108th Session of the IOM Council
High-Level Panel Discussion: Opportunities to Address Migration and Climate Change in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
In the past ten years, environmental migration has been primarily acknowledged and addressed at the international level in climate change negotiations. The global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration offers yet another unique opportunity, this time within the international migration governance policy realm, to recognize the importance of environmental and climate factors.
To assess this opportunity, IOM is organizing a high-level panel at its annual governing body meeting, the IOM Council. The panel aims to stress that the international community can no longer design migration policy without taking into account the environmental state of our planet. If forced migration is to be avoided and safe migration is to be facilitated, it is no longer possible to ignore the challenges posed by environmental and climate risks and their impacts on all policy areas.
The progress made in acknowledging environmental migration at the international level brings nevertheless another challenge, namely to ensure coherence between multiple policy areas at stake. Identifying opportunities to link the development of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration and of that of the Global Pact for the Environment with the implementation of the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will also be addressed in the discussion.
The Panel will be moderated by Ambassador William Lacy Swing, Director General of IOM with the participation of:
Mr. Nicolas Hulot, Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France
Amb. Nazhat Shameem Khan, Permanent Representative of Fiji to the United Nations in Geneva and Chief Negotiator for the COP23 Presidency
Ms. Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC - Written Statement
Mr. Erik Solheim, Executive Director of UN Environment - Video Message
The Panel will be accompanied by a photo exhibition from theHumans & Climate Change Stories, a unique media project of photographer Samuel Turpin, that follows 12 families scattered around the globe, who are subject to different types of climate change impacts, over the course of the next 10 years.
The 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties (COP23), held under the Presidency of Fiji, concluded on 17 November 2017. This COP represented the opportunity to take stock of how climate migration continues to be integrated not only in the official climate negotiations but also in the numerous events organized on the margins of the conference.
Incorporating or continuing to incorporate the consideration of extreme weather events and slow onset events, non-economic losses, climate change impacts on human mobility, including migration, displacement and planned relocation, and comprehensive risk management into relevant policy, planning and action, as appropriate, and encouraging relevant bilateral and multilateral entities to support such efforts (decision CP.23, para 13 (c)).
In addition, the Executive Committee (Excom) of the WIM presented its report to the COP. The report touched upon the development of the Excom five-year rolling workplan which includes a work stream on human mobility and migration. This signifies that following the Paris Agreement, climate migration continues to be integrated formally into the climate negotiations and that this will be the case for at least the next five years – a significant advance considering that a few years ago, migration was a marginal issue in the global climate change discourse. This institutionalization opens up possibilities to engage at both policy and operational levels, in support of the States facing climate migration challenges as well as of the migrants themselves.
However, despite the progress seen in past years, there are still many challenges to take into account. The complexity of the negotiation structure makes it sometimes difficult to provide meaningful inputs, especially for non-states actors. In addition, the discussions undertaken on climate migration remain politically sensitive, with the usual divide between developed and developing countries. Finally, the technicalities of climate migration remain little understood within the climate change policy arena and it is essential to ensure that knowledge and data are shared with the decision makers. However, the next steps scheduled for 2018 should help fill some of these gaps, notably the organization of an expert meeting on climate change and human mobility by IOM and the Platform on Disaster Displacement as part of the work of the WIM Excom Task Force on Displacement, foreseen for May 2018.
Finally, it is also important to note that it is not only among the policymakers that interest is growing; there is profound engagement on the topic from the academia, civil society and media. Back in 2014, only a few minutes in an official side event at COP20 in Lima were dedicated to mobility matters; this year in Bonn, more than 20 events looked at the various dimensions of the climate change and human mobility nexus.
IOM led the organization, in collaboration with UNHCR, of a One UN event on human mobility and climate change that brought together over a hundred people. IOM’s commitment to providing capacity building support to States seeking to address climate migration challenges was highlighted. IOM also co-organized or contributed to many other side events and press conferences on human mobility and climate change.
Migration, Environment and Climate Change at the Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration
6-8 November 2017
Bangkok, Thailand
The Asia-Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) was held on 6-8 November 2017 at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP). The high-level meeting brought together policymakers, civil society, academia and experts from 44 countries in the Asia-Pacific region to discuss regional migration issues and contribute inputs to the global stocktaking meeting of the GCM taking place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in December 2017. During the three-day meeting, the importance of climate change as a key driver of migration in the Asia-Pacific region was identified by several representatives, notably from the Pacific Island states. A roundtable focusing on the theme “Addressing the drivers of migration, including adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters, and human-made crises through protection and assistance, sustainable development, poverty eradication and conflict protection and resolution” was held on the second day of the meeting.
Representatives noted that the Asia-Pacific region is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to natural hazards and climate change, implying that future migration trends in the region would be increasingly shaped by these drivers. This could detrimentally affect gender equality, equitable management of natural resources, and food security. Representatives from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) further emphasized the existential threats from climate change as well as challenges to their socioeconomic development. In this context, disaster risk reduction and preparedness, emergency response and recovery, climate change adaptation, as well as increasing investments in mitigation and adaptation approaches to improve the community resilience to climate change and disasters were highlighted as critical interventions. The meeting also reflected the growing recognition of the positive role of migration as a climate change adaptation strategy. As climate change and disasters drive forced migration, representatives advocated that Member States must fulfill their commitments under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction.
