Are Climate Change Refugees really Refugees

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Are Climate Change Refugees really Refugees?

• An analysis of the 1951 Convention and
  appropriate labels
• By Andrea Berringer

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Two pronged analysis

• Does the 1951 Convention offer protections for
  those displaced because of climate change?
• Should climate migrants be labeled as refugees at
  all?

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Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951

• Outlines a specific legal definition
• The definition defines an International
  obligation
• That obligation guarantees a certain set of rights

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Forms of analysis

• Strict Definitional Analysis
• Chain Reaction Analysis

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Definition

• owing to well founded fear of persecution for
  reasons of race, religion, nationality,
  membership in a particular social group or
  political opinion is outside the country of his
  own nationality and is unable or, owing to such
  fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the
  protection of that country or who, not having a
  nationality and being outside the country of his
  former habitual residence as a result of such
  events, is unable to or, owing to such fear, is
  unwilling to return to it. (Article1, section 2)

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Can one be persecuted by the changing weather
patterns?

• General conception persecution as a personal
  threat
• A threat to ones person because of who he/she is
• A threat of safety because of ones inclusion in
  a specific group
• Can we accept the concept of Impersonal
  Persecution?
• An environmental situation indiscriminately
  threatens a specific group- those who live within
  a certain vicinity
• Does an Act of God translate into persecution
  by a non-state actor?

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Persecution UNHCR Handbook Definition

• There is no universally accepted definition of
  persecution, and various attemptshave met with
  little success. (Definitions (b) 51.)
• In addition, an applicant may have been
  subjected to various measures not in themselves
  amounting to persecutionin such situations, the
  various elements involved may, if taken together,
  produce an effect on the mind of the applicant
  that can reasonably justify a well founded fear
  of persecution on cumulative grounds.
  (Definitions (b) 53.)
• Needless to say, it is not possible to lay down a
  general rule as to what cumulative reasons can
  give rise to a valid claim to refugee status.
  This will necessarily depend on all the
  circumstances, including geographical
  (Definitions (b) 53.)

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Example

• If a person lives in an area that is increasingly
  vulnerable to large category hurricanes and storm
  surge
• And after such an event, their government fails
  to protect them by constructing an improved levy
  system
• But yet the government does not declare the area
  unsafe and the person moves back.
• If a new storms fury destroys their home again,
• Can this person leave and claim protection under
  cumulative grounds?

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Chain Reaction Analysis

• What I was alluding to in the previous example
• How climate events can/will trigger many types of
  societal responses
• Desertification? Loss of agricultural land?
  inadequate food supplies? Famine? War between
  those with and without food access
• Sea Level rise? Increased storm surge?
  Salinization of agricultural land? loss of
  livelihood? illegal immigration? xenophobic back
  lash in new residence

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How Climate Change relates to Migration

• Long term process chain of events that can
  happen slowly, but ultimately caused by natural
  redistribution of resources- arable land or safe
  drinking water for example.
• New struggles for power among the new haves and
  have nots
• Power struggles are political and hardly ever
  grant the general population peace or stability

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Can People affected by Climate Change benefit
from the 1951 Protections?

• There may be a case if cumulative grounds is
  considered in this fashion
• My opinion, probably NO
• Too complicated for processors
• Too slow of a process to capture this way
• Would take away from the unique situation of true
  Convention Refugees

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Should we label Climate Change Migrants as
refugees?

• What does the label refugee mean?
• Outlines a specific legal definition
• The definition defines an International
  obligation
• That obligation guarantees a certain set of
  rights

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Definitions in the Literature

• The 1951 definition is complete, but a refugees
  are not automatically wards of the international
  community- (Wenk 1968)
• There are many categories of de facto refugees
  with varying meanings- (Grahl-Madsen 1983)
• Conceptually, a refugee is a person fleeing a
  life threatening situation- (Shaknove 1985)

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Interpretations

• Wenk and Grahl-Masden are not necessarily
  helpful
• Wenks definition does not see the considerable
  obligation of the refugee condition
• Grahl-Madsen does not attribute rights to them,
  just categories and a plea for compassion

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Interpretations

• Shacknove, however, points out the urgency in
  identifying a specific condition the need to
  flee from a life threatening situation
• But are the lives of these particular people
  threatened?

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Interpretations

• They will appear in different forms depending on
  when in the long term process they migrate
• Economic Refugees
• Disaster Refugees
• Thus, the earlier they leave, the less life
  threatening their situation will be

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Interpretations Zetter 1991

• The label of refugee adds a credible legal
  status
• It assumes needs
• It assumes a distribution apparatus
• However, he also points out
• It can imply dependency and responsibility for
  multiple generations
• Political interests now influence ones identity
• The label begins from an extreme situation but
  over time, it becomes a status

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Questions

• If the discourse on this phenomena considers
  these migrants refugees will this hamper their
  ability to be accepted into new societies?
• How long are they to be considered refugees?
• Will their perception as victims (refugees)
  elicit a backlash in host nations?

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Should climate migrants be labeled as refugees at
all?

• NO
• It would give too many people an emergency driven
  status even if they are not currently in a dire
  situation
• Economic migrants getting the same protections as
  those fleeing violence
• Burden to International Refugee agencies

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Should climate migrants be labeled as refugees at
all?

• Over the long haul climate change will affect
  many people in may places, the vast quantities
  will all look like new wards of the state
• Could lead to a reluctance of states to take
  people in
• Could incite a backlash- entitlements for non
  citizens

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Should climate migrants be labeled as refugees at
all?

• Internally Displaced People
• Many migrants will be regionally displaced and
  may not have the need to flee their entire
  country
• The refugee label already does not help IDPs

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Should climate migrants be labeled as refugees at
all?

• No repatriation options these refugees
• The economically driven migrants will not want to
  return because the livelihood conditions are not
  going to get better
• The disaster driven may need emergency
  assistance, but will know the risks of return
• The same is true for those fleeing chain reaction
  violence

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Is there a better label?

• How else can we characterize this particular
  situations status, rights and obligations?
• It has to be politically neutral
• It needs to be clear and easily defined
• It needs to speak to their specific needs

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Environmentally Displaced Persons EDPs

• Climate Change migrants can fit here, an umbrella
  that better describes the situation.
• The EDP label encompasses a variety of
  circumstances like pollution induced displacement
  and disaster issues.
• More development of this concept is need to
  disaggregate the permanent EDPs from the
  temporary.