Protection of Cross-Border Victims of Natural Disasters and Displacement in East Africa

Attalo, Alvin; Nyamori, Victor

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-03721-5_11

Alvin Attalo⁷ &
Victor Nyamori⁸

Part of the book series: Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development ((AAESPD))

658 Accesses
8 Altmetric

Abstract

This contribution argues that the cross-border victims of natural disasters are protected under the existing legal framework of international refugee law. Global warming has now more than ever rendered many geographical regions uninhabitable. From mudslides and earthquakes to rising sea levels that submerge islands, humanity faces a threat, whose existence was not explicitly provided for under the regime of refugee law, but one that has nonetheless been the cause of major migration patterns. This has thrown the international community into disarray, with arguments existing both for and against the inclusion of such displaced individuals, in the regime of refugee protection. This contribution interrogates the various regional and international treaties and conventions that protect refugees and advances the theory that the regime of refugee law has evolved to encompass the modern-day victims of forced displacement that occurs as a result of natural phenomena.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Chapter: USD 29.95; Price excludes VAT (USA)

eBook: USD 109.00; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Hardcover Book: USD 139.99; Price excludes VAT (USA)

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

1.
UNEP Africa Environment Outlook; Past, Present and Future (2002).
2.
See the case of Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy, (Application no. 27765/09) (2012) (Pinto de Albuquerque. J). 63.
3.
Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, (2016) Strengthening Climate and Disaster Resilience in Sub-Saharan Africa: Regional Framework Program to Improve Hydromet Services. https://www.gfdrr.org/sites/default/files/publication/1517998_GENEVA_Brochure_FINAL.pdf [accessed 15 June 2016].
4.
See http://www.un.org/en/africa/osaa/partnerships/ticad.shtml [accessed 17 June 2016].
5.
Edwards, A., (2006) ‘Refugee Status Determination in Africa’, 14(2), RADIC, African Journal of International & Comparative Law: 227.
6.
Organization of African Unity (OAU) (1969), Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (“OAU Convention”), 10 September, 1001 U.N.T.S. 45, http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b36018.html [accessed 20 June 2016].
7.
Ďurková, P., Gromilova, A., Kiss, B., & Plaku, M. (2012). ‘Climate refugees in the 21st century.’ Vienna: Regional Academy on the United Nations.
8.
Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy (Application no. 27765/09) Judgment Strasbourg 23 February 2012.
9.
1951 Refugee Convention (n 7).
10.
Mehta, T., (2012) ‘The 1951 Refugee Convention and the Large Scale Trans-Boundary Movement of Environmentally Displaced Persons.’ Unpublished. University of Cambridge.
11.
Zimmermann, A., Dörschner, J., & Machts, F. (2011) The 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 protocol: A commentary. Oxford: University Press, 345.
12.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (2004) Advisory Opinion on the Interpretation of the Refugee Definition, pp. 8, (2001) The International Protection of Refugees: Interpreting Article 1 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, pp. 16.
13.
Hathaway, J. C. (2005). The rights of refugees under international law. Cambridge: University Press, (n 22) 112.
14.
[16 August 2000] 71427/99 (RSAA) [53(a)].
15.
The existence of distinction between ‘unwillingness’ and ‘inability’ to protect was affirmed in Villafranca v Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration) 1992 18 Imm LR (2d) 130 (CA) (Hugessen J).
16.
Moussalli, M., (1992) ‘Handbook on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees’. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
17.
(F.C.T.D., no. IMM-5519-93).
18.
2014 NZCA 173.
19.
ibid. 55–59.
20.
Ram v MIEA (1995) 57 FCR 565 at 568. Approved in Applicant A v MIEA (1997) 190 CLR 225 at 284.
21.
Zimmermann, A., Dörschner, J., & Machts, F. (2011), The 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 protocol: A commentary, 373.
22.
Applicant A V Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1997) 190 CLR 225.
23.
Pitcherskaia v. Immigration & Naturalization Serv 118 F.3d 645. (9th Cir. 1997).
24.
533 F.3d 1128 (9th, Cir. 2008).
25.
Boano, C., Zetter, R., & Morris, T., (2008) Environmentally displaced people: understanding the linkages between environmental change, livelihoods and forced migration. Refugee Studies Centre, Department of International Development, University of Oxford; Magsig, B.-O. (2015) International water law and the quest for common security. London: Routledge.
26.
