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Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 10
- Paragraph text
- Given the European Union's share of global resources and wealth of substantive normative standards, recent deaths at sea and other human rights issues have to be seen as the result of collective political will and policy choices. The suffering of so many and the tendency of migration to take place clandestinely is a symptom of systemic failings within the European Union border management system and a clear sign that the region is losing control of migration despite sustained investment in securing borders. These failings also cut deeper and speak to how the European Union responds to difference and diversity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- The costs associated with attempting to sustain the status quo are huge. The human costs continue to rise as migrants die at sea and suffer on a large scale at borders, within the European Union, as well as in neighbouring countries. Furthermore, the resources lost through investing into an ineffective system and not maximizing the opportunities to benefit from organized migration are significant.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- While a number of precarious, sea-based routes to the European Union exist, by far the most commonly used since 2013 has been the central Mediterranean route. The dramatic increase in the use of that route has tragically resulted in large-scale loss of life. UNHCR estimates that 3,000 people died or went missing at sea in 2014. Events in the first four months of 2015 suggest that the use of this route and the associated avoidable deaths of migrants continue at an alarming pace.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- The current European Union border management system is buckling under the pressure of increased irregular migration, despite the relatively small proportion of those displaced by crisis seeking refuge in the Union.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- As migrants continue to die at sea, and large-scale suffering is experienced at each stage of migration, it is clear that the European Union does not control migration. This lack of control manifests itself in a number of different ways, raising a wide range of human rights concerns, many of which have persisted since 2013 and have gained increasing impetus and urgency over the past two years.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- The use of precarious routes into the European Union, particularly through the central Mediterranean Sea, has increased dramatically since 2013 and resulted in large-scale violations of the right to life, as well as significant human rights abuses at all stages of the migratory process. This form of migration is driven largely by conflict and poverty (push factors), as well as by unmet needs within European labour markets (pull factor). Many of these migrants are being forced to use precarious routes because of their desperate situation and a lack of regular migration opportunities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- All the human rights concerns discussed above are signs of stress within the European Union border management and migration systems. They are clear indications that the status quo simply is not sustainable. Ignoring these warning signs and pouring further resources into an ineffective and paradoxical closure system will lead to further avoidable human suffering, as well as wasted resources and lost opportunity costs from not reaping the rewards of organized mobility.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- The events in the Mediterranean Sea and the mirroring of this suffering across each stage of the migratory process within the past two years have clearly shown that the status quo in relation to the European Union's approach to border control, asylum and migration is not sustainable. The ability of migrants to reach European soil despite a huge investment in securing borders demonstrates beyond a doubt that sealing international borders is impossible. Migration is a long-standing part of the human condition and, in the globalized and conflict-ridden world in which we live, it is inevitable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The costs of denying this reality are huge. Most significantly, the human costs continue to grow. There are no signs that the push and pull factors influencing migratory patterns will change and the many grave associated human rights abuses will decrease. In addition to the human costs, the huge investment of resources by the European Union and its member States into ineffective and paradoxical border control mechanisms could be spent in many other ways.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- [To the European Union and its member States] Fully recognize the push and pull factors of irregular migration, including that undertaken by sea, and the European Union's responsibility in managing and mitigating them.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 130
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to specific European Union institutions] [To FRONTEX] Ensure that Operation Triton upholds international standards in relation to protection at sea and that the full transition from Operation Mare Nostrum does not result in the avoidable loss of life of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Banking on mobility over a generation: follow-up to the regional study on the management of the external borders of the European Union and its impact on the human rights of migrants 2015, para. 136
- Paragraph text
- [Recommendations to specific European Union institutions] [To the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights] Continue its vital work in developing the evidence base related to key migration and human rights issues, including border management, integration and access to justice. Raise the profile of these issues and report on key challenges.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The world can expect to experience profound changes in the natural and human environments over the next 50 years or so. Given the significant impacts of those environmental transformations, the Special Rapporteur notes that the effects of climate change will likely play a significant and increasingly determinative role in international migration. In this context, the Special Rapporteur decided to dedicate the thematic section of his report to the General Assembly to the impacts of climate change on migration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Thus, global environmental variation as a result of climate change is now a certainty, and the impact of climate change on migration is becoming increasingly apparent. Walter Kälin, the former representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of internally displaced persons, has identified five scenarios of climate-induced displacement, triggered respectively by (i) sudden-onset disasters; (ii) slow-onset environmental degradation; (iii) sinking small island States; (iv) high-risk zones designated by Governments; and (v) unrest that seriously disturbs the public order, violence, or armed conflict.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- 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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- 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).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 24
- Paragraph text
