Deutsche Welle: Scott Leckie on the worrying transition of Myanmar

March 18

in Article, Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma, Commentary News, Displacement, Forced Displacement, Global Update, HLP Rights, Interview, Myanmar, Scott Leckie

Germany’s international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, has recently published aninterview with Displacement Solutions Director, Scott Leckie, on the apparent failings of Democracy Darling Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar Government to protect it’s citizens during this tumultuous transition towards opening up of the country and resultant greater economic freedoms by allowing prolific land-grabbing to take place.

Leckie gives a frank assessment of the situation at hand and adds that the fate of the country lies in it’s leaders ability to take decisive and lasting action for the benefit of it’s citizens.

Read the article in full.

Climate Displacement Law Project: Towards an International Legal Standard

March 06

in Bangladesh, Burma, Climate Change, climate displacement, Forced Displacement, Global Update, government policy, HLP Rights, housing, Human Rights, international law, Kiribati, Maldives, Projects, Refugee, Scott Leckie, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Rarely, if ever, has humanity dealt with an issue the magnitude of climate change displacement.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and many other groups warn that the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels, ever-heavier floods, more frequent and severe storms, drought and desertification, will cause large-scale population movements across the globe.

While no one knows for certain just how large this displacement may be, it is clear that this will measure in the many tens, if not hundreds, of millions of people. Displacement of this sort is not something that will happen one day, but something that is happening today.

Through our work in Bangladesh, Fiji, Kiribati, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Tuvalu and beyond, Displacement Solutions has been working for several years on how best to resolve climate displacement in a rights-based manner.

Losing a home or source of income is traumatic enough for those affected but when the issue is compounded a hundred thousand-fold on a global scale, with no clearly-identifiable person or government body to blame or to pursue for aid, people become faceless numbers and are swept away, without consideration, compensation or assistance, during the next unseasonal rains.

Many countries that either currently, or within the foreseeable future, bear the brunt of these climactic changes and resultant displacement have been tirelessly advocating for more international attention and action on their plight.

These countries’ governments and others, including Costa Rica, Germany, Mexico, Norway and Switzerland, are – through the Nansen Initiative (which DS is pleased to be associated with) currently involved in reviewing existing international legal standards and protection measures with the implication they are not sufficient to protect the human rights (including their housing, land and property rights) of people displaced internally within their country of residence or beyond their country’s borders.

Displacement Solution’s Climate Displacement Law Project comprises a series of objectives designed to solidify an acceptable international-standard legal framework for climate displacement law, assisting governments to legislate locally on these issues, expanding law school and university attention to these themes and other targeted activities with climate-affected communities. This will be achieved through the drafting of an international soft-law standard on climate displacement, global advocacy for the proposed standard, and the publication of a major academic book on the issues concerned.

Visit the Climate Displacement Law Project website

More Assistance Needed from Bangladesh Government for Displaced Communities

January 31

Displacement Solutions and Young Power in Social Action Urge Bangladesh Government to do More to Assist Climate Displaced Communities

bangladesh2zeke

Displacement Solutions (DS) recently completed its fourth visit to Bangladesh in conjunction with its Bangladesh Climate Displacement and HLP Rights Initiative. Working closely with Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), DS met with a range of senior Government officials and representatives including Sree Nani Gopal Mondol, Member of Parliament, Khulna-1, Dr. S M Munjurul Hannan Khan, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forest and Mr. Mohammad Abdul Wazed, Director General, Disaster Management Bureau, urging the Government do be more pro-active in its efforts to protect the HLP rights of climate affected communities throughout the country.

In addition, DS and YPSA discussed the climate displacement crisis in Bangladesh with senior media figures, academics, UN officials and other stakeholders to discuss the work that DS and YPSA have undertaken on climate displacement to date and to advocate for a rights based approach to developing and implementing solutions for climate displaced persons.

In response to these discussions, DS was directly requested by a number of senior Government officials to provide further technical expertise and cooperation in resolving climate displacement across the country. In response, DS is currently preparing a number of proposals for further engagement on this issue.

DS and YPSA will shortly be published three major research projects carried out during the past year that look at the land dynamics of resolving growing climate displacement in Bangladesh.

During the remainder of 2013, the DS Bangladesh HLP Initiative will carry out research identifying government factors responsible for the resolution of climate displacement in the country, provide growing legal assistance to local organisations to better support climate affected communities and a range of additional measures with our civil society partners and the Government of Bangladesh to find urgent housing, land and property rights solutions for the current and future millions of climate displaced people across Bangladesh.