Pfeiffer, S. (2008) ‘Environmental Refugees: How to Ensure Adequate Legal Protection’. LLM Dissertation, University of Bristol.
27.
Stojanov, R., Novosák, J. (Eds.), (2008) Migration, development and environment: migration processes from the perspective of environmental change and development approach at the beginning of the 21st century, Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars.
28.
Jacobson, J. (1988) ‘Environmental Refugees: A Yardstick of Habitability,’ 8(3) Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, 257–258.
29.
Boano, Zetter, Morris (n 25).
30.
El-Hinnawi, E. E., (1985) Environmental Refugees. United Nations Environment Programme.
31.
Terminski, B., (2012) ‘Environmentally-Induced Displacement. Theoretical Frameworks and Current Challenges’, Centre d’Etude de l’Ethnicité et des Migrations, Université de Liège, Research Paperhttp://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2027858 [accessed 6 July 2016].
32.
Suhrke, A., Visentin, A. (1991) ‘The environmental refugee: A new approach’ 2 Ecodecision. 73–74.
33.
Kolmannskog, V. O. (2008) ‘Future Floods of Refugees: A comment on climate change, conflict and forced migration.’ Norwegian Refugee Council. https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/future-floods-of-refugees/
34.
Myers, N. (1991) ‘Environmental Refugees in a Globally Warmed World.’ 43(11) BioScience 752.
35.
Lonergan, S. (1998) ‘The role of environmental degradation in population displacement.’ 4(6) Environmental change and security project report. 5–15.
36.
Kibreab, G. (1997) ‘Environmental causes and impact of refugee movements: a critique of the current debate’, 21(1) Disasters 20; McGregor, J. (1993) ‘Refugees and the environment.’ in Black, Richard & Robinson, V. (Eds.) Geography and refugees: patterns and processes of change. London/New York: Belhaven, 157–70.
37.
McAdam, J. (2008) ‘Climate change ‘refugees’ and international law.’ Bar News: The Journal of the NSW Bar Association 27.
38.
Trolldalen, J. M., Birkeland, N., Borgen, J., Scott, P. T., Coles, C. (1992) Environmental refugees: a discussion paper. Working papers in resource and environmental geography. Oslo: World Foundation for Environment and Development and The Norwegian Refugee Council, 5.
39.
Biermann, F., Boas, I. (2010) ‘Preparing for a warmer world: Towards a global governance system to protect climate refugees.’ 10(1) Global environmental politics 60.
40.
Lauterpacht, E.; Bethlehem, D. (2003) ‘The scope and content of the principle of non-refoulement: Opinion.’ Refugee protection in international law: UNHCR’s global consultations on international protection. Cambridge: University Press.
41.
Kibreab, G. (1997) ‘Environmental causes and impact of refugee movements: a critique of the current debate’. 21(1) Disasters 20.
42.
Williams, A. (2008) ‘Turning the tide: recognizing climate change refugees in international law.’ 30(4) Law & Policy 502.
43.
McAdam, J. (ed.) (2010) Climate Change and Displacement: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 1.
44.
UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) (2002), ‘A critical time for the environment: Editorial’, 127 Refugees 2. http://www.unhcr.org/en-my/3d3fecb24.pdf
45.
Horne, B. (2006). ‘What is the status of environmental refugees, under international and Australian law.’ Unpublished. Australian National University. https://www.cla.asn.au/Articles/060203BrookeHome.pdf
46.
Myers, N. (2002). ‘Environmental refugees: a growing phenomenon of the 21st century.’ Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 357(1420), 609–613; Millbank, A. (2000) The problem with the 1951 Refugee Convention. Research Paper 5(1). Information and Research Services, Department of the Parliamentary Library. https://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/pubs/rp/2000-01/01rp05.pdf
47.
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. (1999) ‘World Disasters Report, 1998.’ International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva.
48.
Horne, B. (2006) ‘What is the status of environmental refugees, under international and Australian law.’
49.
Keane, D. (2004) ‘Environmental Causes and Consequences of Migration: A Search for the Meaning of Environmental Refugees.’ 16 Georgetown International Environmental Law Review 16: 209.
50.
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. (1999) ‘World Disasters Report, 1998.’
51.
AMCEN Secretariat. (2002) Africa Environment Outlook: Past, Present and Future Perspectives. Vol. 1. United Nations Environment Programme.
52.
Ďurková, P., Gromilova, A., Kiss, B. & Plaku, M. ‘Climate refugees in the 21 st century.’ (2012).
53.
Ďurková, P., Gromilova, A., Kiss, B. & Plaku, M. ‘Climate refugees in the 21 st century.’ (2012).
54.
Mutambo, A. (2006) ‘About 1.3m Kenyans affected by drought, govt says.’ Daily Nation. 14 October. http://www.nation.co.ke/news/About-1-3m-Kenyans-affected-by-drought%2D%2Dgovt-says/1056-3416398-m64vq2z/ [accessed 15 October 2016].
