Landmark Eastern Caribbean Declaration on Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change

December 21, 2023
Events, Press Releases

Panama City, 25 October 2023 – The Eastern Caribbean Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change was publicly announced for the first time at the Latin America and the Caribbean Climate Week 2023, marking a significant milestone in the region’s response to human mobility in the context of climate change.

The Americas are particularly exposed and vulnerable to disasters and the adverse effects of climate change. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), the Americas recorded 2.1 million internal displacements in 2022. Storms alone triggered nearly 1.2 million displacements across the region, and floods nearly half that figure. Most storm displacements happened during the Atlantic hurricane season in the Caribbean basin.

The Declaration proposes a comprehensive framework on human mobility in the context of climate change, including a commitment to “develop concrete solutions for persons crossing borders in the contexts of disasters, environmental degradation and climate change on the basis of national legislation and regional frameworks”.

It further outlines actionable strategies including the establishment of an Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Inter-Ministerial Working Group on Climate Change, Environment and Migration and the development of a Plan of Action for the implementation of this Declaration. The Framework also introduces obligations for Member States and Associate Members to monitor and regularly report on their progress of implementation.

The Ministerial Declaration was introduced to the public at an event which brought together key stakeholders and policymakers as part of a LACC side event titled “Putting the recommendations of the WIM Task Force on Displacement into action: Addressing cross-border – climate displacement in the Eastern Caribbean”, organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD).

The event presented an opportunity to underscore a united commitment to addressing the needs of people displaced in the context of the adverse effects of climate change as well as fostering collaboration and better understanding of this phenomena.

This Ministerial Declaration is a political statement announced in the context of a two-year program funded by the United Nations Trust Fund on Human Security (UNTFHS) in the Eastern Caribbean. The program is led by IOM with support from the PDD Secretariat, OECS Commission and UNFCCC.

Header Photo @OESC