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IOM welcomes inclusion of "climate migration" into draft COP21 agreement

Xinhua, December 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

The International Organization for Migrants (IOM) on Friday welcomed the inclusion of "climate migrants" and "climate migration" in the text expected to be agreed as part of the Paris climate change agreement.

In a statement issued Friday, IOM said that the inclusion of specific language highlighting the importance of "promoting, protecting and respecting the rights of migrants in vulnerable climate situations" is viewed as a significant breakthrough by those concerned with human mobility in all its forms.

"Now that climate change and migration are an integral part of the draft agreement, we can justifiably speak of 'climate migration' and 'climate migrants,'" said IOM Director General William Lacy Swing.

"We face major migration and refugee movements, and climate change is among the root causes of the record number of persons forced to migrate. By taking action to harness the positive potential of migration as an adaptation strategy to climate change we can support those who might need sooner or later to migrate with dignity," he noted.

The 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) was expected to produce a legally-binding universal agreement on climate from the world's nations. Endit