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22 Colo. J. Int'l Envtl. L. & Pol'y 357 (2011)
The International Legal Challenges of Climate-Induced Migration: Proposal for an International Legal Framework

handle is hein.journals/colenvlp22 and id is 363 raw text is: The International Legal Challenges of Climate-Induced Migration: Proposal for an International Legal Framework Benoit Mayer* ABSTRACT Tens and maybe hundreds of millions of people have been or are about to be displaced because of rising sea levels or land degradation induced by global warming. In some cases, internal displacement of the population is not possible, either because their territory may become entirely uninhabitable (e.g.: the Maldives) or because the unaffected part of their territory is not able to absorb the whole displaced population (e.g.: Bangladesh). The increasing masses of climate migrants cannot benefit from any appropriate protection under today's international law, as they do not fulfill legal conditions to be treated as refugees. The vulnerability of climate migrants is contrary to the humanitarian conception of Human Rights and goes against the principle of common but differentiated responsibility for climate change. An international legal framework on climate change-induced migrations should be established as soon as possible to provide a sustainable solution, protect affected individuals and communities, and reconcile international funding and local decision-making. It would be unlikely that an * Benoit Mayer, LL.M. (McGill), Master of Political Sciences (Sciences Po), Bachelor of Law (Sorbonne), is a PhD candidate at the National University of Singapore. Remarks and comments can be sent to the author by email at bmayer@nus.edu.sg. This article is a modified version of a LL.M. Research Project supervised by Prof. Frangois Crdpeau, whose advice and support were very appreciated. Thanks to Karen Crawley and Mdlodie Sahraie for their much appreciated comments, to Sebastien Jodoin for his enlightening conversations, and to Island First, the United Nations Global Migration Database Team, Amanda Greenman, and the staff of the McGill Faculty of Law and its library for their assistance.

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