This high-level meeting was convened by UN ESCAP, in collaboration with IOM and other UN agencies including ILO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNODC, and UN Women. Following the regional preparatory meeting, UN ESCAP released a report titled “Towards Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region”to support the process of Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The report also elaborates on how environmental factors drive migration.
Watch the Video: IOM Regional Director for South America, Diego Beltrand, explains the importance of the South American Conference on Migration (Spanish).
Towards a New Regional Instrument to Address the Protection
of Disaster Displaced Persons in South America
In recent years, many countries in South America have experienced a wide variety of disasters caused by natural hazards, such as floods, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides, and exacerbated by the adverse effects of climate change. This is the case of the devastating earthquake that affected Chile in 2010 or the heavy rains and floods that affected much of the Bolivian territory in 2014.
These events play an important role as potential factors of human mobility, both internally and across international borders in the region. Although a significant number of countries in South America have migration legislation and practices that allow the entry of people from countries affected by disasters, a regional harmonization is lacking.
In this context, a workshop for policymakers from Member Countries of the South American Conference on Migration(SACM) was organized between 30 and 31 October 2017 in Santiago, Chile by the Government of Chile, the Technical Secretariat of the SACM, the IOM and the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), with the generous support of the Governments of Germany and Switzerland.
The workshop aimed at discussing key practices and policies related to addressing cross-border disaster-displacement in the region with the final objective of gathering the necessary evidence and inputs for a potential regional instrument addressing these population movements, similar to the one developed in North and Central America.
The results of the workshop were shared and discussed during the high-level meeting of the SACM between 14 and 15 November 2017 in Montevideo, Uruguay.The Member Countries decided to continue the process of elaborating a non-binding regional instrument within the framework of the SACM, that would allow for an effective response to support those people forced to cross an international border and those in a third country affected by a disaster. This process will be supported by the IOM and the PDD.
National Consultation on Mainstreaming Human Mobility in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction in Pakistan
16-17 October 2017
Islamabad, Pakistan
The World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Pakistan (WWF-P), the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) co-organized a National Consultation on "Mainstreaming Human Mobility in Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction" in Islamabad, Pakistan from 16 to 17 October 2017.
The consultation provided a platform for stakeholders to share their experience on human mobility in the context of disasters and climate change, discussed environmental trends across the country, identified gaps in capacities, knowledge, institutional policies and recommended opportunities for synergies to make disaster response more attuned to the needs of displaced populations, while harnessing their potential as agents of change in crisis situations.
Pakistan is increasingly affected by social, economic, and environmental dynamics which pose risks to the country’s pursuit of the SDGs. Foremost among these are the accelerating effects of climate change, and rising pressure on terrestrial and marine resources; rapid population growth and urbanisation outpacing economic growth and available resources; significant internal migration, especially towards urban centres which lack the infrastructure to cope with the influx of new residents; and a burgeoning population of youths without adequate education or employment prospects.
According to the Economic Survey 2016-17, Pakistan ranked seventh among the most adversely affected countries by climate change on the Global Climate Risk Index (2017) and the country frequently experiences multiple disasters in a given year. The north of the country is frequently affected by flash floods, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), avalanches, earthquakes and landslides, and in February 2017 faced unprecedented snowstorms; while in the South, massive urban flooding in Karachi and drought and malnutrition conditions in the southeast Sindh have greatly thwarted the resilience of disaster-prone communities.
As a co-organizer of the National Consultation, IOM brought in its wealth of research and expertise on migration, environment and climate change. In Pakistan and globally, IOM works on disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and addressing environmental degradation as drivers of migration and displacement. IOM’s interventions cover immediate relief to bolster the resilience of people affected, by strengthening preparedness, improving response and enhancing capacities to recover from disasters.
The workshop concluded with recommendations to improve inter-agency coordination on human mobility, mobilize funding at different administrative levels, and strengthen institutional capacities for better governance. This includes significant commitments by government actors and humanitarian partners to better understand and manage population flows to help prevent the creation of new risks, while reducing the impacts of hazards, expedite recovery after disasters and enhance the resilience of migrants and affected populations.
Cinema and Migration. It’s a magical bond that began over a century ago when filmmakers, many of whom were immigrants themselves, began making movies about a world on the move. Their films brought the dramatic, poignant and comic stories of migrants to diverse audiences, through a language of images and emotions that were meaningful to every culture.
The Global Migration Film Festival was launched by the UN Migration Agency (IOM) in this spirit. The festival features new films that capture the promise and challenges of migration for those who leave their homes in search of a better life and the unique contributions migrants make to their new communities.
IOM’s first Global Migration Film Festival in 2016 took place in 89 countries. Some 10,000 people attended 220 screenings at cinemas, universities, cultural institutions and other venues. The festival hosted 13 feature films and documentaries and nearly 200 short films about and by migrants, as well as dozens of post-screening discussions and side-events.
This year’s festival will take place from 5 – 18 December 2017. All screenings will be free of charge.
