Climate change: Laws and policies must change to prevent future statelessness, says Australian and UN joint report
Australia and other nations should amend laws and practices to deal with millions of people who are expected to move because of climate-related hazards, according to a new report by the Peter McMullin Centre on Statelessness with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The report warns millions of new cases of statelessness could be created suddenly by extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, storms and cyclones, and slowly by processes such as rising sea levels and temperatures, loss of wildlife and the creation of new deserts.
“Climate change is reshaping every aspect of human life, and we know it will put millions at risk of becoming ‘stateless’ – that is, of not having a formal nationality to protect them – because they have been forced to move across national borders to survive,” says lead author Associate Professor Radha Govil.
“Perhaps they have lost their identity papers; perhaps they have been left in limbo because of gaps in laws that fail to protect their rights to nationality’.
“Stateless people are often denied basic rights such as healthcare, education, the right to marry or the freedom of movement.”
“We need to support the concept of ‘continuity of statehood’ – for small island states that risk complete submersion, we need to confirm that they are still states, even as they lose the land on which their populations have previously lived.”
Since 2015, around 27 million people a year have been displaced due to weather-related events and climate change is expected to push this number higher in coming years. Many of these people would be at risk of statelessness.
The report, Global Recommendations on Nationality and Statelessness in the Context of Climate Change, was written by Associate Professor Govil, of the Peter McMullin Centre at Melbourne Law School, with UNHCR’s Anne Laakko and Michelle Yonetani.
The report’s recommendations include that all nations:
- Identify and count the stateless people inside their borders
- Expedite the resolution of existing cases of statelessness to prevent the compounding vulnerability produced by climate hazards
- Remove discrimination and other gaps that could render people stateless if they migrate or become displaced
- Digitize records that help prove nationality
- Ensure all climate-affected children are able to acquire a nationality
“These recommendations are based on existing principles of international law and are aimed at preventing new cases of statelessness, reducing existing statelessness, and protecting those whose rights are at risk because of climate change,” says Associate Professor Govil.
“The underlying principles include equality and non-discrimination, the right to life with dignity, the duty of international cooperation and the right to participate.”
“We need to start thinking now about legal changes and practical measures that States must take to reduce and prevent climate-change related statelessness”