UN Human Rights chief Michelle Bachelet has urged the international community to open up channels for the acceptance of environmental refugees.
Bachelet told the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday that the call became necessary due to the devastating effects of the climate crisis, pollution, and habitat destruction in parts of the world.
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“When people are forced to move because their environment can no longer support a life with dignity, pushing them to return to such a situation is not only unprincipled – it is completely unsustainable,” she said.
In recent months, droughts from Senegal to Siberia have put millions of people at risk, Bachelet told the panel.
She said added to this were the huge fires and floods that “have already occurred around the world this year”.
The 47 countries on the council will discuss in the coming weeks the creation of an expert body to monitor the climate crisis and its impact on human rights globally.
Source: dpa