Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security (PCCMHS) Programme: Regional Policy Dialogue: Summary Report

This report summarises the key issues that emerged from the Regional Policy Dialogue, organized under the Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security (PCCM-HS) programme over the period September to November 2020 and presents the potential scope of a regional approach to help address climate related mobility in the Pacific, and next steps for the further development of the approach.

The following key messages were highlighted in the Dialogue in relation to legal and policy frameworks:

There is a need to develop legal and policy frameworks to equally protect people who are staying, moving in anticipation of harm, and are displaced At all time, people’s dignity must be prioritized Human rights can be a part of toolkit of prevention options, such as implementing a human rights- based approach in planned relocation strategies and standard operating procedures There is a need to put in place appropriate pathways and facilitate safe and regular migration Regional framework can fill the gaps, as they do not need to be binding, but can ensure rights-based approaches and serve as a guide Pacific Island Countries should plan ahead as challenges posed by climate change affect development paths and hastily devised policies exacerbate poverty and have political consequences in democratic governance The Pacific can be an example to the world as such a regional response to guarantee protection of people on the move as a result of climate change would be the first of its kind Pacific countries reaffirm the right to make decisions for our own people, facilitated by development partners through technical support.