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Access to justice and the right to food: the way forward 2015, para. 19
- Paragraph text
- Judicial protection of land as a source of livelihood can be seen in judgments by the Constitutional Court of Colombia. One such significant case involves the community of Las Pavas, whose members occupied unused land in 1997 and began farming activities to feed themselves. Over the years, the community had been repeatedly subjected to various forms of intimidation and harassment, including attacks by paramilitary groups and the destruction of crops and food. A formal eviction order was issued in 2009 at the request of two private companies, who claimed ownership of the land. In 2011, the Colombian Constitutional Court delivered its judgment, finding that the actions leading to the eviction of the families of Las Pavas were unlawful and violated the right to a dignified existence, among other rights.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Achieving durable solutions for internally displaced persons in urban settings 2014, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- The United Nations Human Settlements Programme, along with international non-governmental organizations, suggested a plan based on principles of sustainable urbanization, slum prevention and incremental upgrading. Aspects of the intervention included what is termed a "build back better approach" to emergency response from fires, which took fires as an opportunity to introduce firebreaks and mobile shelter kits made of metal poles and fire-retardant canvas to prevent the spread of future fires. The intervention also involved disaster-preparedness programmes. Furthermore, a simple training guide for upgrading temporary settlements, aimed at municipal officials and community leaders, was developed to allow for a swift transfer of the basic skills needed and to empower displaced people to initiate improvements themselves. This intervention halved the number of families affected by fires.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 1995, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- More than 1 billion people in the world today, the great majority of whom are women, live in unacceptable conditions of poverty, mostly in the developing countries. Poverty has various causes, including structural ones. Poverty is a complex, multidimensional problem, with origins in both the national and international domains. The globalization of the world's economy and the deepening interdependence among nations present challenges and opportunities for sustained economic growth and development, as well as risks and uncertainties for the future of the world economy. The uncertain global economic climate has been accompanied by economic restructuring as well as, in a certain number of countries, persistent, unmanageable levels of external debt and structural adjustment programmes. In addition, all types of conflict, displacement of people and environmental degradation have undermined the capacity of Governments to meet the basic needs of their populations. Transformations in the world economy are profoundly changing the parameters of social development in all countries. One significant trend has been the increased poverty of women, the extent of which varies from region to region. The gender disparities in economic power-sharing are also an important contributing factor to the poverty of women. Migration and consequent changes in family structures have placed additional burdens on women, especially those who provide for several dependants. Macroeconomic policies need rethinking and reformulation to address such trends. These policies focus almost exclusively on the formal sector. They also tend to impede the initiatives of women and fail to consider the differential impact on women and men. The application of gender analysis to a wide range of policies and programmes is therefore critical to poverty reduction strategies. In order to eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development women and men must participate fully and equally in the formulation of macroeconomic and social policies and strategies for the eradication of poverty. The eradication of poverty cannot be accomplished through anti-poverty programmes alone but will require democratic participation and changes in economic structures in order to ensure access for all women to resources, opportunities and public services. Poverty has various manifestations, including lack of income and productive resources sufficient to ensure a sustainable livelihood; hunger and malnutrition; ill health; limited or lack of access to education and other basic services; increasing morbidity and mortality from illness; homelessness and inadequate housing; unsafe environments; and social discrimination and exclusion. It is also characterized by lack of participation in decision-making and in civil, social and cultural life. It occurs in all countries - as mass poverty in many developing countries and as pockets of poverty amidst wealth in developed countries. Poverty may be caused by an economic recession that results in loss of livelihood or by disaster or conflict. There is also the poverty of low-wage workers and the utter destitution of people who fall outside family support systems, social institutions and safety nets.
- Body
- Fourth World Conference on Women
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 1995
Paragraph
Child and dependant care, including sharing of work and family responsibilities 1996, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The burden of domestic work needs to be eased by making use of appropriate technologies to provide drinking water and an energy supply.
