Cartagena+40: Latin America and the Caribbean address protection responses to displacement in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change

BOGOTA – The current climate and displacement crisis have become increasingly evident. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean seek to strengthen the protection, preparation, and resilience of forcibly displaced people and communities in such contexts. 

The discussions held at the Third Thematic Consultation of the Cartagena+40 Process, which concluded today in Bogotá after a two-day meeting – on June 19 and 20, 2024 – revolved around national good practices that will set the baseline for the 2024-2034 Chile Declaration and Plan of Action, to be adopted towards the end of the year in Santiago, in order to guide the protection strategies and solutions of countries in the region throughout the following decade. 

Following the discussions, the regional response to forced displacement in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change will have a mainstreamed and differential approach, focused on vulnerable groups and people who will be pivotal to each and every action. 

In addition to 24 country delegations from across the region, attendees included representatives of forcibly displaced people, civil society organizations, academia, the private sector, development agencies, and international organizations. 

“The humanitarian aid delivered to protect people on the move in affected countries is the first step. However, we must also strengthen our plans and programs as potential host countries, as well as consider how could the main subregional frameworks and procedures on disaster displacement work together with the Chile Plan of Action,” asserted Ambassador Tomás Pascual, Director of the Human Rights Division of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

“Today we want to discuss protection in disaster displacement contexts, mainly to jointly look for solutions to ensure protection, as well as full enjoyment of the human rights to which the people who have been forcibly displaced from home – due to natural disasters, due to floods that have inundated the land on which they lived and on which their livelihoods depended – are entitled,” highlighted Luis Gilberto Murillo, Colombian Minister of Foreign Affairs, during the Third Thematic Consultation of the Cartagena+40 Process, which took place in Bogotá. 

Led by the Governments of Chile and Colombia, with the support of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, the Third Thematic Consultation of the Cartagena+40 Process acknowledged that displacement in the context of disasters is among the greatest humanitarian and development challenges currently faced by the States and the international community. 

The adverse effects of climate change have an impact on durable solutions for highly vulnerable refugee and displaced people, as well as host communities. More specifically, they prevent safe and sustainable returns and adversely affect integration in host communities. 

Given that countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, and that part of the population in the region lives in disaster-prone and high-risk areas, the role of States in designing protection and solutions measures becomes crucial.  

Globally, climate-related disasters have driven more than half of the new displacements registered in 2023. In fact, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDCM), 26.4 million people have been displaced by extreme weather events, including floods and droughts. What is more, nearly 60% of refugees and internally displaced people live in countries that are among the most vulnerable to disasters and climate change. 

“The  Cartagena+40 Process provides a unique opportunity to build on what States in the Americas and the Caribbean have already achieved and to strengthen efforts to protect the rights and find durable solutions for those internally displaced; to provide safe, orderly and regular migration pathways for those compelled to move and seeking refuge in neighboring countries and beyond; and to ensure access to international protection under refugee and human rights law for those who need it,” said Professor Walter Kälin. 

“Unfortunately, it is those communities that are most at risk that are bearing the brunt of this exploitation that continues to drive much of the world's decisions,” said Andrew Harper, UNHCR’s Special Advisor on Climate Action. “We need to value peace. We need to value the environment. As once we lose either, they are almost impossible to replace. I commend states in the Americas for their leadership on regional approaches to the protection of people fleeing the impacts of climate change and disasters – events that do not respect national borders. However, urgent support from the international community is needed in order to implement the bold plans we have discussed here in Bogota.”  

In addition to the Third Consultation, the Subregional Consultation on the Caribbean took place on June 18, 2024. The meeting gathered representatives from Caribbean countries and territories, as well as regional organizations. 

“The Caribbean has been a key actor in the progress made by the Cartagena Process –notably, through the 2014 regional solidarity program – allowing several countries in the region to make progress in providing protection and durable solutions for refugees, asylum-seekers, as well as displaced and stateless people,” said Ambassador Tomás Pascual, Director of the Human Rights Division of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

“In our region – the Caribbean – we are currently facing an unprecedented and challenging situation which demands us to join forces, to implement a shared roadmap, to strengthen cooperation ties, and to learn from good practices to tackle the changes that the region is witnessing as regards human mobility,” added Elizabeth Taylor Jay, Colombian Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs, in her opening statement. 

For more information, please contact:  

UNHCR: [email protected] 

Colombia: [email protected] 

Chile: [email protected]