Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honor and a pleasure for me to be asked to join you today at the Nansen Global Consultation.

We live in an era of unprecedented human mobility with more than one billion people on the move in our world of seven billion. Our world currently faces major refugee and migration movement, and climate change is among the root causes of the record number of persons forced to migrate. Climate change endangers livelihoods through its impact on land, desertification, water stress, droughts, and recurrent and intensified natural disasters, including floods.

Three  points strike me as noteworthy: (1)  Key achievements of the Nansen Initiative; (2)  Follow up; and finally, (3) Advancing global migration policy responses together.

I. First, what have we achieved?

I would like to share with you, what I see as the main results achieved through the Nansen Initiative process. I will highlight four elements I find encouraging: 

1. The initiative has played a significant role in catching the attention of the diplomatic community and policy makers as to the importance of migration in the context of natural disasters. These efforts have directly complemented international actions of other national, regional and international players at policy, academic, non-governmental and private levels. In short, the overall profile of environmental migration has undoubtedly been raised.
2. The Dialogues confirmed that the regional level is extremely relevant in providing a space for dialogue and action on migration policy. This should strengthen the efforts undertaken by the sixteen Regional Consultative Processes dedicated to migration that will meet at the end of this month with their own Global Consultation in Cairo. Many of the countries represented here today and who will be in Cairo  are active in one or more of  these regional processes on migration;
3. We have seen the Agenda moving from an initial narrow focus on cross-border displacement of people, to acknowledging that human mobility needs to be considered in an all-encompassing manner. Migration policy tools should be tailored to provide responses throughout the whole migration cycle and include activities on prevention and durable solutions. New migration policies are needed, or what I call the “High Road Scenario”. Policies have not kept up with change.  We can improve our migration policies, however, through such measures as more legal avenues for migration, temporary protective status; seasonal, circular and other flexible use of visas; voluntary returns; humanitarian border management; or planned relocations.
4. We also welcome the non-normative scope and broad definition of “protection” adopted in the Agenda, encompassing all types of protection, including through soft law, practical protection, temporary protection and consular provisions, as well as emphasizing the importance of rights-based approaches and the primary responsibility of States for migrant protection.

II. What do we see  as  the most useful and urgent follow up actions to the Nansen Initiative?

Our objectives and expectations for follow up are geared towards enhanced action and enhanced cooperation;

By enhanced action I understand that we should develop activities along the three areas for actions prioritized in the agenda, which are: (1) developing evidence and knowledge on cross-border disaster-displacement; (2) enhancing the use of humanitarian protection measures for cross-border disaster-displaced persons; and (3) strengthening the management of disaster displacement risk in the country of origin.

By enhanced cooperation I mean that follow-up actions require a shared understanding  and a coordinated approach to human mobility in the context of disasters and climate change – especially for countries most vulnerable to climate change. This means progressively linking up humanitarian action, human rights protection, migration management, refugee protection, disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and development interventions into one coherent approach.

IOM believes that climate change will induce more migration. Now is the time to plan in order to mitigate possible adverse impacts, reduce the need for future disaster response interventions, and maximize the positive potential of migration as an adaptation strategy. We have been active in this area since the early 1990s. IOM’s membership has elected to discuss related topics every years since 2007 in its governing bodies meetings, leading to the establishment of a fully dedicated “Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) Division” in IOM Headquarters on 1st January 2015.

My colleagues in the field witness daily the impact of climate change, environmental degradation and natural disasters impact on all forms of human mobility. Many of the responses to cross border displacement due to natural disasters have become part of the standard IOM response – a response that links humanitarian assistance with recovery and development, in line with the UN Cluster System. Tools such as IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM); Initiatives such as the “Migrants in Countries in Crisis” Initiative (MICIC), and activities such as our Regional and National Training Capacity Building Workshops on “Migration, Environment and Climate Change”  – all provide direct experience and expertise to inform the debate.

We have contributed to the Nansen Steering Group as a Standing Invitee and as a member of the Nansen Initiative Consultative Committee to all regional research, policy and civil society activities mobilizing our offices worldwide and we stand ready to anchor further action, in partnership with UNHCR, and all other relevant actors and  partners.

III. Boldly moving up together the human mobility agenda

Finally, I would like to emphasize that we are discussing today a reality that calls for our daring and coordinated action at all levels.

We are currently living in an era in which migration is a defining reality. While climate change continues to affect human mobility patterns, there are other migration drivers that also need to be considered when planning for the future. I list these “migration drivers” as the 7Ds” for easy memory.

• Disasters, including those driven by natural hazards and
  Degradation of the environment;
• Demography;
• Demand for labour;
• Distance-shrinking technology;
• Digital revolution;
• Disparities – socio-economic between Global North and Global South; and
• Desire for a better life.

We need to acknowledge that we have made political progress. Migrants have now been recognized as a group with special vulnerabilities in both the Disaster Risk Reduction Framework for Action, adopted in Sendai, and in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  Migrants are also recognized as engaged contributors to disaster risk reduction and development actions. These are two major policy steps towards  (a) an inclusive society, and (b) a better understanding of human mobility challenges and opportunities. Similarly, we are all preparing for the World Humanitarian Summit.  There  again, states will have an opportunity to consider displacement due to natural disasters and the role of migrants in humanitarian policy.  IOM is also hosting a major Ministerial Conference on Migrants and Cities:  26-27 October – at which disaster and climate impacts will also be considered.

We have much more to do, however.  Now is an historical opportunity, and I take this occasion to urge States and all other relevant actors to continue these efforts and to include human mobility in the Climate Agreement to be negotiated in Paris. There is still time to do so.  Migration was anchored in the Climate Adaptation Framework in Cancun in 2010 – after 10 long years of climate negotiations – opening a whole new scope for action on climate and human mobility.  Let’s not reverse the process and ignore human mobility – a defining features of our time, a mega-trend of this century.

IOM believes that migration is inevitable, owing to demography and other social, economic realities; necessary, if skills are to be available, jobs filled and nations to flourish; and desirable, if well-managed through humane and forward-looking policies. IOM believes that well-managed migration is one that follows a “high-road scenario” – a scenario that respects the human rights of migrants, addresses the root causes of migration, and promotes safe and orderly mobility.

The recommendations and proposals which arise from this conference will move us closer towards that high-road scenario. Thus, I wish to end my remarks by urging all of us to take the next step. Many good plans fall victim to lethargy and failure to match words with action,  either due to lack of will or resources, often never leaving the paper on which  plans are recorded. I therefore call on all concerned parties to  accelerate the implementation of the recommendations from this conference – all with a view to  promoting safe and legal intra-regional mobility.

You have IOM and my own unwavering commitment to support the implementation of the recommendations and other migration and climate change initiatives.