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 1996
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- The current financial crisis has seen demand in investments such as property fall and, with inflation on the rise and the lack of confidence in paper money, demand for gold has seen a huge increase. As of April 2011, the price of gold hit a record high of $1,466 per ounce. Additionally, the increased usage of mobile phones has resulted in the increased international demand and price for coltan. International demand for minerals leads families and children to "rush" to work in this sector because they see this as a quick way to informally make money (see A/HRC/18/51).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Child slavery in the artisanal mining and quarrying sector 2011, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Consequently, mining and quarrying communities often have a high rate of STIs (such as HIV and AIDS), teenage pregnancies and single-parent households. Chemical contamination from artisanal mining can be a risk to an unborn child or breastfeeding children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Climate change and internal displacement 2011, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- In order to be successful, adaptation measures addressing internal displacement must provide durable solutions strategies in the form of return, local integration or resettlement in another part of the country. However, in the context of climate change, durable solutions are likely to be more complex and less static or one-dimensional. They may combine a number of solutions, including movements which are seasonal or temporary, or solutions which include continuity with the place of origin as well as integration in a different part of the country (for example, part of the family returns to the place of origin permanently or on a seasonal basis, while the breadwinner works in another location). Strategies addressing internal displacement should therefore be sufficiently flexible to include and support various scenarios of human adaptation, and ensure that durable solutions are based on free and informed consent.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- It must be acknowledged that many climate-change-induced migrants will fall in-between such categories. Many will be willingly moving, in anticipation of impending climate-change-induced economic disaster, and many will move only when becoming victims of a disastrous environmental event. For others, the compulsion to move will relate to the need to ensure food security or adequate access to basic services, such as water and sanitation, perhaps combined with a desire to reunite with family members abroad. Of those who do, many will move towards other disaster-prone areas. Many more will probably have no migration capability and will remain in disaster-prone areas: States will have to acknowledge that forced migration may encompass a range of situations and may need to recalibrate their rules to provide protection, assistance and migration opportunities for such persons.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Closing the gap in international human rights law: lessons from three regional human rights systems on legal standards and practices regarding violence against women 2015, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- In the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the member States stress the interdependence of rights and introduce unique features, such as the protection of community and group rights, and the imposition of duties on individuals. The Charter was the first human rights instrument to entrench the right to development. Specific references to women are included in the Charter, for example, in article 2, which prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of sex, and article 18 (3), which obliges States to eliminate all discrimination against women and to ensure the protection of the rights of women as stipulated in international declarations and conventions. The Charter incorporates principles related to culture, group rights and respect for the family environment. Article 60 of the Charter mandates the African Commission to draw inspiration from international law in its promotion and protection of human rights. Some scholars have argued that despite having minimal provisions on the rights of women, the Charter by inference imposes a duty on member States to abide by international human rights standards on women's rights. The Charter has been criticized by some for being unrealistic and overambitious, and for ignoring women's human rights, while others have praised it for protecting all human rights, both individual and collective.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Comprehensive prevention strategies against sale and sexual exploitation of children 2013, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- Push factors focus on the child in a given context and situation. They highlight the failure of the environment to protect children and the reasons why children may be driven or "pushed" away. Risks arise from the situation of the child him or herself, the child's immediate environment such as the family or the community, or the broader political, social, economic, institutional and cultural context. The vulnerability of a child depends on social norms within the community, the availability of adequate social services, and the adaptation of the environment to his or her needs, among other factors.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Comprehensive prevention strategies against sale and sexual exploitation of children 2013, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- However, the family and community can be affected by external factors that weaken endogenous protection mechanisms and expose children to risk. In addition to various social issues, these include rapid urbanization, political instability, environmental insecurity and large-scale population movement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Comprehensive prevention strategies against sale and sexual exploitation of children 2013, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Shocks in the broader context may also contribute to putting children at risk. Drought or conflict, for instance, may break down governance systems, disrupt families and drive families and children away from their environment, increasing their vulnerability. Studies on the impact of climate change and natural disasters on children have underscored their effects on the sale and sexual exploitation of children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Developing the Global Compact on Migration 2016, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- Many migrants move voluntarily in a safe and regular manner and live and work in conditions in which their labour and human rights are respected. In some circumstances, families are reunified. Others are forced to migrate as a result of push factors, including poverty, discrimination, violence, conflict, political upheaval and poor governance, and pull factors, including official or unacknowledged labour needs, as explained above, or for family reunification. Children are disproportionately represented among those forcibly displaced. In the context of natural disasters and climate change, migration is increasingly seen as an adaptation measure ensuring resilience through planned mobility. In the process of migration, many face exploitation, discrimination, abuse and other human rights violations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Effective Implementation of the OPSC 2010, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- Such migration, both internal and external, can occur in response to individual imperatives (such as the search for economic or professional opportunities), or to family and communal imperatives in connection with survival strategies or efforts to find suitable social or educational environments for children. Permanent and seasonal migrations, whether cross-border or within a country, are dictated by poverty, deteriorating living conditions, chronic drought, armed conflict and/or political instability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Effects of pesticides on the right to food 2017, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Agricultural workers are routinely exposed to toxic pesticides via spray, drift or direct contact with treated crops or soil, from accidental spills or inadequate personal protective equipment. Even when following recommended safety precautions, those applying pesticides are subject to higher exposure levels. Families of agricultural workers are also vulnerable, as workers bring home pesticide residues on their skin, clothing and shoes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Elements of a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders 2014, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- During her mandate, the Special Rapporteur has extensively focused on integrating a gender perspective throughout her work and has paid particular attention to the specificities of the environment in which women human rights defenders operate. She has addressed the heightened risks and challenges faced by women human rights defenders and those working on women's rights and gender issues; and highlighted the repercussions that such work may have on partners, spouses, and family members of defenders.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- The assassination of environmental human rights defenders is only part of the overall violence they face. The submissions received by the Special Rapporteur show that environmental human rights defenders confront numerous threats and violations, including violent attacks and threats to their families, enforced disappearances, illegal surveillance, travel bans, blackmail, sexual harassment, judicial harassment and use of force to dispel peaceful protests. Such violations are committed by State and non-State actors, and take place in the context of the overall stigmatization, demonization and delegitimization of environmental human rights defenders. In some countries, violations are intertwined with the overall climate of criminalization of their work, especially in the context of large-scale development projects (see A/68/262).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- With regard to the types of violations, communications indicate that environmental human rights defenders faced a high risk of threat to their physical integrity (more than 151 killings were documented during the same period), while a further 57 individuals and 5 communities were physically attacked. They have also been intimidated (54 individuals, 17 organizations and 1 community) and harassed (more than 31 individuals, 8 families, 5 communities and 3 groups). More than 91 environmental human rights defenders have been imprisoned and arbitrarily detained, while more than 82 have been arrested for their rights work.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- The increased scale of acts of reprisal against environmental human rights defenders protesting against environmental harms caused by projects funded by international financial institutions is disquieting. The submissions received revealed large gaps between professed commitments to participation and accountability and the situation on the ground, pointing to an overwhelming failure by those institutions to assess risks and respond to reprisals effectively. One report documented case studies in Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Uganda and Uzbekistan of reprisals taking a variety of forms. The critics of projects funded by the World Bank Group were reportedly the target of threats, intimidation tactics and baseless criminal charges. Some women faced sexual harassment or gender-based threats, attacks, or insults when they spoke out. Security forces responded violently to peaceful protests, physically assaulting community members and arbitrarily arresting them. In other cases, critics or their family members were threatened with the loss of their jobs or livelihoods. In many countries, such reprisals often occurred within a broader effort to demonize critics as unpatriotic or "anti-development".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Environmental management and the mitigation of natural disasters 2002, para. 7h
- Paragraph text
- [The Commission urges Governments [...] to address the needs of all women:] Encourage, as appropriate, the development and implementation of national building standards that take into account natural hazards so that women, men and their families are not exposed to high risk from disasters;
- Body
- Commission on the Status of Women
- Document type
- CSW Agreed Conclusions / Declaration
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2002
Paragraph
Existing legal standards and practices regarding violence against women in three regional human rights systems and activities being undertaken by civil society regarding the normative gap in international human rights law 2015, para. 11
- Paragraph text
- In the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the member States stress the interdependence of rights and introduce unique features, such as the protection of community and group rights, and the imposition of duties on individuals. The Charter was the first human rights instrument to entrench the right to development. Specific references to women are included in the Charter, for example, in article 2, which prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of sex, and article 18 (3), which obliges States to eliminate all discrimination against women and to ensure the protection of the rights of women as stipulated in international declarations and conventions. The Charter incorporates principles related to culture, group rights and respect for the family environment. Article 60 of the Charter mandates the African Commission to draw inspiration from international law in its promotion and protection of human rights. Some scholars have argued that despite having minimal provisions on the rights of women, the Charter by inference imposes a duty on member States to abide by international human rights standards on women's rights. The Charter has been criticized by some for being unrealistic and overambitious and for ignoring women's human rights, while others have praised it for protecting all human rights, both individual and collective.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 2000, para. 82a
- Paragraph text
- Promote and protect the rights of women workers and take action to remove structural and legal barriers as well as stereotypical attitudes to gender equality at work, addressing, inter alia, gender bias in recruitment; working conditions; occupational segregation and harassment; discrimination in social protection benefits; women's occupational health and safety; unequal career opportunities and inadequate sharing, by men, of family responsibilities;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Declaration / Confererence outcome document
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2000
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness among children and young people has reached critical proportions. Factors that push children into leaving home include parents' unemployment and poverty; family disintegration and parental abuse; parental drug and alcohol addictions; and being orphaned owing to HIV/AIDS, Ebola, armed conflict or natural disaster. Some families, unable to support children because of extreme poverty, abandon or send them to urban areas to work. Children raised in residential institutions often find themselves homeless when they reach the age at which institutional care ceases. Identified "pull" factors include "spatial freedom, financial independence, adventure, city glamour and street-based friendships or gangs".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- While some indigenous and small farmer groups support REDD-plus solutions, others reject these and all other market solutions and urge global organizations to recognize and support the sustainable agriculture of family farmers and indigenous people as a way of maintaining global biodiversity and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, some observers contend that, if well supported and scaled up, projects involving peasants and indigenous peoples could reduce current global emissions by 75 per cent by increasing biodiversity, recuperating soil organic matter, replacing industrial meat production with small-scale diversified food production, expanding local markets, halting deforestation and practising integrated forest management.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Impact of climate change on the right to food 2015, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Brazil's agroecology policies have already experienced success. Approximately 100,000 family farms have adopted agroecological farming practices. These farms have had average yield increases of 100-300 per cent and demonstrated greater resilience to irregular weather patterns. Brazil has also developed programmes that provide access to low-interest credit for family farmers and also offered technical support for 2.3 million families in 2010. It has stimulated agroecological systems by providing technical support for crop diversification techniques and irrigation systems.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Implementing child rights in early childhood 2006, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- A crucial role for parents and other primary caregivers. Under normal circumstances, a young child's parents play a crucial role in the achievement of their rights, along with other members of family, extended family or community, including legal guardians, as appropriate. This is fully recognized within the Convention (especially article 5), along with the obligation on States parties to provide assistance, including quality childcare services (especially article 18). The preamble to the Convention refers to the family as "the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well being of all its members and particularly children". The Committee recognizes that "family" here refers to a variety of arrangements that can provide for young children's care, nurturance and development, including the nuclear family, the extended family, and other traditional and modern community based arrangements, provided these are consistent with children's rights and best interests.
