Call on the way to Río+20
We, the organizations of migrants and those involved in the migrations of different parts of the world, articulated in the Migrations Work Group headed to the Peoples Summit Río+20, parallel to the United Nations on Sustainable development, to be held in Río, from 15th to 23rd June 2012, under the message announce: “We bring the always beautiful possibility of all the ways to the world.”
Fixing our eyes on the 20th June, the International Refuge Day, we proceed with a campaign towards Río+20 to demonstrate the urgent realities that are engaged with the present environmental and migratory crisis and generate serious and unavoidable demands upon humanity, states and the United Nations.
Under the lemma: “Kiribati and the environmentally displaced have no time” and with the fundamental demand that states, especially those of the countries most responsible for climatic change, elaborate a Plan for the Forced Migration of the Kiribati People – Kiribati, a country of Pacific islands condemned to disappear this century under the rising ocean surface – this year, 2012, through the United Nations, as well as a Protocol which establishes environmental displacement as a cause of refuge to be of international legality.
We will begin this campaign on 5th May 2012 and culminate with a self-organized activity as part of the activities of the Peoples Summit Río+20, called: “Migrations and new socio-environmental balance,” in which we will join together to exchange and debate ideas and to mobilize ourselves.
Therefore, we publically call on all the organizations and individuals who care to join us to build this campaign till the 5ht May in order that:
- 1. They join those originally listed to convene in the campaign, which is open to all the different, interested entities in the world.
- 2. They join in the collective dialogues which we are going to stimulate through our simultaneous list: migrantes(at)forums.rio20.net. To join you only have to write a petition of inclusion to: migrantes@rio20.net.
- 3. Read and offer suggestions to our draft document for the campaign: “Kiribati and the environmentally displaced have no time,” available for contributions at internet: http://pontaopad.me/kKFaBdR8jj
- 4. Send us all pertinent documents about the pivotal matters of the migration and environmental crisis as part of the crisis of civilization, to be gathered into our group’s documentary bank to soon be publically accessible as part of the campaign.
Fraternally awaiting you,
Because Kiribati and the environmentally displaced have no time!! We bring the always beautiful possibility of all the ways to the world
Migrations Work Group. Peoples Summit Río+20
(already adhering organizations):
- Espacio sin fronteras
- Centro de Direitos Humanos e Cidadania do Imigrante
- Carta mundial dos migrantes
- MIREDES Internacional
- Grupo Migración – Foro Social Temático Rio+20
- Red argentina de migrantes y refugiados
- Red social argentina para el desarrollo sustentable en marcha hacia Río+20
Este artículo esta disponible en: Spanish
Equipo editorial
What a great article!!! Hello and thank you for this article. So-called environmentally induced migration is multi-level problem. According to Essam El-Hinnawi definition form 1985 environmental refugees as those people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of a marked environmental disruption (natural or triggered by people) that jeopardised their existence and/or seriously affected the quality of their life. The fundamental distinction between `environmental migrants` and `environmental refugees` is a standpoint of contemporsry studies in EDPs.
According to Bogumil Terminski it seems reasonable to distinguish the general category of environmental migrants from the more specific (subordinate to it) category of environmental refugees.
Environmental migrants, therefore, are persons making a short-lived, cyclical, or longerterm change of residence, of a voluntary or forced character, due to specific environmental factors. Environmental refugees form a specific type of environmental migrant.
Environmental refugees, therefore, are persons compelled to spontaneous, short-lived, cyclical, or longer-term changes of residence due to sudden or gradually worsening changes in environmental factors important to their living, which may be of either a short-term or an irreversible character.
According to Norman Myers environmental refugees are “people who can no longer gain a secure livelihood in their homelands because of drought, soil erosion, desertification, deforestation and other environmental problems, together with associated problems of population pressures and profound poverty”.