On 3 December 2023 UNU-IAS will co-organize a side event at the Thailand Pavilion of the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP28) to highlight the needs and rights of people who are displaced in the context of climate and environmental change. It will stress the need for urgent action to address the human mobility consequences of climate change in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), National Adaptation Plans (NAP) and other relevant policies and frameworks towards a data-informed inclusive climate adaptation and resilience strategies for potentially vulnerable populations.
The session will share key findings and challenges from a global study on climate affected individuals and their right to education, followed by a discussion on the growing concerns on health issues of climate affected and/or displaced people.
Participation
This event will be held simultaneously at the COP28 Thailand Pavilion (Blue Zone B62) and online. Further details about online participation will be added when available.
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Language
This event will be held in English.
Programme
Moderator: Jonghwi Park (Academic Programme Officer, UNU-IAS)
10:00–10:05 Introduction
10:05–10:45 Presentations
- Salah Khaled (Director, UNESCO Doha): Catalyst for Change: Launch of UNESCO's Global Report on the Impact of Climate Displacement on the Right to Education
- TBC Christina Daszkiewicz (Programme Officer Migration Environment and Climate Change, IOM Geneva): Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change — Key Challenges and Opportunities of Engagement
- Yasushi Katsuma (Academic Advisor, UNU-IAS): The Health and Wellbeing of Climate Affected Individuals
- Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation of Thailand: National Trends and Challenges, Policy Measures and Good Practices Related to Migrants and Displaced People in the Context of Climate Change
10:45– 11:15 Panel Discussion
11:15–11:30 Summary and Closing
Organizers
The session will be organized by UNU-IAS with support from the Government of Thailand, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Background
With the increasing frequency and intensity of disasters, over 20 million individuals are displaced every year, outnumbering the number of displacements by conflicts and wars. In Thailand alone, nearly 30,000 internal displacements have been linked to disasters annually, on average in the past 10 years and the number is growing due to the impacts of climate change.
A recent study on the Asia-Pacific region conducted by UNESCO & UNU-IAS shows that there is a lack of comprehensive policies and data-informed measures to ensure the timely and inclusive provision of education, emergency aids, social protection, and medical and psychological services for displaced individuals and other migrants in the context of climate change. There is an urgent need to raise the international community’s awareness of the needs and rights of people who move or are displaced in the context of climate and environmental change.
