Are environmental migrants recognized by international law?
Despite the ongoing pressure by the international community to create a legal framework for recognizing, protecting, and resettling environmental migrants, no such instrument exists. The often complex mix of environmental, social, political, and economic factors that cause people to migrate is one reason why this has been slow in coming. The Guiding Principles for Internal Displacement, which is a UN endorsed framework regarding the protection of people displaced within their own borders, does in fact cover those who are forced to move by “natural or human-made disasters”. However, there is still a severe protection deficit within this category in the Guiding Principles. Additionally, not all governments have signed up to this framework and although the majority of the movement is likely to occur within national borders, the Guiding Principles still do not apply to those who have crossed an international border. This new category of migrants urgently needs to be formally recognized in
