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Abstract

According to the Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) 2021, The increase in global warming has accelerated the pace at which glaciers melt, thereby leading to a mass migration of people. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that approximately 21.5 million people migrated to more decent places due to climate or geographical conditions. This category of people are often called climate refugees and when the apply for international refugee status, it is declined due to the inability to meet the established criteria outlined by the International Refugees Convention. Unfortunately, the phenomena associated with climate refugee have not been reviewed carefully through legal instruments. The process has also been worsened by legal proposals, multilaterally, and the international community. Therefore, this research proposed that climate change refugees are not international refugees. Specific and specialized bodies are needed to resolve the issue associated with this category of immigrants because of the magnitude of the problem worldwide.

Bahasa Abstract

Pengungsi merupakan permasalahan global yang dapat timbul akibat berbagai peristiwa. Meningkatnya permukaan laut yang disebabkan oleh meningkatnya pencairan lapisan es di permukaan bumi akibat pemanasan global memaksa penduduk pulau-pulau yang terdampak mencari tempat tinggal yang lebih layak dan aman. Hal ini menjadikan mereka sebagai pengungsi di beberapa negara. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees melaporkan bahwa 21.5 juta jiwa akan terdesak dan mengungsi untuk tempat hidup yang lebih layak. Mereka bahkan berupaya untuk dapat memperoleh status sebagai pengungsi internasional, akan tetapi permohonan mereka seringkali ditolak karena kondisi mereka tidak termasuk dalam Konvensi yang mengatur status pengungsi. Selain itu, belum ada pengaturan yang jelas dan tegas tentang pengungsi akibat perubahan iklim ini. Berbagai diskusi tentang status telah berlangsung, namun belum ada penetapan yang jelas tentang status pengungsi akibat perubahan iklim, sementara jumlah mereka semakin besar dan tersebar di hampir seluruh dunia. Untuk itu perlu adanya ketegasan untuk dapat menentukan penanganan pengungsi akibat perubahan iklim di masa yang akan datang.

References

Journal Articles and Periodicals

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Books and Book Chapters

Haddad, Emma. “Who Is (Not) a Refugee?” In The Refugee in International Society: Between Sovereigns, edited by Emma Haddad. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Hollifield, Michael, Mindy Thompson Fullilove, and Stevan E Hobfoll. “Climate Change Refugees BT - Climate Change and Human Well-Being: Global Challenges and Opportunities.” edited by Inka Weissbecker, 135–62. New York, NY: Springer New York, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9742-5_8.

Hugo, Graeme. Migration, Development and Environment, Volume 35. Geneva: International Organization for Migration, 2008.

IPCC. Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Summary for Policymakers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022.

McEldowney, John F. and Julie Drolet. “Climate Change and Refugees,” in The Impacts of Climate Change, edited by Trevor M. Letcher. 537-545. (Elsevier: 2021).

Mukherjee, Bhaswati. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Challenges and Opportunities in International Human Rights Monitoring Mechanisms, edited by Alfred Zayas, Bertie G. Ramcharan, Gudmundur Alfredsson, et. al. 391–402. Brill Nijhoff, 2001.

Parekh, Serena. “Who Is a Refugee?” In No Refuge: Ethics and the Global Refugee Crisis, edited by Serena Parekh. 27-49. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020.

Legal Documents

Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. 189 UNTS 137. (opened for signature 28 July 1951, entry into force 1954).

Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees. 606 UNTS 67. (entry into force 4 October 1967).

Convention African Unification Organization Refugee of 1969.

Cartagena Declaration of 1994.

Supreme Court of New Zealand SC 7/2015 [2015] NZSC 107 between Ioane Teitiota vs. The Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (Hearing: 1 April 2015, Judgment: 20 July 2015).

Web Sources

Chaturvedi, Sanjay. “There’s No Such Thing as a Climate Refugee.” Edited by Charis Palmer, 360info.org, 15 December 2022. Accessed 1 February 2024, https://360info.org/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-climate-refugee/.

Other sources

El-Hinnawi, E. “Environmental Refugees, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),” 1985.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. “Focus Area Strategic Plan for Climate Action 2024-2030.” Geneva, 2024.

Taylor, Matthew. “Climate Change ‘Will Create World’s Biggest Refugee Crisis.’” The Guardian, 2017.

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