Migrant Protection and Assistance

The Climate Mobility Pavilion (CMP), organized by the Global Centre for Climate Mobility (GCCM) in association with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), was a dedicated space at COP28 for actors to discuss and advance solutions for mitigating and addressing the impacts of the climate crisis on human mobility. It aimed to center efforts on the adaptation journeys of climate vulnerable communities, as well as advance people-centered climate action.

The Climate Mobility Summit is an all-day event in the margins of the United Nations High-Level Week bringing together global champion leaders and Principals of relevant UN organizations and stakeholder entities to discuss ways to harness climate mobility for adaptation and resilience, as well as to press for climate action to prioritize climate-resilient development around the adaptation needs of populations affected by the climate crisis, particularly those forced to leave the places they call home.

The President of the UNGA hosted a Breakfast Summit on Addressing Existential Threats of Sea-level Rise in September 2023, which was attended by eight Heads of State and Government and 14 ministers, as well as chiefs of UN entities. The Summit resulted in the launch of the Coalition for Addressing Sea-level Rise and its Existential Threat (C-SET), co-chaired by Germany and Tuvalu and led by a Group of Champions, namely Antigua and Barbuda; Costa Rica; Denmark; Morocco; New Zealand; Bangladesh; the Republic of Korea; Malta; Palau; and Romania. 

The Greater Caribbean Climate Mobility Initiative (GCCMI) was officially launched in September 2022 to set out a common agenda, informed by robust evidence, for addressing climate mobility across the Greater Caribbean region. 

The Africa Climate Mobility Initiative is a people-centred and evidence-based Initiative, aiming to generate political momentum around a common policy agenda and to mobilise resources for the implementation of comprehensive and locally anchored solutions to address climate mobility.

The Africa Climate Mobility Initiative’s cornerstones are knowledge-building, connecting and empowering change agents and accelerating policy and project implementation underpinned by strategic partnerships.

As the climate crisis deepens, low-lying countries are witnessing significant amounts of their territory being rendered uninhabitable, with some facing the prospect of complete inundation from rising sea level. For many Small Island Developing States, this represents a catastrophic threat to their political, social, economic and cultural fabric and the Pacific Atoll countries are at the frontline of this global climate emergency.

The Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean, also known as Escazú Agreement, was adopted on March 4, 2018 in Escazú, Costa Rica. This treaty strengthens the link between human rights and environmental defense by posing obligations on the States parties, regarding the protection of environmental human rights defenders. Thus, the Escazú Agreement promotes a four-pillar model of environmental democracy.

On January 9, 2023, Chile and Colombia signed a joint advisory opinion request to be presented before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), aiming to clarify the scope of the state obligations for responding to the climate emergency under the frame of international human rights law. The request acknowledged the human rights effects of the climate emergency, especially highlighting the vulnerability of communities and ecosystems in Latin America. In this line, Colombia and Chile emphasized the need for regional standards to accelerate action to confront climate change. 

The Groundswell Report is a comprehensive study conducted by the Climate Change Group of the World Bank. The first part of this report was published in 2018, and the second part, titled 'Groundswell: Acting on Internal Climate Migration', was unveiled in September 2021. The report's findings indicate that if immediate and effective climate and development action plans aren't put into place, it's estimated that over 216 million individuals across six global regions may have to migrate within their own countries by the year 2050.

The Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees (GCF) responds to the unmet needs of cities as they support migrants, refugees, and internally displaced people in the face of pressing challenges, from global pandemics to the climate crisis. By directly funding cities to implement inclusive programs of their own design, the GCF: