The global climate crisis and its repercussions have reached a level where it is becoming difficult for the international community to look the other way. Our world is heading for an unprecedented global catastrophe in which victims multiply and see their lives disappear day after day. How much longer are we going to keep denying their existence? How long will international law shirk its responsibilities? It is crucial that we act quickly. They exist. They’re asking for our help.

New York, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Japan, Kenya . . . There are no more and more extreme natural disasters that occur every year, leaving entire populations impoverished and at the center of an international legal vacuum. Due to the non-recognition of the term “climate refugee” in international law, these persons do not enjoy any specific legal protection. According to The 1951 Refugee Convention | UNHCR and its 1967 Protocol, the main international instrument relating to the status of refugees, a refugee is a person who seeks refuge “out of a well-established fear of persecution on grounds of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”. This definition does not take into account contemporary challenges and thus excludes people fleeing the consequences of climate change. As a result, climate refugees do not enjoy the same status and protections as refugees in the traditional sense. However, as UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres pointed out at a Security Council meeting, “low-lying communities and whole countries could disappear forever. We would see a mass exodus of entire populations on a biblical scale. And we would see increasingly fierce competition for fresh water, land and other resources. ”

This scenario is not a scenario, it is a reality that we have been witnessing for several years now. The number of people displaced by climate change has continued to increase. According Global Internal Displacement Database natural disasters cause an average of more than 21. 5 million people to be displaced each year. And according to World Bank, climate change could trigger internal migration of 216 million people which means that within 30 years, if nothing is done, 216 million people are likely to move internally for climate reasons, some of them going into exile abroad.
The debate on expanding the definition of refugee to include climate refugees is complex in the law field. Today, they are considered economic migrants and are subject to the national immigration and asylum laws of their host country or country of residence. This status does not allow them access to the assistance they need, or does it guarantee them protection of their fundamental rights, against potential discrimination or the risk of expulsion. The lives and dignity of millions of vulnerable people around the world ( especially in Africa and Asia ) are endangered by these injustices without concrete action by the international community.

Nevertheless, significant progress has been made, notably with the recognition of a link between migration and climate change “climate, environmental degradation and natural disasters are increasingly interacting with the drivers of refugee displacement” at the The Global Compact on Refugees of December 2018. Nevertheless, the legal vacuum persists and there has been growing concern in recent years that an extension of the refugee definition could jeopardize its achievements, given that the majority of climate-related displacement takes place within national borders.
The full recognition of climate migrants and their protection and rights are crucial steps towards international law in keeping with the reality that awaits us. We, as members of the global community, have a moral and legal duty not to let climate migrants be forgotten in our international legal system. It is crucial to act with solidarity and responsibility towards them.