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Recognizing the region’s vulnerability to multiple hazards and climate-induced displacement, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the Government of St Kitts and Nevis, convened a two-day Regional Workshop titled Mainstreaming Human Mobility and Human Security in Caribbean Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction Policies: Progress and Way Forward.
This event marked the culmination of activities by IOM under the 15-month Human Security Joint Programme which was aimed at “Promoting a human security approach to disaster displacement, environmental migration and disaster risk reduction in the Caribbean Region”.
The event underscored the importance of mainstreaming human mobility considerations into national climate and disaster risk reduction policies and plans, including CDEMA’s Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) Strategy and Country work Programme of Caribbean Countries.
Patrice Quesada, IOM Coordinator for the Caribbean, in his remarks indicated that “We are really trying to bring a bit of light on one dimension that tends to be overlooked, which is the mobility dimension of hazard impact including climate related events especially here in the Caribbean from a human security standpoint”.
Honourable Dr Joyelle Clarke, St Kitts and Nevis Minister for Sustainable Development, Environment, Climate Action and Constituency Empowerment, in her opening remarks noted that “For small island developing states, especially Caribbean SIDS, responsiveness cannot be a monolith; our climate action efforts must mainstream human security and must relentlessly advocate for financing mechanisms and lending instruments that make space and sufficiently integrate human mobility into their frameworks”.
She went on to say that “solutions must be SIDS specific and coastal Specific”.
In support of the French Government Funded project that collaborated in hosting this event in St Kitts and Nevis, the workshop included informative discussions on leveraging innovative financial instruments for the implementation of climate mobility initiatives.
An interactive training of trainers session was also conducted providing participants with hands-on approach with the process of applying the Environmental Migration, Disaster Displacement and Human Security Policy Assessment Tool that was developed to assess how national frameworks have thus far considered and make provisions to address human mobility issues.
National stakeholders highlighted some of the best practices affirming the critical role of a multistakeholder approach. Mr. Simon Alleyne, Programme Officer with the Barbados Department of
Emergency Management, in his comments reiterated that “a multistakeholder approach that includes Government Ministries, Departments, NGOs and Civil Society Organizations is necessary to deal with the issues of migration and to ensure that the needs of vulnerable people are addressed”.
Kana Kudo representing the Donor, the UN Trust Fund for Human Security, says that “the Human Security Unit and the Trust Fund are proud to support a programme that aims to strengthen preparedness and responses through a more integrated, people-centered, and preventive approach…this programme is defining new strategies and partnerships to better address multifaceted insecurities, reduce vulnerability, and build resilience”.
The implementation of the Joint Programme has made available to Caribbean Countries several resources to bolster their efforts towards managing human mobility in the context of disasters.
This includes:
· The Environmental Migration Disaster Displacement and Human Security Policy Assessment Tool to support policy harmonization
· Training of the Trainers Manual and User Guide on the application of the Assessment Tool
· 12 National Country Assessment Reports developed from the application of the Assessment Tool
· A Cross-Border Evacuation Protocol for the protection of people crossing borders due to disasters
· Best Practices to support mass population movement
· OECS Ministerial Declaration on Migration Environment and Climate Change
· Local Resilience Strategies from the application of the Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities: Displacement Addendum developed by UNDRR.
· Training of Trainers Manual on the application of the Resilience Scorecard
Coordinator for the Human Security Joint Programme, Viola Pascal, in summing up the achievements of this intervention indicated that “the project has succeeded in raising awareness in the Caribbean region of human mobility issues due to disasters and addressing them through the human security approach.
National Disaster Offices have expressed their commitment to include measures to manage human mobility in their existing and upcoming disaster management policies and plans”.
For more information or to access resources discussed during the event, visit IOM’s official website https://www.iom.int/countries/dominica or review the Environmental Migration, Disaster Displacement,
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