A private member’s bill tabled in the National Assembly on Tuesday called for legally recognizing the rights of climate refugees, a global first, urging the government to devise a framework to register and protect victims of climate-induced disasters in the country.
Tabled by Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) MNA Aamer Pirzada, the Pakistani Climate Refugees Rights and Protection Bill, 2024, has been referred to the relevant standing committee for further deliberations. Introducing the legislation, Pirzada noted the global surge in climate change-induced disasters and the devastation they were wreaking on the general public.
“When a flood comes, and people are forced to evacuate their homes, we not only face difficulties in registering them, but they also risk losing access to their assets and properties [from land grabbers],” he said. “It is a major problem trying to subsequently resolve their problems,” he added.
Giving special thanks to Faris Ahmed of Islamabad’s Headstart School, Pirzada said the student had been of great help in drafting the bill aimed at ensuring the societal wellbeing of climate refugees.
The proposed bill, which is reproduced in full below, calls for the establishment of a Climate Refugees Center to promote and protect the wellbeing of climate refugees. It states that this would include, but not be limited to, ensuring their proper registration; safeguarding their assets; establishing tent cities for their temporary housing; ensuring proper medical facilities for them; and taking steps to ensure temporary tent cities do not become permanent slums.
Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country to climate change, according to the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index. It is also deemed among the world’s “highly vulnerable” states to the impact of climate change. The country faced its worst ever floods—induced by climate change—in 2022, displacing some 33 million people and causing billions in damages.
During the COP28 summit in 2023, there were calls for legally recognizing the status of “climate migrants” and “climate refugees” to ensure their protection. However, the issue could not gain much traction and was tabled for a later date. In recognizing climate refugees as a legally distinct category, Pakistan would take the global lead in not only acknowledging the persistent risks posed by climate change, but also ensuring they are provided the care and protection they require to resume their everyday routines as expeditiously as possible.
https://thestandard.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Proposed-Bill-on-Climiate-Change1.pdf