Este informe de políticas es el resultado del seminario web sobre el cambio climático y los desplazamientos desde la perspectiva del Sur Global, organizado por la Red de Cátedras de Investigación sobre Desplazamientos Forzados del IDRC, el 30 de enero de 2025. Contó con la participación de Andrew Harper, del ACNUR, Amal El Ouassif (Marruecos), Desiree del Rosario (República Dominicana) y Opporutuna Kweka (Tanzania), y fue moderado por Luisa Felina Freier (Perú). El debate sirvió para reflexionar sobre la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático (COP29), celebrada en Bakú en noviembre de 2024, en lo que respecta al impacto del cambio climático en la dinámica de los desplazamientos forzados. Además de centrarse en el apoyo al Sur Global para proteger a sus pueblos y economías frente a los desastres climáticos y compartir los beneficios del auge de las energías limpias, uno de los objetivos de la COP29 era reafirmar las ventajas de los enfoques inclusivos que garantizan la participación significativa de las personas más vulnerables que se encuentran en primera línea del cambio climático. Dados los limitados avances observados en la COP29, el seminario web planteó si las nuevas formas de conocimiento local sobre la relación entre el cambio climático y los desplazamientos pueden apoyar un pensamiento innovador sobre mejores respuestas, y de qué manera.

Para ver el seminario web completo y leer el resumen, haga clic ˛ą±çłÜĂ­.

Cette note d’orientation est le rĂ©sultat du webinaire sur les perspectives des pays du Sud sur le changement climatique et les dĂ©placements de population organisĂ© par le RĂ©seau de chaires de recherche du CRDI sur les dĂ©placements forcĂ©s, le 30 janvier 2025. Elle a rĂ©uni Andrew Harper du HCR, Amal El Ouassif (Maroc), Desiree del Rosario (RĂ©publique dominicaine) et Opporutuna Kweka (Tanzanie), et a Ă©tĂ© modĂ©rĂ©e par Luisa Felina Freier (PĂ©rou). La discussion a permis de rĂ©flĂ©chir Ă  la ConfĂ©rence des Nations unies sur les changements climatiques (COP29), qui s’est tenue Ă  Bakou en novembre 2024, et Ă  la manière dont elle a abordĂ© l’impact des changements climatiques sur la dynamique des dĂ©placements forcĂ©s. Outre l’aide apportĂ©e aux pays du Sud pour protĂ©ger leurs populations et leurs Ă©conomies contre les catastrophes climatiques et le partage des avantages du boom des Ă©nergies propres, la COP29 avait pour objectif de confirmer les avantages des approches inclusives qui garantissent la participation significative des personnes les plus vulnĂ©rables en première ligne face au changement climatique. Compte tenu des progrès limitĂ©s observĂ©s lors de la COP29, le webinaire a cherchĂ© Ă  dĂ©terminer si et comment de nouvelles formes de connaissances locales sur la relation entre le changement climatique et les dĂ©placements peuvent favoriser une rĂ©flexion innovante sur de meilleures rĂ©ponses.

Pour visionner l’intĂ©gralitĂ© du webinaire et lire le rĂ©sumĂ©, cliquez ici.

Back Row: A. Girmachew Zewdu (Ethiopia), Desiree Del Rosario (Chair, Dominican Republic), Sheila Martinez (Dominican Republic), Heather Alexander (Canada), Abebaw Minaye (Chair, Ethiopia), Roula El-Rifai (IDRC), T. Alain Ouedraogo (Chair, Burkina Faso), Opportuna Kweka (Chair, Tanzania); Front Row: Ramata Thioune (IDRC), Amal El Ouassif (Chair, Morocco), Caroline Ford (IDRC). Not shown: Paula Banerjee (Chair, Thailand) and James Milner (Canada)

Following their inaugural workshop in Dar es-Salaam in May, five of the IDRC Research Chairs on Forced Displacement (Desiree Del Rosario, Abebaw Minaye, Tiga Alain Ouedraogo, Opportuna Kweka, Amal El Ouassif, and Paula Banerjee) gathered to discuss the crisis of climate displacement from a Global South perspective. The forum was an informal workshop held on the margins of the Global South Summit on Climate Displacement at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University in Rabat, Morocco from 1-3 November. The debate was urgent and spirit. At stake, the need for new approaches to climate displacement.

The lively debate touched on issues as diverse as framing and terminology to the environmental impact of refugee camps. The result was a list of policy recommendations for governments and the international community, including the pressing need to mainstream climate change and the environment throughout all forced displacement policy, while also mainstreaming forced displacement into every aspect of climate change policy, breaking down the silos that impede holistic solutions.

