Kampala Declaration on climate change, human mobility now has 48 African countries as members

Subject :Environment

Section: International conventions

Context:

A total of 48 African countries have now agreed to adopt the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (KDMECC) to address the nexus of human mobility and climate change in the continent.

About Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (KDMECC):

A three-day Conference of States was held on 23 august 2023, co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Uganda with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The continental expansion of the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (KDMECC) was discussed.
KDMECC was originally signed and agreed upon by 15 African states in Kampala, Uganda in July 2022.
The KDMECC-AFRICA is expected to be signed by Member States during the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi on September 4, 2023.
The Declaration is the first comprehensive, action-oriented framework led by Member States to address climate-induced mobility in a practical and effective manner.

Internal displacement in African continent:

Climate change has a direct impact on migration in Africa.
There were over 7.5 million new internal disaster displacements last year alone, according to a 2023 report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
If nothing is done, as many as 105 million people could become internal migrants within the African continent.

International Organisation for Migration (IOM):

Established in 1951
IOM (a UN agency) is the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.
With 175 member states, a further 8 states holding observer status and offices in over 100 countries, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.
IOM works to help ensure the orderly and humane management of migration to promote international cooperation on migration issues, to assist in the search for practical solutions to migration problems and to provide humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.
The IOM Constitution recognizes the link between migration and economic, social and cultural development, as well as to the right of freedom of movement.
IOM works in the four broad areas of migration management:
- Migration and development
- Facilitating migration
- Regulating migration
- Forced migration.
IOM activities that cut across these areas include the promotion of international migration law, policy debate and guidance, protection of migrants’ rights, migration health and the gender dimension of migration.

Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC):

The IDMC is an International non-governmental organization established in 1998 by the Norwegian Refugee Council in Geneva.
It is focused on monitoring and providing information and analysis on the world’s internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Work:
- The IDMC contributes to improving national and international capacities to protect the assist of the millions of people around the globe who have been displaced within their own country. IDMC also develops statistics and analysis on internal displacement, including analysis commissioned for use by the United Nations.
Funded by:
- IDMC is funded by:
  - US Agency for International Development,
  - Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
  - Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency,
  - Australian Department of Foreign Affairs,
  - Liechtenstein Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
  - the European Commission,
  - the International Organization for Migration,
  - the UK Department for International Development,
  - the German Federal Foreign Office,
  - UNISDR, UNHCR and
  - Charities Aid Foundation.