- 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).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Each of those reports contains important definitions, including basic concepts and terminology, especially on mitigation and adaptation, 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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Beyond the work of OHCHR, the United Nations system as a whole is also increasingly focusing on the intersection of climate change and environmental policy and migration. The Global Migration Group, a collective of 18 United Nations agencies, the World Bank and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), was created in 2006 in recognition that migration is a complex and multidimensional issue that requires a coherent and coordinated approach from the international community (see http://www.globalmigrationgroup.org). The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the Chair of the Global Migration Group in the second half of 2011, focused its statement on the relationship between climate change and migration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Individual United Nations agencies have also focused specifically on the link between migration and climate change. IOM has a thematic focus on this issue and has developed numerous publications on the topic. Similarly, UNHCR has recognized the important impact that climate change will have on its work. The World Bank also recently commissioned a study on human rights and climate change.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- The 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), held in Brazil from 20 to 22 June 2012, also recognized the issue of migration as relevant in the context of environmental cooperation, and emphasis was put on the need for States to recognize the rights of migrants, in particular those in a vulnerable situation.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Of course, the Special Rapporteur recognizes the contributions of numerous non-governmental organizations, as well as Governments themselves, to the development of this field. As more research continues to be carried out at both the scientific and policy levels, the understanding of the issues continues to evolve. Building on this, the Special Rapporteur will further explore the human rights aspects of migration relating to climate change.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- Environmentally induced migration is commonly presented as a new, or emerging, issue. Yet, changes in environmental conditions have always influenced migration patterns. It is a core feature of our human condition: since mankind has existed, people have been moving in response to changes in their environment, often seasonally. In the context of climate change, however, the rate and scale of this migration could be multiplied. Precise numbers regarding environmental migrants vary considerably, with estimates of the number of people likely to be displaced by climate change ranging from 50 to 250 million by the year 2050. The Special Rapporteur remains aware, however, that accurate data on this issue is not readily available. Furthermore, he recognizes that statistical exercises will be controversial, not only in view of the difficulty in predicting the rate of sea level rise and its impact on persons, but also with regard to a key conceptual hurdle: the difficulty of identifying those migrants who can be said to have moved solely for reasons related to climate change. For example, it is difficult to isolate the effects of climate change that may contribute to population movements from other environmental factors, such as land degradation, which may be linked to other stresses on the environment, including the impact of an increasing global population consuming ever more natural resources.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- In this context, the Special Rapporteur understands that although environmental transformations experienced as a result of climate change may contribute to migratory movements, environmental migration, like every kind of migration, is essentially a complex, multicausal phenomenon which may be driven by a multiplicity of push-and-pull factors. Thus, the question of identifying those who have migrated as a result of climate change might be a challenging, if not impossible, task: the impacts of climate change often contribute to a cluster of causes that lead to migration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- Further difficulties in defining the climate-change-induced migrant are compounded by the fact that climate change may induce a range of migration patterns. Climate change may induce temporary, circular and permanent migration movements, which may be multidirectional, or episodic. Persons affected may move internally or internationally, spontaneously or in an organized and planned manner, and may range on a wide continuum between forced and voluntary migrations. Future predictions remain problematic: while research may suggest some ways in which climate change may affect migratory patterns, it is difficult to predict future movements accurately if only because of the decisive role of individual human agency, as migration is always also an individual trajectory and never simply a mass displacement. Moreover, the success, or lack thereof, of future mitigation and adaptation strategies, including the development of new technologies which may or may not ameliorate the situation of those most affected by the effects of climate change, are impossible to know. Furthermore, it is impossible to forecast the impact of future extreme environmental events, including their regularity or force.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Notwithstanding, or perhaps in the light of these conceptual difficulties, the Special Rapporteur recognizes the need for more rigorous scientific, empirical, sociological, legal and other research in this field. Only with precise knowledge of the scope and nature of environmental migration will States be able to develop and agree upon common policies in this regard.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Within societies, specific groups may be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than others. Economically disadvantaged communities can be especially vulnerable, in particular those concentrated in high-risk areas, as those societies may be highly dependent on the environment for their livelihood. Other determinants play a key role, including personal characteristics such as age, gender, wealth or disability. Moreover, the Special Rapporteur recognizes that in general, people migrating through a lack of choice as a consequence of climate change are more likely to be moving in an irregular situation and are therefore more vulnerable to human rights violations through the course of their migration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur is also aware that vulnerability is not only determined by geographical, social or economic factors, but also may be the result of political circumstances. The commitment of States to developing appropriate policy responses, either in direct response to a natural disaster, or with regard to long-term planning to manage climate-change-induced migration may thus play a key role in the vulnerability of a particular community to the effects of climate change and their subsequent migration. The degree of a State's development also plays an important role regarding the ability of governments to cope with, mitigate and adapt to environmental change. However, even where appropriate strategies are put in place, the adequacy of highly visible adaptive responses cannot always be assumed. For example, investment in specific infrastructures may contribute to increasing numbers of people choosing to remain in vulnerable areas, where they may be at increased risk owing to unforeseeable consequences of future environmental change.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Overall, the Special Rapporteur recognizes that in the case of many specific migration movements, it will not always be possible to clearly delineate between the vulnerability of an individual, group or community to climate change and the social, economic and political contexts in which such movements occur. Therefore, the Special Rapporteur reminds States that determining who will be affected by climate change and compelled to migrate cannot be ascertained in isolation. Attention must be paid to the full circumstances of individuals, groups and communities affected, including the political dimension. This must include an examination, based on a human rights approach, of why and how certain persons may be more vulnerable to climate change, as well as an examination of their effective access to different coping mechanisms through mitigation and adaptation strategies.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Environmentally induced migration may occur almost anywhere. No country is safe from natural disaster and slow-onset environmental changes. Nonetheless, some circumstances are evidently more conducive to environmentally induced migration. In any place where human settlement already faces precarious environmental circumstances, exposure to the slightest environmental change may reach a tipping point whereby people are compelled to move.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph