Communities Under Threat Of Extreme Weather Will Testify In First-Of-Its-Kind Hearing In US

Communities under imminent threats from rising sea levels, floods, and other extreme weather will testify in Washington as the region's leading human rights organization stages a one-of-a-kind hearing on how climate calamities are pushing forced migration across the Americas.

Climate Migrant

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) will hear from people on the front lines of the climate emergency in Mexico, Honduras, the Bahamas, and Colombia as part of a special hearing requested by human rights organizations in Latin America, the United States, and the Caribbean.

Hurricanes, heatwaves, and drought are displacing an increasing number of migrants and refugees seeking refuge in the United States and other countries, as are slow-onset climate disasters such as ocean acidification, coastal erosion, and desertification.

Witnesses will include Higinio Alberto Ramírez from Honduras, who suffered life-altering injuries last year when a fire demolished a detention center in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, killing 43 Latin American migrants.

Ramírez is from Cedeño, a coastal fishing hamlet that is disappearing beneath increasing sea levels. He was attempting to reach the US to repay family obligations when tidal waves wrecked the shrimp nursery where he and his father worked.

"The case of the Ramírez family is a tragic reminder that forced migration is not an issue for the future. Sea levels have been rising due to climate change for decades. States and humanitarian systems must catch up and ensure that protections are in place," said Gretchen Kuhner, director of the Mexico based Institute for Women in Migration (Imumi), one of the groups which requested the hearing.

The hearing is part of a campaign for the IACHR to legally identify forced displacement as a result of the climate catastrophe, conduct country visits, and develop guidelines to safeguard internally displaced people and those seeking refuge in other countries.

As immigration and refugee policies in the United States, Mexico, and elsewhere become more harsh and asylum criteria more stringent, experts will urge the IACHR to remind states of the non-refoulement principle, which prohibits returning displaced people to situations that endanger their lives or freedoms as a result of the climate crisis.

"The testimonies of people directly impacted show that the slow and rapid onset effects of climate change are negatively impacting the most basic rights of entire communities, particularly those already marginalized and racialized, and the so-called sacrifice zones," said Adeline Neau, Amnesty International's researcher for Central America.

Global Collaboration

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is appealing for increased global collaboration in combating climate-induced migration as world leaders gather for the sixth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA).

Without specific climate action, up to 216 million individuals are expected to become internal climate migrants by 2050. This figure could be decreased by 80 percent if concrete, concerted, and timely steps are taken.

In 2022 alone, over 32 million additional internal displacements were caused by climate-related dangers, highlighting the growing need to address this issue.

The IOM underscored that no region in the world is immune to the negative effects of climate change, whether directly or indirectly. Less-developed countries, which have made the fewest contributions to the cause, are disproportionately affected.

"Through dialogue and cooperation, we can strengthen our commitment and action to address climate mobility," said IOM Chief of Staff Mohammed Abdiker.