The Refugee Convention and Recognition of Climate Refugees

Abstract

Millions of peoples across the world continue to be internally and internationally displaced due to numerous adverse impacts associated with climate change. It is consequently demanded to extend the scope of the Refugee Convention to recognise climate refugees. This research focuses on the essences of the definition of refugees under the Refugee Convention. It also assesses the justification of the claim to reform the Convention to encompass climate refugees under its mandate. The approach adopted in this study is the black-letter law research reviewing the Refugee Convention, pertinent journal articles, seminal books and websites of some international organisations including the UNHCR and IDMC. The findings of the study show that the Convention definition of a refugee has specific challenges to recognise climate refugees under its mandate and it is thus ill-suited to recognise climate refugees. It is concluded that the Convention definition of a refugee is outdated; however, despite the obsolescence of the definition, this is not the time to reform the Convention extending its scope to climate refugees for several practical reasons. The paper recommends for designing a separate device to address the vulnerabilities of climate refugees leaving the Convention to deal with its existing mandate.