Towards recognition and protection of forced environmental migrants in the public international law: Refugee or IDPs umbrella?

The aim of this article is to present the most influential theoretical approaches to the studies of environmentally-induced migrations. The concept of "environmental refugees" was introduced by Lester Brown in the 70s. However the extended concept of “environmental refugees” appears first in the eighties of the 20th century through the works of Essam El-Hinnawi (1985) and Jodi Jacobson (1988). The category of "environmental refugees" from the mid-nineties has been replaced by the less alarming (and legally neutral) terms such as "environmental migrants" and "environmentally displaced people". The social consequences of the environmental processes under scrutiny are one of the greatest challenges the international community will face in the coming years. Today, the effects of long-standing environmental changes seem obvious to many citizens of our planet. Desertification, increasing soil salinity, wasteful deforestation, and rising sea levels are just a few of the issues discussed below which influence everyday life for at least two hundred million people worldwide

Environmentally-induced displacement and human security

We can distinguish two general causes of internal displacement worldwide: 1. the impact of threats to and ensuing decline in the level of human security below that needed for normal existence in the homeland territory, 2. administrative compulsion to leave the current place of residence. Every year, at least tens of millions of people on all continents are forced to leave their places of residence. The predominant cause is the occurrence of natural disasters, creating the most dynamic category of internal displacement. According to IDMC estimates, natural disasters expelled 42 million people from their homes in 2010 and 14 million people in 2011. Many cases of internal displacement are associated with the accelerating dynamics of climate change, which is a much more long-term phenomenon. The causes of this kind of displacement are the desertification of soils and potential rise in sea level. The aim of this paper will be to determine the impact on several areas of human security of long-term environmental change and the displacement it causes. The objective of this work is to draw attention to the impact of climate change on internal displacement as an important factor affecting the security of millions of inhabitants of our planet. Relevant considerations have been preceded by an analysis of the most important causes of internal displacement. Among them we can mention: 1. internal armed conflicts and escalation of violence, 2. discrimination, persecution, and repression by state authorities or other political actors, 3. natural or man-made disasters, 4. long-term environmental changes, 5. economic development, 6. conservation of nature, and 7. specific combinations of political, economic or environmental factors (such as famine). In the next section I draw attention to the historical examples of long-term displacement caused by climate change. Environmental factors and declining resources have been the root cause of migration over most of human history. Only the consequences of the Neolithic (r)evolution and the gradual emancipation from the forces of nature resulted in a greater diversity of contemporary migrations. The most important section of the work draws attention to the decline in the level of human security associated with long-term environmental processes and the displacement they cause. The consequences can be both violent conflicts for space and resources as well as more peaceful migrations in search of better living conditions. A useful research tool in analyzing such processes has been the classification of seven areas of human security included in the UNDP Human Development Report published in 1994. I have expanded this classification by adding two areas: cultural security, and risks affecting the groups most vulnerable to the negative consequences of environmental change. Among those I have mentioned are: women, children, the elderly, indigenous people, illegal settlers, those with no formal rights to land or resources, and other categories of minorities

Selected bibliography on human right to health

The current economic crisis and the growing disparities between rich and poor countries make that the issue of access health care institutions is becoming one of the most fundamental social issues. The level of access to health care across social groups and regions of the world is still very illustrative example of widening gap between the world of wealth and poverty. Currently even the middle class in highly developed countries begin to suffer more and more problems with the access to several health care institutions and treatments. However, their situation is much better than the excluded and already marginalized categories of people such as illegal migrants and people in developing countries. No wonder then that the human right to health and its implementation has become one of the most important aspects of contemporary social human rights. Just as the concept of human right itself- developed in the academic discourse, the human right to health appears to us as a typically western rights-based construct. Despite the efforts of several universal institutions (such as the WHO and the UN) its understanding and implementation in the developing countries is still far from satisfactory. However, this does not mean that you should give up in our efforts on the development of several pillars of the right to health within the international human rights law. Despite the growing number of publications, the human right to health is still relatively little-known human rights issue. The vast majority of existing publications focuses on theoretical and conceptual issues as well as right to health/access to health care institutions in developed countries. The growing number of studies on human right to health in the U.S. and European states is accompanied by small portion of publications devoted to the problems in underdeveloped countries. This conceptual gap is gradually fill by recently issued publication on realizing to right to health. This bibliography highlights works relating to human right to health that were published over the last 25 years. The entries are divided by type: books; chapters in edited volumes and articles in scientific journals. While not a comprehensive bibliography, the first three sections list approximately 200 references. The main themes of the publications listed in the present report include the following: theoretical approaches to human right to health; right to health care, access to health and bioethics in the context of international human rights law; immigrants and the human right to health care

Development-induced displacement and resettlement: an international bibliography

This bibliography highlights academic publications relating to development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR) that were published over the last 40 years. The entries are divided by type: books, chapters in edited volumes; journal articles and research papers. While not a comprehensive bibliography, the first four sections list approximately 600 references

Selected bibliography on human right to water

In the past few years human right to water and sanitation have become one of the major locus of activity in the field of economic and social human rights. The growing importance of this particular area of human rights law is reflected not only in a rapidly increasing number of professional publications, studies, and reports dealing with this subject, but primarily in significantly more distinct actions undertaken by international organizations and humanitarian. Institutions. Just as right to food and right to adequate housing it determines appropriate functioning within the society and the access to more developed human rights. Human right to water and sanitation, classified among other economic and social human rights, seems to be much closer to us and more existential concept. Climate change and the continuing problems of many developing countries mean that access to water is increasingly becoming a privilege of the rich and not the right of every human being. Water has become a commodity in the bidding of armed conflict, and according to the forecasts in the near future may become the most common and primary cause of international armed conflicts. Water itself become more and more valuable resource and human rights violations in conflict calling for water are becoming increasingly common problem. This bibliography highlights academic publications relating to human right to water and sanitation that were published over the last 15 years. The entries are divided by type: books, chapters in edited volumes; journal articles and research papers. While not a comprehensive bibliography, the first four sections list approximately 150 references

Realizing the right to health of undocumented immigrants in Europe: legal and social challenges

The subject of the analysis presented in this article is the legal context and political debates regarding access of illegal migrants to health care assistance and institutions of public health. Consequences of non-regulated legal status significantly impair or even deny illegal migrants the most basic access to medical care. The main condition of entitlement to specialized medical care is legal residence within a state in accordance with its legal provisions. Fearing a growth in illegal migration and increased expenditure, EU countries are not interested in extending social benefits to irregular migrants. Fearing deportation, dismissal from work and the enormous costs of private health care, they usually do not ask for professional medical assistance. By analyzing the most important health risks for migrants the author has also highlighted the current legal and political debates on this issue. Lawful residence based on migration status and rules governing the welfare state must be coordinated with migrants' access to health care on the basis of universality and non-discrimination. In many EU countries such as Sweden and Denmark, the right of undocumented migrants to free emergency care and more advanced health care is restricted and may be subject to payment. Examining international treaties and explanatory documents from the Council of Europe and the United Nations, I try to analyze relevant international laws affecting several groups of undocumented migrants concerning the right to health and access to health care institutions. This article also highlights activities undertaken in recent years by NGOs with the aim of establishing access to health for undocumented migrants in EU countries and placing this issue on the international agenda