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UC Law Environmental Journal

Abstract

Climate change is increasingly displacing populations worldwide, yet existing international and regional legal frameworks, including the 1951 Refugee Convention and the Arab Charter on Human Rights, fail to recognize climate refugees as a protected category. These legal instruments define refugees narrowly, limiting protection to individuals fleeing persecution on specific grounds such as race, religion, or political opinion. As climate change accelerates environmental degradation, resulting in extreme weather events, desertification, and resource scarcity, millions of people are being forced to migrate, often across international borders, without legal recourse or asylum rights. This Article argues that climate refugees should be afforded the same protections as political refugees under both international and regional refugee law.

Using the Arab Charter and the 1951 Refugee Convention as a foundation, the Article examines the gaps in the current asylum framework and proposes legal solutions to extend protection to climate-displaced individuals. It argues that existing legal definitions should either be interpreted broadly to encompass climate refugees or amended to explicitly include them as a protected category. Additionally, it explores alternative avenues under international and regional human rights law, emphasizing rights to life, health, a safe environment, and non-discrimination as crucial for protecting displaced populations.

Given the Arab world’s heightened vulnerability to climate change, exemplified by rising temperatures, droughts, and natural disasters, there is an urgent need for reform. Without action, climate-induced displacement will continue to pose humanitarian challenges, exacerbating resource conflicts and straining asylum systems. This Article advocates for an immediate legal response to prevent the exclusion of climate refugees before displacement reaches an unprecedented scale.

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