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| MD Arfan Hossain |
Bangladesh one of the most climate-vulnerable
countries in the world. Sea-level rise, riverbank erosion, and climatic
catastrophes are displacing thousands of people every year. And yet, within the
midst of such a massive crisis, the unforeseen rights of these internally
displaced people (climate refugees) and their juridical status is unrecognized
in Bangladesh. There is a hardly regulatory law, policy, or protection regime
that addresses their specific needs or promises to uphold their rights.
However, it is a grave concern that in the era of liberalism they live like
subhuman in a society.
There is no term "climate refugee"
officially accepted by international law, but it refers to those who are
displaced due to reasons related to climate e.g., sea-level rise, floods,
droughts, or cyclones. In Bangladesh, they are families in coastal areas such
as Bhola, Satkhira, Feni, Noakhali and Khulna who get displaced due to erosion
or intrusion of sea. As a result they are lost their origin and lives as a
refugee.
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring
Centre (IDMC), Bangladesh experiences over 1 million displacements related to
climate every year. They primarily end up in urban slums with no legal status,
no right over housing, and no access to fundamental needs like education or
health.
Despite mounting scale of this crisis, the current legal framework of Bangladesh neither identifies nor offers protection to climate-displaced individuals as a distinct group. Bangladesh lacks:
No policy on climate displacement
·
No
law that recognizes climate refugees
·
No
law on land resettlement or compensation
Climate refugees are not covered under the Refugee
Convention (1951) since they are not running away from persecution on racial,
religious, national, or political grounds. Displaced
persons in Bangladesh may be covered under general disaster management policy, such
as the Disaster Management Act, 2012, but these are merely for transient
measures, not permanent solutions such as shelter, legal identity, or
livelihood.
Bhola Island is an example of the gravity of the
issue. In the southern delta, Bhola has lost thousands of hectares of land in
the past two decades alone to sea level rise and erosion. Whole villages have
vanished. The majority of displaced individuals end up in Dhaka or Chattogram
city slums with no legal papers, cannot access state services, and get
discriminated against in the workplace.
These internally displaced persons (IDPs) are likely
in limbo rights less citizens. While the Constitution of Bangladesh mention
about the right to shelter, food, and dignity.
Bangladesh climate refugees without legal recognition
face a series of issues:
·
Lack
of legal identity: They often lose voter ID cards, land deeds, and other
official papers.
·
Insecurity
of tenure: They have no right to resettle or settle new land.
·
No
access to aid or compensation: Relief operations are generally focused on
emergency relief, and not rehabilitation for an extended period of time.
· Vulnerability
to exploitation: Women and children are especially exposed to trafficking,
abuse, and poverty.
Giving a legal status to climate refugees would not
only protect their constitutional rights but also help the government plan
better for urban migration, infrastructure, and public services.
The Bangladeshi government has tried to adapt to
climate change e.g., the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan
(BCCSAP) but the legal reform is modest. Below are some policy recommendations:
1. Define and Recognize Climate Refugees in
Law: Create a legal
category for climate-displaced people under the Disaster Management Act or
enact a separate Climate Displacement Bill.
2.
Formulate a National Relocation Framework:
Create policies for
relocation, allocation of land, access to state services.
3.
Offer Legal Identity and Documentation: Offer mobile services to displaced persons
to retrieve lost documents and register for state benefits.
4.
Integrate Climate Displacement in Urban
Policy: Slum urban
communities need to be part of housing and infrastructure development plans.
5. Tap International Support: Bangladesh can advance recognition of
climate displacement internationally and have access to support through global
climate finance vehicles.
Climate change is not just an environmental crisis; it
is a human rights and legal crisis. Bangladesh must do a great deal to bring
its laws into line to recognize and protect the millions of citizens who are
already displaced or at risk of being forced out by environmental forces.
Without a special legal status, they will be citizens of nowhere, in between
rising tides and rigid legal systems. A country that already has shown
international leadership on the issue of global warming must show such
leadership at home, too by creating a legal home for the homeless.