The following text is from the UU Service Committee report on climate displacement (see Resources for the link to the full report). Also see Climate-forced Displacement Initiative for more info.
The threat of climate-forced displacement is disproportionately acute in small developing states and indigenous communities in remote areas. These communities are often under-resourced and politically marginalized, and, in some cases, have histories that include dealing with environmental change, tribal conflict, and earlier displacement by colonialist or corporate land grabs. Communities are often carrying out resettlements or relocations without legal protections and inadequate funding from private or governmental sources. Above all, global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change must be guided by human rights norms and principles, including the rights to participation, self-determination, transparency, and nondiscrimination.
In September 2018, UUSC hosted the First People’s Convening on Climate-Forced Displacement. The purpose of this event was to establish a coalition of indigenous leaders from around the world, spanning the Pacific Islands to coastal Alaska, who are at imminent risk of being forcibly displaced from their homes and lands by the effects of climate change. The convening deliberately centered and foregrounded communities most affected by climate change, and the results of the convening included, amongst other things, an advocacy strategy for advancing communities’ priorities and plans to preserve their rights and dignity before, during, and after the occurrence of climate-forced displacement.
Leave a Reply