Dr Jane McAdam addresses UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Dialogue on Protection Challenges

On 8 December Dr McAdam explained at a high-level UN meeting the shortcomings of existing legal frameworks to address the phenomenon of climate change-induced displacement - or so-called 'climate refugees'. Dr McAdam is in Geneva at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Dialogue on Protection Challenges (http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4ca099226.html), where she will address over 300 government officials, NGOs, representatives of international organisations and academics.

"People forced to move because of climate change impacts are not 'refugees' as a matter of international law," Dr McAdam said.

"Nor is it clear that people displaced from small island States, such as Tuvalu, would be recognised as 'stateless persons' - even if, ultimately, their nation were to disappear altogether," she said.

Under the auspices of an Australian Research Council Discovery Grant, Dr McAdam has undertaken field work in the small Pacific island countries of Tuvalu and Kiribati, as well as in Bangladesh, which is the country most at risk of natural disasters. While she recognizes the limitations of existing protection frameworks, she is cautious about trying to develop a new 'climate refugee' treaty.

"Most people want to remain in their homes for as long as possible, with the option to migrate with dignity if and when they need to," she said.

"Being proactive about migration, and recognising it as a normal adaptation strategy - rather than as a sign that adaptation has failed - is a more human rights-sensitive approach than responding only to desperate flight at the last minute".