SDG 13: Climate Action | SDG 16: Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions
Institutions: Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change | Ministry of External Affairs
A recent news release by Amnesty International (October 2025), curated by ReliefWeb, warns that millions displaced by climate change lack clear legal protection under existing international frameworks. The statement, titled “When People Are Displaced by Climate Change: What Rights Do They Have?”, highlights how rising seas, floods, drought, and desertification are forcing people to migrate—often across borders—but climate-related displacement is not yet recognised in refugee or migration law.
Amnesty notes that while international human rights law guarantees basic protections such as the right to life, dignity, and the principle of non-refoulement (which bars returning anyone to unsafe conditions), these do not fill the protection gap left by the 1951 Refugee Convention. Only a few states have begun offering humanitarian visas, temporary residence, or relocation schemes for climate-displaced persons. The organisation calls on governments to create new legal pathways and compensation mechanisms for those losing homes or land to irreversible climate impacts.
Follow the full report here:
Amnesty International — When People Are Displaced by Climate Change: What Rights Do They Have?