PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PROTECTION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES

• Main Authors: Viviane Passos Gomes, Diana Cristina de Medeiros Viveiros
• Format: Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria 2017-12-01
• Series: Revista Eletrônica do Curso de Direito da UFSM
• Subjects: environmental refugees; international legal protection; normative progress perspective.
• Online Access: https://periodicos.ufsm.br/revistadireito/article/view/27260
• ISSN: 1981-3694; 1981-3694

The lack of international legal protection of migrants that come from environmental disasters reflects a strong resistance from the international community to create a specific category of "environmental refugees". These gaps contrast with the current international scenario, where there is a growing demand for recognition of the specific rights of this group of people. This article aims to demonstrate a general overview of the so-called environmental refugees’ conditions, the perspectives of international legal protection, and the normative progress that, although scarce, do not exempt the need for specific normative protection. The methodology was based on the documents and reports of international organizations and specialized websites. It is a qualitative analysis associated with documentary data and references. Although the concept of "environmental refugees" is not recognized by the United Nations, some progress can already be seen both within the framework of Intergovernmental Organizations and of Civil Society. On the other hand, the need for effective international action, be it through adaptive and temporal measures, such as the use of existing human rights instruments, or be it specific and consolidated through the creation of a specific statute for this new category of refugees is urgent and unavoidable. Keywords: