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From 2020 to 2021, more than 50 million people were displaced due to weather events and faced risks of trafficking and even death as well as discrimination based on race and gender. This finding emerged from the report of Ian Fry, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change, to the 53rd session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva from 19 June-14 July. Speaking at a side event convened by faith groups on the human rights implications of climate-induced displacement and the urgent need for responses, Fry said that climate change events "may deprive people of their right to food, water, sanitation, housing, health, education, and, for some, the right to life." More than 50,000 people lost their lives while migrating between 2014 and 2022. Fry called for "an optional protocol under the Convention on the Status of Refugees to address displacement and legal protection for people all over the world affected by the climate crisis."  The side event lifted up the voices of affected communities, in particular those who come from the small island states, Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth... Iemaima Vaai, representing the Methodist Church in Samoa and youth advisor to the World Council of Churches, concurred with the report of the special rapporteur and underlined that women and children bear the brunt of the human rights impacts of climate-induced displacement. Vaai shared that in the Pacific, displacement due to extreme weather events and rising sea levels entails "loss of Indigenous knowledge" as well as affects livelihoods, particularly fishing which women traditionally do. Displacement also causes deep emotional and mental pain especially for women, mothers, and grandmothers, who traditionally bury the umbilical cords of their children in the land, Vaai said. Nonetheless, Pacific women and communities derive resilience and healing from cultural and spiritual beliefs and practices that emphasise sacred relationships and the interconnectedness of people, land, and sea, Vaai added... Read the complete article here. Source: Independent Catholic News  Comments are closed.
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