55.
Mwebaza, R., Mateche, D. E. (2010) ‘Is climate change creating more environmental refugees than war in Africa?’ 3 August. Institute for Security Studies. http://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/14846 [accessed 7 November 2016].
56.
See Lutta, S. (2017) ‘Turkana pastoralists relocate to Uganda as drought hits hard. Daily Nation’, 14 February. http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/turkana/starvation-in-Turkana/1183330-3812412-1p9ek8z/index.html [accessed 18 February 2017].
57.
See IOM East and Horn of Africa Drought Appeal April - December 2017 [EN/AR]. (2017) Reliefweb, 9 June. International Organization for Migration. https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/iom-east-and-horn-africa-drought-appeal-april-december-2017-enar [accessed 12 June 2017].
58.
Associated Press, (2016) ‘5.7 earthquake hits Tanzania, felt in Kenya and Uganda’. FoxNews. 10 September. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/09/10/57-earthquake-hits-tanzania-felt-in-kenya-and-uganda.html [accessed 11 June 2016].
59.
AMCEN Secretariat. (2002) Africa Environment Outlook: Past, Present and Future Perspectives. Vol. 1.
60.
AMCEN Secretariat. (2002) Africa Environment Outlook: Past, Present and Future Perspectives. Vol. 1.
61.
Mwebaza, R., Mateche, D. E. (2010) ‘Is climate change creating more environmental refugees than war in Africa?’ 3 August. Institute for Security Studies.
62.
IOM, unpublished internal displacement update, July 2016, on file with IDMC.
63.
UNHCR Handbook and Guidelines on Procedures and Criteria for Determining Refugee Status under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, December 2011, HCR/1P/4/ENG/REV.3 1U.N. Doc. HCR/IP/4/Eng/REV.1 (1979) [hereinafter UNHCR Handbook on Procedures].
64.
Goodwin-Gill, G., McAdam, J. (2007) The Refugee in International Law, Oxford: University Press, 100–2.
65.
McAdam, J., Saul, B. (2010) ‘An Insecure Climate for Human Security? Climate-Induced Displacement and International Law’, in Edwards, A., Ferstman, C. (Eds.), Human Security and Non-Citizens: Law, Policy and International Affairs, Cambridge: University Press, 357–403.
66.
Mehta, T., (2012) ‘The 1951 Refugee Convention and the Large Scale Trans-Boundary Movement of Environmentally Displaced Persons.’ Unpublished. University of Cambridge.
67.
Ďurková, P., Gromilova, A., Kiss, B., & Plaku, M. ‘Climate refugees in the 21st century.’ (2012).
68.
Renaud, R., Bogardi, J. J., Dun, O. & Warner, K. (2007) ‘Control, Adapt or Flee: How to Face Environmental Migration?’ InterSecTions: Interdisciplinary Security ConnecTions 5, UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS).
69.
Re S.A., Refugee Appeal No 1/92, New Zealand, Refugee Status Appeals Authority, 30 April 1992; See also Lord Steyn, in R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Adan and Aitseguer,19 December 2000, [2001] 2 AC 477 (UK), 516, 520.
70.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (2001) ‘The International Protection of Refugees: Interpreting Article 1 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees’.
71.
Horne, B. (2006) ‘What is the status of environmental refugees, under international and Australian law’.
72.
Zetter, R. (2011) ‘Protecting environmentally displaced people: Developing the capacity of legal and normative frameworks.’ Research Report. Refugee Studies Centre, Department of International Development, Oxford University.
73.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (1993), ‘The State of the World’s Refugees’, Geneva [Ch. 3] http://www.unhcr.org/3eeedcf7a.html [accessed 14 July 2016].
74.
UNHCR Handbook on Procedures, 51.
75.
Ibid., n 39.
76.
Guterres, A. (2009). Climate change, natural disasters and human displacement: A UNHCR perspective. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Geneva. http://www.unhcr.org/4901e81a4.pdf, pp. 6–7.
77.
Zetter, (2011), ‘Protecting Environmentally Displaced Persons: Developing the Capacity of Legal and Normative Frameworks’.
78.
Miranda, C. (1989) ‘Towards a broader definition of refugee: 20th century development trends.’ 20(2) California West International Law Journal, 315-27.
79.
Art 1(2) OAU Refugee Convention; Coles, G. J.L. ‘Some Reflections on the Protection of Refugees from Armed Conflict Situations Assistance’. In Defense of the Alien 7 (1984) pp. 78–121. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23141143 [accessed 6 February 2016].
80.
Rwelamira, M. R. (1989), ‘Two Decades of the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problem in Africa,’ 1(4) International Journal of Refugee Law, 558.
81.
Cournil, C. (2006) ‘Les réfugiés écologiques: Quelle(s) protection(s), quel(s) statut(s)?’, 4 Revue du droit public et de la science politique (RDP), p. 1042. (as cited in Pfeiffer, S. (2008), ‘Climate-change refugees: How to Ensure Adequate Legal Protection’).
82.
Millbank, A. (2000) The problem with the 1951 Refugee Convention. Research Paper 5(1).
83.
Organization of African Unity (OAU), Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (“OAU Convention”), 10 September 1969, 1001 U.N.T.S. 45, http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b36018.html [accessed 20 June 2016].
84.
Til, N. D. (2010) ‘How to protect and assist Environmental Displaced Persons (EDPs)? A study about the gap in the UN refugee regime concerning EDPs and how to fill it.’ Lund University Student Papers. https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/search/publication/1664842
85.
De Mesnard, A. (2013) ‘Environmental Migrants: Are They Refugees?’ SSRN Electronic Journal. 10.2139/ssrn.2264717.
86.
Rwelamira, M. R. (1989), ‘Two Decades of the 1969 OAU Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problem in Africa’.
87.
Cournil, C. (2006) Vers une reconnaissance du réfugié écologique? Quelle(s) protection(s) Quel(s) statut(s)? 4 Revue du droit public et de la science politique (RDP), 1035.
88.
Conisbee, M., Simms, A. (2003) Environmental refugees: The case for recognition. London: New Economics Foundation, 17–18.
89.
Falstrom, D. Z. (2001) ‘Stemming the flow of environmental displacement: Creating a convention to protect persons and preserve the environment.’ 13 Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy 1.
90.
Hathaway (2005), 128; Goodwin-Gill, Guy S., McAdam, J. (2001), 76.
91.
Cultural Survival, Inc. (1988) Anuak Displacement and Ethiopian Resettlement. Cultural Survival Quarterley Magazine. December. https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/ethiopia/anuak-displacement-and-ethiopian-resettlement [accessed 18 September 2016].
92.
Edwards, A. (2006) ‘Refugee status determination in Africa.’ 14(2), RADIC, African Journal of International & Comparative Law, 204.
93.
Edwards, A. (2006) 227
94.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Declaration of States Parties to the 1951 Convention and or Its 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, 16 January 2002, HCR/MMSP/2001/09.
95.
UN General Assembly, Note on international protection, 13 September 2001, A/AC.96/951, http://www.refworld.org/docid/3bb1c6cc4.html [accessed 17 August 2016].
96.
(Application no. 27765/09) Judgment Strasbourg 23 February 2012.
97.
Refugee Appeal No 74665 (7 July 2004) 89.
98.
Soering v United Kingdom (1989) 11 EHRR 439, at [87]–[91].
99.
Symes, M., Jorro, P. & Berry, A. (2003) Asylum Law and Practice. LexisNexis Butterworths UK, 576–579.
100.
D v United Kingdom (1997) 24 EHRR 423, 447 at [53].
101.
Kindler v. Canada, Communication No. 470/1991, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/48/D/470/1991 (1993).6.2.
102.
African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (African Charter), 27 June 1981, CAB/LEG/67/3. Rev. 5, 21 I.L.M 58 (1982), Adopted in Banjul, The Gambia.
103.
Application nos. 8319/07 and 11449/07 (ECtHR, 28 June 2011).
104.
Sufi and Elmi v United Kingdom, 292.
105.
Williams, A. (2008) ‘Turning the Tide: Recognizing Climate Change Refugees in International Law.’ 30 (4) Law & Policy 502.
106.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (2015), UNHCR, The Environment & Climate Change, October, http://www.refworld.org/docid/561f670a4.html [accessed 24 October 2016].
107.
Evans, G. et al. (2001), ‘The Responsibility to Protect,’ International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/ICISS%20Report.pdf [accessed 25 October 2016].
108.
Report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, The Responsibility to Protect (December 2001) xi.
109.
Deng, F., Minear, L. (1992), The Challenges of Famine Relief: Emergency Operations in the Sudan. Washington, D. C.: Brookings Institution.
110.
Kraler, A., Cernei, T. & Noack, M. (2011) ‘Climate Refugees: Legal and policy responses to environmentally induced migration’, DGIPOL Policy Department C: Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs Study. Brussels: European Parliament, 65. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2011/462422/IPOL-LIBE_ET(2011)462422_EN.pdf [accessed 25 October 2016].
111.
McAdam, J., Saul, B. (n 17).
112.
The Nansen Initiative (2015). Towards a protection agenda for people displaced across borders in the context of disasters and the effects of climate change. https://www2.nanseninitiative.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/03/NANSEN_Leaflet_english_Jan2015.pdf [accessed 7 June 2017].
113.
Ricca, S. (1990) ‘Refugees in Africa: Legal and Administrative Aspects’, 121 The Courier (May-June), 74.
114.
Nobel, P. (1982) ‘Refugees, Law and Development in Africa.’ 3(1) Michigan Yearbook of International Legal Studies, 280.
115.
Okoth-Obbo, G. (2001) ‘Thirty years on: a legal review of the 1969 OAU Refugee Convention governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.’ 20(1) Refugee Survey Quarterly 79–138.