- Body
- Committee on the Rights of the Child
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2006
Paragraph
Integrating a gender perspective in the right to food 2016, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Oxfam researchers found that adaptation projects aimed at women created under Burkina Faso's National Action Programme for Adaptation (NAPA) sought to diversity the ways that women can generate income to offset income lost by harvests damaged by climate change. In order to rectify these consequences, individuals and organizations need to be better educated on the different vulnerabilities that men and women face in disasters, and local women's organizations need to be consulted in order to understand region-specific contexts. Moreover, such attempts could have ancillary positive effects, as developing credit systems to aid families during times of famine, strengthening women's organizations that promote adaptation measures, and addressing larger issues could prevent gender inequality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Food & Nutrition
- Gender
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Irregular migration and criminalization of migrants, protection of children in the migration process and the right to housing and health of migrants 2011, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur highlighted that there is no accurate statistical information on the number of children involved in the international migration process. Like adult migration, child migration is influenced by the political, social, economic and environmental situation. This included new global phenomena such as climate change, the food crisis and the financial and economic crisis. Children who are unaccompanied or separated from their parents were particularly vulnerable to human rights violations and abuses at all stages of the migration process. The lack of distinction between adult and child migrants was therefore a major challenge that a number of States still had to overcome. National migration laws did not always include a child rights perspective and usually lack specific provisions on children.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Irregular migration and criminalization of migrants, protection of children in the migration process and the right to housing and health of migrants 2011, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur would also like to note that in some cases, NAPAs identify migration as an adaptation strategy in itself. This perspective appears in two contexts. First, in some countries migration is seen as a way to reduce population pressures in places with fragile ecosystems. Second, some countries recognize that resettlement of some populations may be inevitable, given the likely trends, and should be accomplished with planning. More relevant would be the second type of adaptation strategy involving migration - resettlement to mitigate the harm accompanying climate change, particularly flooding and rising sea levels. In the NAPA of Samoa, for example, it states that relocation of families is a current adaptation strategy in the village community sector. Potential adaptation activities in the NAPA include assistance for relocation of communities inland. A plan entitled Implement Coastal Infrastructure Management Plans for Highly Vulnerable Districts Project envisions incremental relocation of community and government assets outside coastal hazard zones.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Irregular migration and criminalization of migrants, protection of children in the migration process and the right to housing and health of migrants 2011, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Nevertheless, some countries have established special policies that permit individuals whose countries have experienced natural disasters or other severe upheavals to remain at least temporarily without fear of deportation. The United States of America, for example, enacted legislation in 1990 to provide temporary protected status to persons "who are temporarily unable to safely return to their home country because of ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions". New Zealand has a particular category in its resettlement quota for persons displaced environmentally from Pacific island States, called the "Pacific Access Category". Other countries provide exceptions to removal on an ad hoc basis for persons whose countries of origin have experienced significant disruption because of natural disasters. After the 2004 tsunami, several States suspended deportations of nationals from countries affected. Although the Special Rapporteur sees these examples as positive developments, each on an ad hoc case, there are no concrete examples of legislation or policies that address migration of persons from gradual climate changes that may destroy habitats or livelihoods in the future. For the most part, movements resulting from slow-onset climate change and other environmental hazards that limit economic opportunities are treated in the same manner as other economically motivated migration. Persons moving outside of existing labour and family migration categories are considered to be irregular migrants. In the absence of a strong humanitarian ground, exempting them from removal proceedings, these migrants will be subject to the regular systems in place for mandatory return to their home countries.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph