Discussion Spaces

COP27 is the implementation COP:
1. Invite Parties to the UNFCCC to implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Displacement, to avert and minimize displacement as part of building resilience (Article 2.1b of the Paris Agreement)

2. Invite the UNFCCC financial mechanism to facilitate funding to countries which submit bankable proposals that make migration a feasible, safe, regular way to adapt to adverse effects of climate change should certain areas lose their habitability related to climate change.

3. Invite UN agencies to build the capacity of countries to coordinate legislation, regulation, information and data which help avert and minimize displacement.

"Without migrants, nothing migrants. Migrants' are not equal in all forums, they will be principale." 

I am a returnee migrant, migrant rights activist, and community development worker at home and abroad. Mainly my concern is for the interest of migrants and the migrants' community.  

Therefore, I would request to involve migrant workers, members of their families & communities at every stage of migration & development forums to achieve the goals. Migrant workers are no longer laboratory guinea pigs or raw materials of development tools. They are also development partners. If migrant workers can contribute to the development of both the Countries of Origin (COO) and Countries of Destinations (COD) through their talents, labor, and remittances. Then, why are they not capable of any important positions at the following stages?

Some might say that migrants are also part of the Civil Society Organization (CSO). But I think and have tried to say in various regional and international forums that migrant workers are a less privileged population. By organizing them, training them, empowering them and special privileges to include them in various forums and activities. With the empowerment and involvement of migrant workers, Development will be sustained.

Pillar # 01: Labor migration is an ongoing process and crosscutting issues are a combination of many causes. For example, climate change, disaster, environment, etc. Each cause has multiple symptoms. Therefore, advance preparation is required. Our experiences of the 1990 Gulf Crisis, the 2011 Libya and the 2022 Russia-Ukraine Crisis seem not to be well prepared. It is important to have an observation team and an emergency fund under the supervision of the IOM.

Pillar # 02: Migrant CBOs (Community Based Organizations) and Trade Unions need to be addressed as a priority base and expand the discussion space, Dialogue series, and capacity building to their doors.

1. Just transitions to environmentally sustainable economies and societies are critical to responding to climate change, resilience, equitable development and advancing social justice and decent work creation.  
2. Well-managed and rights-based labour mobility and adaptation strategies as emphasized in the Guidelines for a just transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all, can provide opportunities to increase resilience and adaptation to climate change impacts, avoid loss of assets and livelihood, and increase the skills base in receiving countries and home communities when migrants return, while protecting the rights of migrant workers.
3. Ensuring regular pathways, including through labour mobility, in accordance with international labour standards for movement of people affected by climate change impacts will be critical in the years to come

The Solidarity Center is the largest US-based international worker rights organization assisting workers worldwide as they organize for their rights, equity, and dignity in their workplaces and communities in over 60 countries globally.

We propose three recommendations, and key to all is that workers and their communities must have a meaningful say in driving climate solutions:

1.)    Climate adaptation planning and implementation must include the development of sustainable decent work options to promote greater resilience for communities, particularly from future shocks.  We must focus on long-term planning and not just reactive short-term solutions to ensure that climate adaptation and resilience measures make migration a choice and not a necessity.  

2.) As governments take on the mandate of the global compact for migration to enhance better regular migration pathways, these pathways must account for projected climate displacement. As the climate crisis worsens, we cannot wait to develop a plan to integrate climate migrants into our societies and economies. 

3.)    All workers must be brought under full labor protections in line with international core labor standards. The freedom of association, right to organize and collectively bargain, and centering worker agency is crucial particularly for migrants regardless of their status, as they seek access to decent work in the face of extreme climate impacts.

Key Messages from Public Services International (PSI):

We need to understand climate migration, not in isolation, but with its complex interlinkages with social, political and economic factors, including in the context of the pandemic and other crises. This is crucial so we can build an approach that is people-centered, gender-responsive and grounded on sustainable development and the SDGs.

PSI’s response to these interlinking challenges is rooted on three demands, i.e. 3 Key Messages: climate justice, human rights, and quality public services.

1. Climate Justice. This is where workers, trade unions and civil society are joined in concerted efforts in demanding for
   • Equity and justice in addressing the climate crisis. This means holding rich countries who have contributed the most greenhouse gas emissions accountable for causing the problem of climate change for which the poor in developing countries are paying heavily, sometimes with their lives.
   • Engage in social dialogue and advocacy for a just and equitable transition for all workers affected by loss and damage from climate change, in moving towards low-carbon energy production and other climate change response measures.

2. Human rights above all else. There must be fundamental respect for human rights and humanitarian law in dealing with migration, mobility, forced displacement, relocalisation and all measures dealing with the impact of the climate crisis on peoples and communities.
   • There must be fundamental respect for human rights and humanitarian law. Whether the person referred to is a migrant, a refugee or an internally displaced person (IDP) and whose movement or displacement was impacted by or a result of climate change, she or he is entitled to the full protection of her/his human and labour rights.
   • We need to strengthen the existing normative framework on migrant workers. Towards this, we must continue to promote ratification and effective implementation of the UN and ILO Conventions on Migrant Workers and other international labour standards.
   • We call on all states to uphold the UN Convention on Refugees, and demand for a fair- sharing of responsibility in receiving and hosting refugees.
   • We remind states hosting internally displaced persons (IDPs) to adhere to the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement.
   • And as provided for in the GCM, provide more rights-based legal pathways to migration while preserving the integrity of the asylum system.

3. Quality and inclusive public services.

• We have seen in the pandemic, disasters and conflicts how essential it is for public goods to remain available, accessible and universal.
• Migration should not be our core solution for adaptation because not everyone wants to migrate, to be separated from their land, culture and livelihood. Often, it is the poorest and most vulnerable who are not able to migrate, or would not want to migrate. Our core adaptation strategy must first and foremost be about allowing people to stay, to adapt and build resilience.
• Investing in public services is the best strategy for societies, displaced communities and host communities to adapt, build resilience, and pursue equitable and sustainable development.
• The provision of public goods and services essential to our lives must not be left to the whims of the market. We must continue to fight privatization and put people over profit.
• For developing countries most impacted by the climate crisis, integrate loss and damage support and adaptation assistance into their public services, with the overall goal of preventing displacement and humanitarian crises and eradicating poverty, rather than reacting to them.
• Public service workers are at the frontlines in addressing the impacts of the climate crisis. We need to ensure safety, decent work, fair remuneration and social protection for all workers.
• And finally, to protect and defend the human and trade union rights of all workers, including migrant and refugee workers.

COP27 Messages from International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

The global labour movement’s demands centre around Just Transition that secures the future and livelihoods of workers and their communities in the transition to a low-carbon economy. It is based on social dialogue between workers and their unions, employers, and government, and consultation with communities and civil society. A plan for Just Transition provides and guarantees better and decent jobs, social protection, more training opportunities and greater job security for all workers affected by global warming and climate change policies.

Our specific demands from governments at COP27 relating to climate driven migration and displacement are:

1. Make explicit reference to human rights and labour rights protections in COP27 decisions concerning all items: from mitigation to adaptation, finance and loss & damage. In order to ensure that all workers, including those who move as a result of climate change, can have a meaningful say in climate solutions, it is crucial that their right to freedom of association, to organise and collectively bargain are respected, protected and fulfilled. 
2. Invest in climate adaptation and resilience measures that recognise sustainable decent work opportunities and social protection both as measures that enhance resilience of communities for future shocks as well as means to address drivers of climate displacement -in particular as a result of slow onset events. This focus, including progress on climate finance founded on publicly provided and grant-based finance, is needed to ensure that migration is a result of choice instead of necessity as well as to meet global needs equitably.
3. Open up permanent, rights-based and gender-responsive regular pathways for climate driven migration, which ensure access to decent job opportunities in line with international labour standards.