One theme that emerged from the debate was the need to keep the focus on the inherent dignity of people and the responsibility of governments to be transparent and to protect both their own citizens, but also migrants and displaced persons. The Chairs noted that many best practices can be found not only in the practices of some governments, but in the knowledge and expertise of displaced persons, refugees, indigenous communities, and nomadic pastoralists, who often know best how to balance human activity and conservation. The discussion stressed the need for localized and local responses that are tailored to each community; what works best in a refugee camp in Tanzania might not work in an urban setting in Ethiopia. Finally, Chairs highlighted the specific issue of access to data on climate displacement, and the need to better incorporate climate displacement data into development indices.

Results and recommendations from the Workshop will be presented at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva in December, and the Network will propose a plan of action for climate change conferences, to ensure that displacement remains a major focus of the global climate change agenda.

Climate Call to Action:

Together, we acknowledge the deeply interconnected and interdependent nature of the nexus between climate change and forced displacement.
Building on existing Global South agreements, tools, fora and knowledge; Adopting and endorsing the conclusions of the Global South Summit on Climate Displacement, held by the research chair at Mohammad VI Polytechnic University in Rabat from 1-3 November 2023; Seeking to draw on best practices from the Global South, we urge governments, international organizations and the international community to commit to:

1. Ensure that responses to climate and environmental displacement are localized, situational and country specific;
2. Encourage the comprehensive management of environmental displacement policies including the governance of natural resources, disaster response, migration and forced displacement;
3. Integrate local perspectives (refugees, host communities, migrants, displaced and stateless persons) at every level and stage of national adaptation and mitigation policymaking;
4. Centre decolonial and indigenous knowledge and practices in climate displacement and environmental policy (including natural resource and land use), and place indigenous expertise at the forefront of climate solutions.
5. Integrate considerations of race, gender, and diverse identity intersections with climate change and displacement;
6. Foster a positive narrative around climate displaced persons and host communities;
7. Promote collaboration and mechanisms for partnership among State actors, civil society, private sector and impacted individuals;
8. Capitalize on regional integration mechanisms to encourage regional solutions;
9. Promote South-South platforms on climate displacement at national, regional, and global levels for learning, coordination, and best practices;
10. Ensure that research, data and statistics on the nexus between climate and displacement are publicly available, and incorporate climate change impact analyses in all research and publications.

Last week, it was my privilege to accompany the twelve IDRC Research Chairs on Forced Displacement to the 2023 Global Refugee Forum (GRF) in Geneva. Organized by UNHCR, the goal of the GRF is to get member states to make pledges to help refugees, both within their countries and abroad. In the past, the role of refugees, displaced persons, stateless persons, academics, non-governmental organizations, and others has been very much relegated to second place compared to states, who UNHCR correctly sees as the key to improving global refugee policy. Governments, however, are not very good at coming up with new ideas on their own, and often lack the knowledge and expertise to formulate better policy. In short, an event like the GRF needs to move beyond statements by member states to highlight fresh ideas and perspectives.

This year, UNHCR has clearly recognized this need, bringing hundreds of persons with lived experience to the event and giving them speaking roles, alongside making space for the vital insights and expertise of academia, NGOs and others. The IDRC Research Chairs, however, brought something unique: an academic perspective from the Global South, with a focus on evidence-based research and policy solutions that is often lacking within the NGO and activist communities, and a voice from the regions and countries most affected by displacement, which is often missing from academia. It was this unique combination of authenticity and rigor that really highlighted the power of localized academic networks like the IDRC Research Chairs Network on Forced Displacement

Some highlights included interim Morocco Chair Amal El Ouassif introducing the Chairs Network to outgoing Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Gillian Triggs and explaining what South-South academic research and networking can mean to our collective understanding of forced displacement, as well as how it can be used as tool by UNHCR to find innovative and evidence-based durable solutions, something that is lacking in today’s policy debates. Chair Paula Banerjee met with the UNHCR Statelessness Unit to discuss next steps for the emerging Global Alliance on statelessness, and Chair Nyi Nyi Kyaw moderated an event at the Refugee Impact Hub, on Collaborating with academic partners to advance refugee-led advocacy: Tips, tricks and networks.

Tanzania Chair Opportuna Kweka made an intervention at Academic Workshop on Evidence-based implementation of the GCR: What role for academia?, moderated by IDRC Research Chairs Abebaw Minaye and Luisa Feline Freier, where she discussed the impact that localization can have on the legitimacy and rigor of field research on forced displacement. The workshop allowed for a conversation between the IDRC Research Chairs and the UNHCR de Mello Chairs, along with other academics based in the Global South, providing a unique opportunity for South-South academic exchange.

Thailand Chair Paula Banerjee gave remarks at the High-Level Side Event “Shifting Power,” at which IDRC President Julie Delahanty also spoke. This event, co-organized by the governments of Brazil and Canada, provided a unique forum for Professor Banerjee discussed the need for franker and more open acknowledgement of the role of racism and discrimination in driving forced displacement, and the need to adopt a truly gender transformative lens at every level of research and policy.
Other highlights included Lebanon Chair Fouad M. Fouad speaking at the High-level side event: Middle East and North Africa Solutions, and Chairs Hiram Angel and Opportuna Kweka intervening in two other side events on climate action and localization. Dr. Angel read the Chairs’ Call to Action on Climate Displacement to the room of diplomats and affected persons.

Finally, taking advantage of being able to meet in person, the Chairs had a three-hour brainstorming session, planning for the next phase of the Network, which will include innovative and unique collaborative research. With the Chairs Network stilly in its first year, it was truly amazing to see the impact already felt at the global level, and I know that many actors are looking forward to what the Chairs will accomplish in the next five years, and what an impact they will make at the next GRF.

Speaking during the launch on 29th May 2023, the Acting Vice Chancellor, who is also the Deputy Vice Chancellor-Academic, , emphasized that the University was committed to ensuring inclusivity and global development due to the urgency of the issues.

“Our University is at the forefront of efforts to ensure that no one is left behind in this development process as we work toward a global commitment to improve the lives of those who are least fortunate in the world”, said Prof. Rutinwa.

Prof. Rutinwa expressed his optimism that the Research Chair would empower scholars to explore various facets of forced displacement, contributing to the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. He emphasized that the Chair’s objective was to provide solutions and promote peaceful living for all individuals affected by forced migration.

The distinguished guest of honor who graced this the event, the Acting High Commissioner of Canada in Tanzania, , said her office was ready to lend support and expertise to this crucial endeavor. “Forced migration is a growing concern affecting numerous lives; it is a global problem that requires collective action”.

Hon. Hellen Fytche also acknowledged the significance of the works the Research Chair would be dealing with in tackling the challenges faced by displaced individuals and communities.

32 members involved

Meanwhile the Chairperson of the University of Dar es Salaam Research Chair on Forced Displacement, Dr. Opportuna Kweka, said its research will involve 32 members from different countries, which will initially focus on Tanzania and East Africa before expanding globally.

“The Chair aims to comprehensively address forced migration issue through research, outreach programs, seminars, policy debates, and support for young researchers and internship programs”, said Dr. Kweka.

She also highlighted the chair’s unique inclusive and multidisciplinary approach, emphasizing that the research activities would be internally managed at the University, including funding arrangements.

Dr. Kweka also said that, for the chair’s effective undertakings, collaborative partnerships with other higher learning and research institutions and researchers have already been established. The institutions include  and the  Researchers come from various countries such as Morocco, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Lebanon, India, Peru, Thailand, and the Dominican Republic.

Research Chairs and colleagues, with IDRC and ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University staff and professors, in Dar es-Salaam

To the casual observer, this gathering of academics may have looked like just another ivory tower workshop, long on talk and short on new ideas. A closer look would reveal something truly unique: a frank debate about forced displacement between experts based in countries like Mexico, Thailand, Lebanon and Burkina Faso. A debate that was taking place in Tanzania, another country with a lot at stake when it comes to displacement. The conversation was held with no filter and absent the heavy hand of donors or northern academics with fixed agendas, from countries where the crisis is always far away, and migration is always something to be “managed.” Here was a genuine attempt to peel back the usual layers of gatekeepers and sub-grantees from the Global North and let experts from Morocco, Ethiopia and Ghana discuss the usefulness of international policy spaces like the Global Refugee Forum to Africa, or how to address the increased securitization of migration in Africa.

If the conversation was frank, getting everyone together wasn’t always easy. Visa problems are a constant reality for academics from countries in the Global South, even when travelling to other Global South countries. Flights often transit through Europe or the Gulf, adding hugely to the cost and travel time. Finding quality translation in certain languages can be expensive and difficult. The lack of academic journals based in Global South universities can make it hard to find a home for conference proceedings outside of the Global North. These are not simply logistical challenges, they represent facets of our colonized world that, like a vortex, pulls academic conferences, workshops, and publications inevitably towards the Global North. Over the next few years, the Chairs will be embarking on an innovative plan of co-authored and co-designed research projects, alongside a series of webinars, conferences, workshops and events, in multiple languages and across multiple continents. These activities will test the limits of technology in our interconnected world, and highlight the flaws and gaps in the current academic system.

What does the localization of forced migration research really mean? It means letting the real experts speak and actually listening to what they have to say. It means giving money for research without needing to control the outcome. It means being willing to let that research change your mind. It means having a conversation in a language other than English. It means recognizing the vital roles of teambuilding and egalitarian debate, when western academia is modeled on competition and complex social hierarchies about who speaks and who listens. Yet this is not to say that donors and northern academics have no role to play. Quite the contrary. Canada’s International Development Centre and ĐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ University facilitated the workshop, but we were there to listen and support, not dictate or dominate. The workshop agenda was set by the Research Chairs, the conversation was led by them, and the message, for once, was loud, clear, and unfiltered: Localization doesn’t just mean having a seat at the table, it means having all the seats.