References

AMCEN Secretariat (2002). Africa environment outlook: Past, present and future perspectives, vol. 1. United Nations Environment Programme.
Google Scholar
Associated Press. (2016). 5.7 Earthquake hits Tanzania, felt in Kenya and Uganda. FoxNews. 10 September. Accessed June 11, 2016 from http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/09/10/57-earthquake-hits-tanzania-felt-in-kenya-and-uganda.html
Biermann, F., & Boas, I. (2010). Preparing for a warmer world: Towards a global governance system to protect climate refugees. Global Environmental Politics, 10(1), 60–88.
Article Google Scholar
Boano, C., Zetter, R., & Morris, T. (2008). Environmentally displaced people: Understanding the linkages between environmental change, livelihoods and forced migration. Refugee Studies Centre, Department of International Development, University of Oxford.
Google Scholar
Coles, G. J. L. (1984) Some reflections on the protection of refugees from armed conflict situations assistance. In Defense of the Alien, 7, 78–121. Accessed February 6, 2016 from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23141143
Conisbee, M., & Simms, A. (2003). Environmental refugees: The case for recognition. London: New Economics Foundation.
Google Scholar
Cournil, C. (2006a). Vers une reconnaissance du réfugié écologique? Quelle(s) protection(s) Quel(s) statut(s)? 4 Revue du droit public et de la science politique (RDP), 1035–1066.
Google Scholar
Cournil, C. (2006b). Les réfugiés écologiques: Quelle(s) protection(s), quel(s) statut(s)? Revue du droit public et de la science politique (RDP), 4, as cited in Pfeiffer, S. (2008). Environmental refugees: How to ensure adequate legal protection. LLM Dissertation, University of Bristol.
Google Scholar
Cultural Survival, Inc. (1988). Anuak displacement and Ethiopian resettlement. Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine, December. Accessed September 18, 2016, from https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/ethiopia/anuak-displacement-and-ethiopian-resettlement
de Mesnard, A. (2013). Environmental migrants: Are they refugees? SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2264717
Deng, F., & Minear, L. (1992). The challenges of famine relief: Emergency operations in the Sudan. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.
Google Scholar
Ďurková, P., Gromilova, A., Kiss, B., & Plaku, M. (2012). Climate refugees in the 21st century. Vienna: Regional Academy on the United Nations.
Google Scholar
Edwards, A. (2006). Refugee status determination in Africa. RADIC. African Journal of International and Comparative Law, 14(2), 204–233.
Article Google Scholar
Edwards, A., & Ferstman, C. (Eds.). (2010). Human security and non-citizens: Law, policy and international affairs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Google Scholar
El-Hinnawi, E. E. (1985). Environmental refugees. The United Nations Environment Programme.
Google Scholar
Evans, G. et al. (2001). The responsibility to protect. International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. Accessed October 25, 2016 from http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/ICISS%20Report.pdf
Falstrom, D. Z. (2001). Stemming the flow of environmental displacement: Creating a convention to protect persons and preserve the environment. Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law and Policy, 13, 1–19.
Google Scholar
Feller, E., Türk, V., & Nicholson, F. (Eds.). (2003). Refugee protection in international law: UNHCR’s global consultations on international protection. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Google Scholar
Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. (2016). Strengthening climate and disaster resilience in sub-Saharan Africa: Regional framework program to improve hydromet services. Accessed June 15, 2016, from https://www.gfdrr.org/sites/default/files/publication/1517998_GENEVA_Brochure_FINAL.pdf
Goodwin-Gill, G. S. (2001). Article 31 of the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees: Non-penalization, detention and protection. Refugee protection in international law: UNHCR’s global consultations on international protection (pp. 185–252).
Google Scholar
Goodwin-Gill, G. S., & McAdam, J. (2007). The refugee in international law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Google Scholar
Guterres, A. (2009). Climate change, natural disasters and human displacement: A UNHCR perspective. Geneva: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). http://www.unhcr.org/4901e81a4.pdf
Hathaway, J. C. (2005). The rights of refugees under international law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Book Google Scholar
Horne, B. (2006). What is the status of environmental refugees, under international and Australian law. Unpublished. Australian National University. https://www.cla.asn.au/Articles/060203BrookeHome.pdf
IOM. (2016). Unpublished internal displacement update. July, on file with IDMC.
Google Scholar
IOM East and Horn of Africa Drought Appeal April – December 2017 [EN/AR] (2007). Reliefweb, 9 June. International Organization for Migration. Accessed June 12, 2017, from https://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/iom-east-and-horn-africa-drought-appeal-april-december-2017-enar
Jacobson, J. (1988). Environmental refugees: A yardstick of habitability. Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society, 8(3), 257–258.
Google Scholar
Keane, D. (2004). Environmental causes and consequences of migration: A search for the meaning of environmental refugees. Georgetown International Environmental Law Review, 16, 209–223.
Google Scholar
Kibreab, G. (1997). Environmental causes and impact of refugee movements: A critique of the current debate. Disasters, 21(1), 20–38.
Article Google Scholar
Kolmannskog, V. O. (2008). Future floods of refugees: A comment on climate change, conflict and forced migration. Norwegian Refugee Council. https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/future-floods-of-refugees/
Kraler, A., Cernei, T. & Noack, M. (2011). Climate refugees: Legal and policy responses to environmentally induced migration. DGIPOL Policy Department C: Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs Study. Brussels: European Parliament. Accessed October 25, 2016, from http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/etudes/join/2011/462422/IPOL-LIBE_ET(2011)462422_EN.pdf
Lauterpacht, E., & Bethlehem, D. (2003). The scope and content of the principle of non-refoulement: Opinion. In E. Feller, V. Türk, & F. Nicholson (Eds.), Refugee protection in international law: UNHCR’s global consultations on international protection (pp. 87–177). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chapter Google Scholar
Lonergan, S. (1998). The role of environmental degradation in population displacement. Environmental Change and Security Project Report, 4(6), 5–15.
Google Scholar
Lutta, S. (2017). Turkana pastoralists relocate to Uganda as drought hits hard. Daily Nation, 14 February. Accessed February 18, 2017, from http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/turkana/starvation-in-Turkana/1183330-3812412-1p9ek8z/index.html
Magsig, B.-O. (2015). International water law and the quest for common security. London: Routledge.
Book Google Scholar
McAdam, J. (2008). Climate change ‘refugees’ and international law. Bar News: The Journal of the NSW Bar Association, 27–31.
Google Scholar
McAdam, J. (Ed.). (2010). Climate change and displacement: Multidisciplinary perspectives. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
Google Scholar
McAdam, J., & Saul, B. (2010). An insecure climate for human security? Climate-induced displacement and international law. In A. Edwards & C. Ferstman (Eds.), Human security and non-citizens: Law, policy and international affairs (pp. 357–403). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chapter Google Scholar
McGregor, J. (1993). Refugees and the environment. In R. Black & V. Robinson (Eds.), Geography and refugees: Patterns and processes of change (pp. 157–170). London/New York: Belhaven.
Google Scholar
Mehta, T. (2012). The 1951 refugee convention and the large scale trans-boundary movement of environmentally displaced persons. Unpublished. University of Cambridge.
Google Scholar
Millbank, A. (2000). The problem with the 1951 Refugee Convention. Research Paper, 5(1). Information and Research Services, Department of the Parliamentary Library. https://www.aph.gov.au/binaries/library/pubs/rp/2000-01/01rp05.pdf
Miranda, C. (1989). Towards a broader definition of refugee: 20th century development trends. California West International Law Journal, 20(2), 315–327.
Google Scholar
Moussalli, M. (1992). Handbook on procedures and criteria for determining refugee status under the 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees. Geneva: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Google Scholar
Mutambo, A. (2006). About 1.3m Kenyans affected by drought, govt says. Daily Nation, 14 October. Accessed October 15, 2016, from http://www.nation.co.ke/news/About-1-3m-Kenyans-affected-by-drought%2D%2Dgovt-says/1056-3416398-m64vq2z/
Mwebaza, R., Mateche, D. E. (2010). Is climate change creating more environmental refugees than war in Africa? Institute for Security Studies, 3 August. Accessed November 7, 2016, from http://www.preventionweb.net/news/view/14846
Myers, N. (1993). Environmental refugees in a globally warmed world. Bioscience, 43(11), 752–761.
Article Google Scholar
Myers, N. (2002). Environmental refugees: A growing phenomenon of the 21st century. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 357(1420), 609–613.
Article Google Scholar
Nobel, P. (1982). Refugees, law and development in Africa. Michigan Yearbook of International Legal Studies, 3(1), 255–287.
Google Scholar
Okoth-Obbo, G. (2001). Thirty years on: A legal review of the 1969 OAU refugee convention governing the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa. Refugee Survey Quarterly, 20(1), 79–138.
Article Google Scholar
Organization of African Unity (OAU). (1969). Convention governing the specific aspects of refugee problems in Africa (“OAU Convention”), 10 September, 1001 U.N.T.S. 45
