Virtual Event Delivers Key Messages on Human Mobility, Disasters and Climate Change in Africa

September 2, 2021
Events

Six speakers and over 60 participants met online on 26 August 2021 to discuss human mobility, disasters and climate change in Africa. The event was held on the occasion of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) African Regional Review Conference 2021 and was co-organized by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD). It was well-attended by a broad range of stakeholders, and participants heard from representatives of regional bodies, development agencies, governments, affected communities and others engaging with these critical topics.

Following the event, the organizers produced a document with key messages and insights which can be accessed on the right hand side of this page. This document underpins the aim of the side event, to inform approaches to objectives 1 (accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for evidence-based policies), 2 (minimize the adverse drivers and structural factors that compel people to leave their country of origin) and 5 (enhance availability and flexibility of pathways for regular migration) of the GCM, and relates to Thematic Area 1: Ensuring that migration is voluntary, orderly and regular; and Thematic Area 4: Improving value-driven and evidence-based policymaking and enhancing cooperation on migration.

The Envoy of the Chair of the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), Prof. Walter Kaelin, spoke during the session. He highlighted how important it is to ensure that work on human mobility, disasters and climate change is aligned with the relevant objectives in the GCM and noted how a range of toolboxes, such as the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda, can be used to support people who are affected by disasters and the adverse impacts of climate change. He also talked about the work that the PDD is doing with partners in Africa, and how these partnerships contribute to more coherent approaches to addressing the challenges facing affected communities across the continent. The 2021 Virtual Workshop Series that the PDD jointly organized with the Kaldor Centre, and the UN-IGAD Joint Programme in the East and Horn of Africa, “Addressing drivers and facilitating safe, orderly and regular migration in the context of disasters and climate change in the IGAD region”, are two such examples.