A report just issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council gives extensive and positive coverage to the Peninsula Principles on Climate Displacement Within States. The report, prepared by UN human rights expert of the Advisory Committee to the Human Rights Council, Mr. Imeru Tamrat Yigezu of Ethiopia, describes the 2013 Principles as providing "a solid foundation for the protection of the specific needs of those internally displaced by climate change in line with a human-rights based approach and are consistent with international human rights standards and humanitarian law". The 12 August 2016 report (UN doc: A/HRC/AC/17/2) makes clear the human rights dimensions of climate displacement and specifically recommends that the Council implement two key recommendations: 1. That the Advisory Committee undertake to prepare guidelines (‘soft guidelines’) on climate displacement and human rights, based on existing frameworks such as the Guiding Principles on IDPs and the Peninsula Principles on Climate Displacement within States, which are grounded in the existing international framework. 2.  Alternatively, that the Advisory Committee could prepare a report on the question of a human rights-based planned relocation to cases of looming climate displacement. It is hoped the Human Rights Council will accept Tamrat's recommendations, and that attention to the…...

A new report on Promoting Affordable Housing in Yangon, Myanmar published by the Asian Development Bank has, among other recommendations, urged the government of Myanmar to consider establishing a National Climate Land Bank to proactively address the looming climate displacement crisis in the country. The report notes that "Myanmar’s housing sector is struggling to cope with rapid urbanization, internal migration, and new demand from recent economic growth. These challenges are most apparent in the Yangon Region, where estimates suggest there will be a housing shortage of 1.3 million units by 2030. This publication assesses the current housing market situation in Yangon. It identifies reform options and offers practical recommendations to support the Yangon Region Government’s implementation of its affordable housing agenda and related policies." With a specific recommendation to establish a climate land bank, the report continues "The central importance of land for security, stability, and economic development is already well-recognized by the present government and by all organs of civil society, which have commenced identifying state land resources for eventual distribution to landless rural poor households as part of broader land reform efforts. In this context, the establishment of the MNCLB would be a further element of broader land…...

In a world where every culture, every legal system, every religion, every set of moral principles views stealing as wrong, a crime and something for which people should be punished, there is a lot of stealing taking place. Very often it is not just small possessions or money that is stolen, but people's homes, lands and properties, the very cornerstones of their lives and livelihoods. However, in terms of remedies  or restitution for stolen housing, land and property (HLP), the de facto reality in most of the world is not all that different to cases involving the murder of another human being whereby if one murders one other person they will likely go to prison for life no matter where the crime took place. If they happen to murder 10,000, 25,000 or even 100,000 people in a war or through the practices associated with dictators desperate to maintain power, however, they will be far more likely than not to live out their days in control over their population or in the unlikely event their reign comes to an end or they are otherwise overthrown, they will spend the rest of their days in exile, protected as a former head of state…...

A new DS report released today explores the effects of climate change and rising sea levels on one of Australia most vulnerable communities. The 47-page report - An Analysis and Recommendations on Applying the Peninsula Principles on Climate Displacement Within States to Current and Future Climate Displacement in Australia's Torres Strait Islands - examines how the Peninsula Principles could be used to guide local and national law and policy to ensure that the rights of Torres Strait Islanders are fully ensured in the context of ever worsening climate change effects there. The report offers a series of specific conclusions and recommendations on how to improve the prospects of one of Australia's most vulnerable coastal communities. The full report is available here: Torres Strait Islands and Climate Displacement...