Jane McAdam speaks at UN Human Rights Council side event on the need to protect people displaced by natural disasters

Professor Jane McAdam today spoke at a UN Human Rights Council side event in Geneva on the need to protect people displaced by natural disasters. She explained why existing refugee and human rights law do not adequately cover people forced from their homes in the context of disasters and climate change, and suggested that States need to consider proactive steps that can enhance resilience and protection.

‘Planned migration can be an effective way to build long-term resilience. It can lessen the likelihood of humanitarian emergencies and displacement’, she said.

She was joined on the panel by the Ambassador of Costa Rica, the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, and the Envoy of the Nansen Initiative on Disaster-Induced Cross-Border Displacement.

A copy of her address is available here.