CiR2P Option 43 | Managing refugee and IDP returns
DISCUSSION:
In the aftermath of an event that has caused wide-spread harm to the population, be that a mass atrocity situation or climate change impact, nation building missions will likely be confronted with the task of managing the return of refugees.
Putting in place the conditions under which refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) can return to their homes must be one of the highest of all priorities. The ‘conditions’ include
- Physical conditions, which can involve developing constitutional and legal frameworks that enshrine provisions related to environmental protection and climate-informed land (re)allocation; and or rebuilding or renovating housing stock using low carbon materials, energy efficiency designs and technologies; rebuilding infrastructure and public services in a climate-sensitive way such as prioritising low carbon transport networks and climate-informed approaches to bridges, ports, and stormwater, deploying off-grid solar and exploring other low pollution energy sources (instead of rebuilding a natural gas plant for example); and rolling out climate smart agriculture techniques.
- Economic and social conditions involve funding employment and training programs to service the mentioned public works, and health programs that are informed by immediate and medium-term impacts such as treatment centers for vector born diseases and heat stroke.
- Environmental conditions, which includes providing an assessment and judgement based on climate science about whether the area is habitable and will remain so; and if an area is deemed habitable – which pretty low bar to pass – it must be able to sustain communities and livelihoods over the long term.
The UNHCR and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) have jointly investigated the relationship between refugee returns and climate change. A 2021 UNHCR-PIK briefer on this issue explains that ‘severe climate impacts threaten the cornerstones of durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons by rendering areas of return and of local integration too dangerous to live in or too fragile to support large populations’.
If climate impacts are not adequately considered in repatriation, refugees and IDPs may be again put in harm’s way and at risk of further displacement, undermining efforts to deliver a sustainable peace.
Western government should develop and help implement, with local communities and international organisations, climate-informed repatriation programs.