN Global compact on refugee and migration and WHS (World Humanitarian Summit) process. Bangladesh’s Environment secretary Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed said, although Bangladesh is trying it’s best to protect the those displaced by climate change, the problem is so huge especially for 39 million living in coastal areas that its require global support for the protection of their human rights. The programme was jointly organized by several rights organisations including Action Aid (AA) International, Asia People Movement of Debt and Development (APMDD), Climate Action Network South Asia (CAN South Asia)  and Coastal Association for Social Transformation Trust (COAST).