Google Scholar
Pfeiffer, S. (2008). Environmental refugees: How to ensure adequate legal protection. LLM Dissertation, University of Bristol.
Google Scholar
Red Cross & Red Crescent Societies. (1999). World Disasters Report, 1998. Geneva: International Committee of the Red Cross.
Google Scholar
Renaud, R., Bogardi, J. J., Dun, O. & Warner, K. (2007). Control, adapt or flee: How to face environmental migration? InterSecTions: Interdisciplinary Security ConnecTions 5, UNU Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS).
Google Scholar
Ricca, S. (1990). Refugees in Africa: Legal and administrative aspects, The Courier, 121 (May–June).
Google Scholar
Rwelamira, M. R. (1989). Two decades of the 1969 OAU convention governing the specific aspects of the refugee problem in Africa. International Journal of Refugee Law, 1(4), 557–561.
Article Google Scholar
Symes, M., Jorro, P. & Berry, A. (2003). Asylum Law and Practice. LexisNexis Butterworths, UK
Google Scholar
Stojanov, R., & Novosák, J. (Eds.). (2008). Migration, development and environment: Migration processes from the perspective of environmental change and development approach at the beginning of the 21st century. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars.
Google Scholar
Suhrke, A., & Visentin, A. (1991). The environmental refugee: A new approach. Ecodecision, 2, 73–74.
Google Scholar
Terminski, B. (2012). Environmentally-induced displacement. Theoretical frameworks and current challenges. Centre d’Etude de l’Ethnicité et des Migrations, Université de Liège, Research Paper. Accessed July 6, 2016, from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2027858
The Nansen Initiative. (2016). Towards a protection agenda for people displaced across borders in the context of disasters and the effects of climate change. Accessed June 7, 2017, from https://www2.nanseninitiative.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/03/NANSEN_Leaflet_english_Jan2015.pdf
Til, N. D. (2010). How to protect and assist Environmental Displaced Persons (EDPs)? A study about the gap in the UN refugee regime concerning EDPs and how to fill it. Lund University Student Papers. https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/search/publication/1664842
Trolldalen, J. M., Birkeland, N., Borgen, J., Scott, P. T., & Coles, C. (1992). Environmental refugees: A discussion paper. Working papers in resource and environmental geography. Oslo: World Foundation for Environment and Development and The Norwegian Refugee Council.
Google Scholar
UN General Assembly. (2001). Note on international protection, 13 September, A/AC.96/951. Accessed August 17, 2016, from http://www.refworld.org/docid/3bb1c6cc4.html
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (1995). The state of the world’s refugees. Geneva. Accessed July 14, 2016, from http://www.unhcr.org/3eeedcf7a.html
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (2001a). The international protection of refugees: interpreting article 1 of the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees, Geneva. http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/3b20a3914.pdf
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) (2001b). Advisory opinion on the interpretation of the refugee definition. http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4551c0374.pdf
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2002). A critical time for the environment: Editorial. Refugees 127. http://www.unhcr.org/en-my/3d3fecb24.pdf
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2002). Declaration of states parties to the 1951 convention and or its 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees, 16 January, HCR/MMSP/2001/09. http://www.unhcr.org/419c74d64.pdf
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2011). UNHCR handbook and guidelines on procedures and criteria for determining refugee status under the 1951 convention and the 1967 protocol relating to the status of refugees, December, HCR/1P/4/ENG/REV.3, 1 U.N. Doc. HCR/IP/4/Eng/REV.1 (1979) https://cms.emergency.unhcr.org/documents/11982/49074/UNHCR,+Handbook+and+Guidelines+on+Procedures+and+Criteria+for+Determining+Refugee+Status+under+the+1951+Convention+and+the+1967+Protocol+Relating+to+the+Status+of+Refugees/30fe78f2-5414-47ec-9439-0f2663889e58
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). (2015). UNHCR, The environment & climate change, October. Accessed October 24, 2016, from http://www.refworld.org/docid/561f670a4.html
Williams, A. (2008). Turning the tide: Recognizing climate change refugees in international law. Law and Policy, 30(4), 502–529.
Article Google Scholar
Zetter, R. (2011). Protecting environmentally displaced people: Developing the capacity of legal and normative frameworks. Research Report. Refugee Studies Centre, Department of International Development, Oxford University.
Google Scholar
Zimmermann, A., Dörschner, J., & Machts, F. (2011). The 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees and its 1967 protocol: A commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Book Google Scholar

