From the Nansen Initiative to the platform on disaster displacement: shaping international approaches to climate change, disaster and displacement
This article provides an account and analysis of the progress on the conceptual and practical dimensions of climate change and disaster displacement. It reflects on the role of international law in such processes and reviews the capacity of existing legal frameworks to address the needs of the people displaced. Ways in which international law might be progressively developed in this area are suggested.
The report demonstrates known interventions that can be used to reduce displacement numbers. States have the ability to shape what kind of movement may occur – whether a humanitarian catastrophe, evacuation and return, voluntary migration, or planned relocation. While the ideal outcome is to avoid movement altogether, a pre-planned mobility strategy is preferable to displacement in the face of pending disaster.
Such strategies are not only about finding safe passage and shelter, but also about building resilience over the longer term by creating access to education, employment, and a secure legal status. The study finds that it is essential that the Platform on Disaster Displacement continues to keep the needs, rights and entitlements of individuals and communities at the forefront of its interventions.
NSW Law Journal, Volume 39(4)
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