INTERNATIONAL RESPONSES TO CLIMATE-RELATED MIGRATION.

• Author: Kaelin, Walter

Journal of International Affairs (JIA): Can you describe the work you do? Can you describe your work at the Nansen Initiative and the creation of the platform on disaster displacement?

Walter Kaelin (WK): In 2004, I was appointed representative of the UN Secretary General on the human rights of internally displaced persons. A few weeks after I started my mandate, the Indian Ocean tsunami happened, and this triggered a large-scale internal displacement, so I immediately began advocating for the protection of the victims of this disaster. That's how I got involved with the protection of people affected by disasters, both climate-related and otherwise.

Later on, I worked with the High Commissioner for Refugees and the Director of the International Organization for Migration on lobbying the climate negotiators to recognize that displacement in the context of climate change is really an issue. This was quite successful. In 2010 the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted the Cancun Climate Change Adaptation Framework, which contains a very short paragraph recognizing that forced displacement, voluntary migration, and planned relocation are among the challenges of adapting to and dealing with climate change.

My mandate ended in 2010. Around then, Switzerland and Norway launched the so-called Nansen Initiative on disaster-induced cross-border displacement. The Initiative was an attempt by a group of states from different parts of the world to build, through a series of consultations in particularly affected regions, consensus on how to conceptualize displacement in the context of adverse effects of climate change and other disasters as well as to identify effective practices and measures to prevent and mitigate such displacement. During that time, I acted as Envoy of the Chair of the Nansen Initiative. When the Initiative ended in 2015 with the adoption of a Protection Agenda endorsed by more than 100 states, Germany and other countries felt the work had to continue. Thus, the Nansen Initiative became the Platform on Disaster Displacement. I am now acting as envoy of the present chair of the Platform, France. This Platform consists of a group of states working together to strengthen the protection of persons displaced across borders in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change, and to prevent or reduce disaster displacement risks in countries of origin.

JIA: What is the link between migration...