Legal Cases and Files

A and another v minister for immigration and ethnic affairs and another. Australia: High Court, 24 February 1997.
Google Scholar
African charter on human and peoples rights (African charter), 27 June 1981, CAB/LEG/67/3. Rev. 5, 21 I.L.M 58 (1982), Adopted in Banjul, The Gambia.
Google Scholar
Application no. 27765/09 Judgment Strasbourg, 23 February 2012.
Google Scholar
Application nos. 8319/07 and 11449/07 (ECtHR, 28 June 2011).
Google Scholar
Bobrik, Iouri v. M.C.I. (F.C.T.D., no. IMM-5519-93), Tremblay-Lamer, September 16, 1994, p. 4.
Google Scholar
Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration) v. Villafranca, 1992 F.C.J. 1189 (1992).
Google Scholar
D v. United Kingdom, 24 E.H.R.R. 423 (1997).
Google Scholar
Hirsi Jamaa and Others v. Italy, App., 9 Eur. Ct. H.R. 146 (2012).
Google Scholar
Kindler v. Canada, Communication No. 470/1991, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/48/D/470/1991 (1993).
Google Scholar
Pitcherskaia v. Immigration & Naturalization Serv 118 F.3d 645. (9th Cir. 1997).
Google Scholar
Ram v The Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs and the Refugee Review Tribunal [1995] FCA 433.
Google Scholar
Re S.A., Refugee Appeal No 1/92, New Zealand, Refugee Status Appeals Authority, 30 April 1992.
Google Scholar
Refugee Appeal No. 71427/99, 71427/99, New Zealand: Refugee Status Appeals Authority, 16 August 2000.
Google Scholar
Refugee Appeal No. 74665, No. 74665, New Zealand: Refugee Status Appeals Authority, 7 July 2004.
Google Scholar
R v Secretary of State for the Home Department, ex parte Adan and Aitseguer, 19 December 2000, [2001] 2 AC 477 (UK), 516, 520.
Google Scholar
Soering v United Kingdom (1989) 11 EHRR 439.
Google Scholar
Sufi and Elmi v. United Kingdom, 54 E.H.R.R. 9 (2012).
Google Scholar
Teitiota v Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment [2015] NZSC 107 (20 July 2015).
Google Scholar

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Moi University School of Law, Eldoret, Kenya
Alvin Attalo
Amnesty International’s East Africa Regional Office, Nairobi, Kenya
Victor Nyamori

Authors

Alvin Attalo
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar
Victor Nyamori
View author publications
You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Department of Political Science, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark
Johannes Dragsbaek Schmidt
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Nairobi, Kenya
Leah Kimathi
Department of Political Science, School of Development and Strategic Studies, Maseno University, Maseno, Kenya
Michael Omondi Owiso

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Attalo, A., Nyamori, V. (2019). Protection of Cross-Border Victims of Natural Disasters and Displacement in East Africa. In: Schmidt, J.D., Kimathi, L., Owiso, M.O. (eds) Refugees and Forced Migration in the Horn and Eastern Africa. Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03721-5_11

Download citation

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03721-5_11
Published: 14 May 2019
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-03720-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-03721-5
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics