Protecting the Human Rights of Climate Refugees- Focusing on the Principle of Non-Refoulement

The global community is facing extreme weather events due to climate change and environmental degradation. There are alarming reports that the number of environmentally displaced persons will increase exponentially. However, there is no internationally agreed terminology or definition regarding people who have left their homes due to environmental reasons. There are differing opinions regarding whether these people are persecuted, and thus can be entitled to a refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention. Despite the controversy, international agencies including the UN have proposed ways to protect people displaced from their homes due to environmental reasons via international refugee law and international human rights law. In particular, in 2020, the UN Human Rights Committee in Ioane Teitiota v. New Zealand case adopted the view that people must not be sent back to countries where there is a real risk of irreparable harm to their right to life upon return to their home countries, including torture, ill-treatment and other serious human rights violations, which will trigger the the obligation of non-refoulement on States. This decision is hailed as a landmark decision that opens up the road to protect people whose life is threatened due to climate change. Although UNHRC’s decision is not binding in nature, it has indeed influenced courts in other countries including the Italian Supreme Court and Bordeaux Court of Appeals. Climate change and environmental crisis is no longer a localized issue, and is happening simultaneously all around the world. Korea is no exception. Despite the fact that Korea is also a signatory to the Paris Agreement, 1951 Refugee Convention and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, there have been little discussion on this topic. The UN Human Rights Council has recently recognized that having a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right. Against this backdrop, Korea, as a responsible member of the international community that upholds human rights must start drawing up policies to accommodate environmentally displaced persons.