Five Steps We Must Take to Protect Refugees in the Future

This statement by the International Institute for Sustainable Development argues for a new international paradigm to protect refugees, specifically those displaced by climate change, who currently fall outside the 1951 Convention definition of a refugee.

• Climate change is significantly impacting global migration and could potentially lead to the largest refugee crisis in history, with numbers that may exceed those displaced by the Syrian conflict.
• The current international refugee system is under severe strain because the 1951 Convention definition of a refugee is limited to those fleeing political persecution, leaving those displaced by climate impacts—such as floods, droughts, and water shortages—without refugee status if they cross borders.
• The author proposes five specific steps to reform refugee protection: aligning the UN Refugee Agency's budget with predictable and binding assessed country contributions; drafting a new legal treaty with a modern definition of refugees; establishing a review mechanism for country accountability based on the Montreal Protocol model; utilizing digital technologies like blockchain and digital IDs for identification and banking; and integrating refugees into sustainable global value chains to support their income.
• The document identifies Canada and Denmark as middle powers that should take leadership roles in reforming the UN's support for refugees, coinciding with their respective bids for the UN Security Council in 2020 and the UN Human Rights Council in 2019.

APA

Axworthy, L., & Vaughan, S. (2018). Five Steps We Must Take to Protect Refugees in the Future. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/five-steps-we-must-take-protect-refugees-future

Chicago

Axworthy, Lloyd, and Scott Vaughan. Five Steps We Must Take to Protect Refugees in the Future. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/five-steps-we-must-take-protect-refugees-future.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Axworthy |first1=Lloyd |last2=Vaughan |first2=Scott |title=Five Steps We Must Take to Protect Refugees in the Future |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=16 March 2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/five-steps-we-must-take-protect-refugees-future |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{axworthy2018five, author = {Axworthy, Lloyd and Vaughan, Scott}, title = {{Five Steps We Must Take to Protect Refugees in the Future}}, publisher = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/insight/five-steps-we-must-take-protect-refugees-future}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }