INTRODUCTION
Climate change is a critical global issue. The effects of climate change are not just environmental but also large socio-economic and human rights challenges. Migration is another area of important interplay between climate change and human rights. India, given its large geographical area and huge population, faces formidable challenges as it will also be a source and destination for climate migrants. Of the current pressing issues in the contemporary world, the most challenging one is climate change. With its diversified geography and substantive population, India faces significant challenges as it turns out to be the source and destination for climate migrants. The impacts of climate change are beyond environmental degradation, entailing substantive socio-economic challenges and human rights issues. One of the critical areas where climate change intersects with human rights has to do with migration.
Climate change refers to the long-term shift in temperature.[1] Climate-induced migration has been on the rise as people continue to move because of increased water levels, and extreme weather events such as hurricanes, desertification, and earthquakes, among many other causes. The paper discusses in detail how climate change, human rights, and migration are linked. It deals with integration in these two issues. This involves going into the intricate connections between climate change, migration, and human rights. Temperature rise, sea-level rise, and other extreme weather events make disruptions in the ecological systems of the country’s environment compulsory for human populations to adjust—usually by moving out. This may take the form of gradual relocation or crisis-induced sudden displacement. It may be internal, crossing borders, or even international, with whole communities seeking safer, more habitable environments.
The human rights implications of migration are huge. For people forced to flee their homes, questions of human dignity and rights to safety, shelter, and adequate standards of living arise. Access to education, health care, and jobs could prove elusive, and cultural and social rights may be jeopardized. Furthermore, the process of migration itself can make the migrant open to exploitation, human trafficking, and other human rights abuses.[2]
THE SCOPE OF CLIMATE-INDUCED MIGRATION
Before getting into the nuances involved in human rights vis-à-vis climate migration, it is rather important to first define what exactly is meant by ‘climate migration.’ Climate migrants, in general, are those people who are compelled or induced to leave their places of habitual residence due to sudden or gradual changes in the climate. These include rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and shifting precipitation patterns. While many would opt to move within the country, others felt compelled to cross over to foreign countries in search of greener pastures.
Thus, one cannot correctly estimate the exact number of climate migrants in the world because of limitations in data and definitions. We are still following the 1971 census keeping a base year as 2011 which is outdated. Some researchers say that this century hundreds of millions could be displaced by factors that can be related to climatic change. Most of it would be from developing regions like South Asia. This could displace tens of millions of people in India alone due to coastal erosion, flooding from riverbanks, and agricultural decline[3].
HUMAN RIGHTS IMPLICATIONS
Climate migration raises many human rights concerns, as affected individuals often experience violations of their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Some of the most prominent issues include:[4]
- Right to Life, Liberty, and Personal Security: Many climate migrants, in the face of imminent natural disasters or gradually deteriorating conditions, could consider risky journeys to find a haven. During the process of transiting, they are exposed to theft, assault, sexual violence, trafficking, and other forms of harm. Upon arrival, discrimination, xenophobia, and exclusion further put their physical integrity and psychological well-being at risk.
- Right to Food, Water, and Housing: In most cases, climate migrants often find it difficult to have access to essential services like healthy food, safe drinking water, and proper housing upon settling in their new locations. In this respect, they could compete for such scarce resources with the already settled population, hence creating tension and conflict. On the other hand, they may be confined to areas marginalized by poverty, pollution, and insecurity.
- Right to Education and Employment: In most cases, children from climate migrant families lose out on educational opportunities due to language barriers, financial constraints, or disrupted schooling trajectories. For adults, there is unemployment, underemployment, precarious employment arrangements, and an inability to provide for their families—thereby resulting in problems of reintegration into societal structures.
- Right to Health: Exposure to adverse living conditions and meagre food intakes, coupled with stressful circumstances, can result in serious, life-long illnesses, mental disorders, and reduced life expectancy for migrating populations. Not to add to these, the poor hygiene and sanitation facilities in camp settings and, oftentimes, their very minimal access to health services spiral these issues into synergistic cycles of disease and disadvantage.[5]
THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE
In this sense, the role that international law may play in the context of climate change-induced migration is telling. There are certainly a good number of human rights instruments, yet, at this point, the legal regime concerning this particular issue is yet to develop. For instance, ‘climate refugees’ are not alluded to in the 1951 Refugee Convention, and discussions about expanding the definition of a refugee to also include those displaced by environmental factors are ongoing[6]. This also intersects with state responsibilities and the potential for climate change to aggravate other human rights abuses. The effects of climate change do not respect national borders and activities, or indeed inaction, by one state can have repercussions for the human rights of persons in other countries. This potentially gives rise to questions about accountability, responsibility to protect, and even the driving of international conflict through climate change. The intersection of climate change, migration, and human rights poses a particular challenge to the present framework of international law.
While several human rights instruments do exist, issues on climate-induced migration are really uncharted legal ground. The 1951 Refugee Convention, which is in itself a cornerstone of the protection granted to refugees, does not directly recognize climate refugees, creating a large gap in protection for persons displaced by environmental factors. This gap evokes vigorous debates on the review and extension of the definition of a refugee to include those fleeing from climate change impacts. Indeed, these questions state responsibilities for both the affected and those that have contributed the most to the problem through historical emissions. Second, the fact that climate change impacts are transboundary underlines the interrelation with human rights and how climate change can exacerbate existing inequalities and human rights abuses.
CHALLENGES AND GAPS
- Policy Implementation: Effective implementation of policies and programs is often hindered by bureaucratic inefficiencies, corruption, and lack of coordination between various government agencies.
- Data and Research: There is a need for comprehensive data and research on climate-induced migration to inform policy decisions and program design.
- Legal Framework: India lacks a specific legal framework to protect the rights of climate migrants, making it difficult to address their unique needs and vulnerabilities.
- International Cooperation: Climate-induced migration is a global issue that requires international cooperation and support, particularly in funding and technology transfer.[7]
CONCLUSION
Climate change is one of the major factors behind migration in India, which has large-scale human rights implications. All these challenges that climate migrants are facing require complex solutions—ensuring enhanced legal protection and data collection to better coordination of policies promoting sustainable livelihoods, increasing climate resilience, and ending displacement. These steps would further safeguard the rights of vulnerable groups and ensure fairness and equity for all affected by climate change. Climate change is a global problem with deep human rights implications, particularly concerning immigration into India. As these climate-induced phenomena, from sea-level rise to extreme weather events and agricultural conditions, occur more frequently and severely, they add to the rising cases of community displacements. The geographical diversity and socioeconomic complexities in India have risen to the forefront in understanding the climate change–migration nexus.
Climate-induced migration is linked to serious human rights concerns. The majority of the displaced lose their means of livelihood, have limited access to basic services, and are subject to abuse and discrimination. At stake are rights to adequate shelter, food, water, health care, and decent living standards. These questions arise, therefore, both at the national and international levels on issues relating to human rights regimes. Because of its high density of population and varied climatic zones, India truly represents a microcosm of these global challenges.
India has taken many steps to reduce climate change and its impacts on migration. Policies about this are the National Action Plan on Climate Change and state-specific action plans, which focus on the enhancement of resilience and adaptive capacity. Many a time, such programs do not have a clear focus on climate-induced migration and protection of the rights of migrants. Hence, it is urgently needed that comprehensive strategies be put in place for climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and migration management. Such policies should be based on human rights, ensuring that the most disadvantaged groups are well catered to. This can be done through the badly needed boosting of social protection schemes; increases in access to education and health care; legal recognition and protection of climate migrants.
Author(s) Name: Hitha (Alliance University, Bengaluru)
References-
[1] ‘Nations U, “What Is Climate Change?” (United Nations) <https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change> accessed July 15, 2024
[2] Nelson M, “India: A Case Study in Climate Mitigation and Adaptation” (Global Association of Risk Professionals, September 14, 2023) < http://surl.li/gmjpiz> accessed July 15, 2024
[3] Census Division| Government of India, (July 26, 2024) <https://censusindia.gov.in/census.website/node/378> accessed August 14, 2024
[4] “Right to Protection from Climate Change Impacts” (Drishti IAS) <https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/right-to-protection-from-climate-change-impacts> accessed July 15, 2024
[5] Krishnan M, “India: Migration from Climate Change Getting Worse” Deutsche Welle (April 19, 2023) <https://www.dw.com/en/india-migration-from-climate-change-getting-worse/a-65369043> accessed July 15, 2024
[6] UNHCR-United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, <https://www.unhcr.org/in/about-unhcr/who-we-are/1951-refugee-convention> accessed August 14, 2024
[7] Jolly S and Ahmad N, “Climate Change Migration: Legal Protection Under International Refugee Law and Climate Change Legal…” (Research Gate, January 1, 2019) <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329988811_Climate_Change_Migration_Legal_Protection_Under_International_Refugee_Law_and_Climate_Change_Legal_Regime_Perspectives_from_the_Rest_of_the_World> accessed July 15, 2024