Tackling Land Grabbing and Speculation in the New Myanmar

August 08

in Burma, government, HLP Rights, Human Rights, Myanmar

Though Myanmar/Burma has undergone unprecedented political change in recent months, the country is currently grappling with a severe land grabbing and speculation crisis. The DS Director, Scott Leckie, was requested to provide guidance to the Government about how to address these pressing issues, the views of which are contained in a guidance note on land grabbing and speculation which can be viewed here. DS’ landmark study Myanmar at the HLP Crossroads will be released in the coming weeks.

DS Expands its Myanmar HLP Initiative

June 26

in Burma, consulting, government, HLP Rights, Human Rights, Myanmar

DS visited Myanmar (Burma) in mid-June to examine the country’s rapidly evolving political reforms and how these are likely to affect the HLP rights of its citizens.

DS Director, Scott Leckie, delivered a speech on the opportunity for Myanmar to protect HLP rights during this time of political transition at the Chatrium Hotel in Yangon (Rangoon) for a seminar organised by UN Habitat; Understanding Housing, Land and Property Rights: Challenges in a Changing Myanmar.

DS will be releasing two new reports on HLP rights in Myanmar in coming weeks; a blueprint for improving HLP rights protections, and HLP rights issues within the peace processes in the east of the country.

Read Scott Leckie’s speech here.

Climate Displacement in Bangladesh: The Need for Urgent Housing, Land and Property Rights Solutions

June 13

in Bangladesh, Climate Change, HLP Rights

Displacement Solutions: Climate Displacement in Bangladesh Report May 2012

This 36-page report comprehensively examines the scope and causes of climate displacement across Bangladesh. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the report highlights that climate displacement is not just a phenomenon to be addressed at some point in the future, it is a crisis that is unfolding across Bangladesh now. Sea-level rise and tropical cyclones in coastal areas, as well as flooding and riverbank erosion in mainland areas, are already resulting in the loss of homes, land and property and leading to mass displacement. Further, all of the natural hazards that are causing displacement are expected to increase in both frequency and intensity as a result of climate change – almost inevitably leading to the displacement of many millions more across Bangladesh.

This report – prepared by DS legal consultant Ezekiel Simperingham – is designed to develop awareness and deepen knowledge of this crucial issue as well as to propose concrete, practical recommendations that can be utilised by the Government of Bangladesh, civil society actors, climate affected communities themselves, academics, development practitioners, the regional and international communities and other relevant stakeholders.

This report comprehensively examines current and future causes of climate displacement in Bangladesh. The report also examines existing and proposed Government and civil society policies and programmes intended to provide solutions to climate displacement. The report highlights a number of protection gaps in the response of both the Government of Bangladesh and the international community to the plight of climate displaced persons. The report emphasises that rights-based solutions, in particular, housing, land and property rights solutions must be utilised as the basis for solving this crisis.

The report concludes by proposing a number of concrete recommendations that could be utilized to provide solutions to climate displacement.

DS Coastal Kids Project Launches and Makes a Splash!

June 01

in Australia, Climate Change, Displacement, Projects

The new DS Coastal Kids Project got off to a flying start on 29 May with Year 5 and 6 students from Sorrento Primary School participating in a presentation from DS Director, Scott Leckie, who spoke about their role as global citizens and coastal dwellers and the knowledge and responsibility involved. He also spoke of the upcoming face-to-face conversation between the students from Sorrento Primary School and children from Chittagong in Bangladesh, who are also ‘Coastal Kids’.

The DS Coastal Kids Project seeks to put coastal dwelling children in contact with each other for them to discuss and understand climate change issues affecting their geographical area and those of other children around the world.

This four-year project is open to schools everywhere. Schools wishing to participate can contact Displacement Solutions at any time.

New Internationalist Blog Piece: Domestic Land Solutions for Bangladesh

May 28

in Article, Bangladesh, Climate Change, Displacement, Forced Displacement, HLP Rights, Resettlement

Kadir van Lohuizon

Read Scott Leckie and Zeke Simperingham’s recent observational piece on the climate displacement situation in Bangladesh, published by a highly acclaimed independent monthly not-for-profit magazine/blog that reports on actions in support of global justice. The New Internationalist believes in putting people before profit, in climate justice, tax justice, equality, social responsibility and human rights for all, views shared by Displacement Solutions.

The Search for D omestic Land Solutions for Thousands of Climate Displaced Bangladeshis

Much of the world knows little about Bangladesh other than threatened coups, George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, the annual monsoonal floods and perhaps, the Grameen Bank, changing lives one microcredit loan at a time. But it should also be known that this country’s grassroots groups,…. read more

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