A/67/299
(iv) high-risk zones designated by Governments; and (v) unrest that seriously
disturbs the public order, violence, or armed conflict. 1
20. In particular, climate change is likely to exacerbate the frequency and intensity
of extreme weather events (e.g., tropical storms, floods, heat waves) and the gradual
processes of environmental degradation (e.g., desertification and soil and coastal
erosion). Those effects of climate change and their adverse consequences for
livelihoods, public health, food security and water availability will have a major
impact on human mobility, as one natural response will be to migrate.
B.
United Nations system and international engagement on migration
and climate change
21. While the question of the impact of climate change on migration patterns and
the displacement of persons has long been neglected, it has started to receive much
needed attention from the international community.
22. In the context of the work of Special Procedures, the former Special
Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, Jorge Bustamante, in his final report to
the Human Rights Council in 2011, noted the increasing relevance of climate change
and its impact on the movement of peoples and recommended that further study be
made on the impacts of environmental and climate change on human mobility (see
A/HRC/17/33, paras. 47-62).
23. Other mandate holders have also developed very timely reports dedicated to
this issue in relation to their respective mandates, notably the Special Rapporteur on
the human rights of internally displaced persons (A/66/285) and the Special
Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard
of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context (A/64/255).
24. In 2009, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) submitted a report to the Human Rights Council in response to its
resolution 7/23 on the relationship between climate change and human rights. The
report also contained a detailed section focused on the impact of climate change on
migration (see A/HRC/10/61, paras. 55-60).
25. Each of those reports contains important definitions, including basic concepts
and terminology, especially on mitigation and adaptation, 2 upon which the Special
Rapporteur will rely in the present report. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur will
use the term “climate-change-induced migrant” to refer to persons who may migrate
in connection with the environmental impacts of climate change.
26. Beyond the work of OHCHR, the United Nations system as a whole is also
increasingly focusing on the intersection of climate change and environmental
__________________
1
2
6
Walter Kälin, “Conceptualizing Climate-Induced Displacement”, in Climate Change and
Displacement: multidisciplinary perspectives, pp. 81-103, Jane McAdam, ed. (Hart Publishing,
Portland, Oregon, 2010).
Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons on Climate
Change and Internal Displacement (A/66/285, paras. 25-27); report of the Special Rapporteur on
adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right
to non-discrimination in this context on Climate change and the right to adequate housing
(A/64/255, paras. 51-64); and report of OHCHR on the relationship between climate change and
human rights (A/HRC/10/61, paras. 12-15).
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