New York, 19 October 2017 (ECA) - During a session themed, Climate-Change-Migration nexus and its implications for peace and security in Africa, speakers and representatives from member states, private sector and civil society organizationsattending the 2017 Africa Week shared diverse perspectives from their respective mandates, with close attention paid to the implications for young people and women.
Speaking at the session, Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa said that peace and security provide an enabling environment for sustainable development, while development maintains peace and stability. “We must all play our part. We owe that to the future generations of the continent and to realize the aspirations of Agenda 2063.”
She highlighted some initiatives that the ECA has been undertaking in this realm, which include research on the causes of conflict and its consequences on development in three African regions –the Sahel, the Horn and the Great Lakes. The results from these studies, she said, indicate that violent conflicts involving pastoralist communities have become widespread in many African countries, particularly in the Sahel and Horn regions. “Though pastoral communities have a long history of conflict, the intensity of such conflicts is increasing due to competition over scarce resources emanating from the discovery of minerals, oil, and gas, as well as the land rush to secure food and commodities, and have further been aggravated by climate change and environmental degradation,” she said.
She informed the session that together with the African Union Commission, a High-Level Panel on International Migration in Africa has been established which aims at promoting migrant’s rights, facilitate their movement and reduce their vulnerability, especially women. Policy recommendations presented by the Panel will help inform decision-making processes and enhance public opinion and debate. The climate-change-migration interrelationship is one of the thematic areas to be addressed by the High-Level Panel on Migration, which will be working to raise awareness among African member States and other governments, citizens, and international development partners.
“This continental initiative is very timely as it comes at the time that the UN family has established a Global Compact on Migration following last year’s New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants which was adopted by the Member States and sets out steps towards the achievement of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration,” she said.
She noted that during the global compact consultative process initiated by ECA on the continent, member States recognized the unpredictability of weather in Africa, the frequent droughts and the El Nino effects especially in Southern Africa and their effects on rural to urban migration. Hence, climate-induced migration highlights the need to integrate the issue into adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies.
She also highlighted the work of the ECA’s African Climate Policy Center, whose continent-wide dialogue - the annual climate change and development in Africa (CCDA) conference launched efforts to develop better understanding of the climate change and migration nexus in order to inform better policy responses towards the achievement of both agenda 2063 and agenda 2030. In its 2016 dialogue, the Centre focused on interlinkages between climate change, migration, agriculture and food security, and how climate change in Africa affects youth migration and livelihoods. The Center seeks, in particular, to promote the generation and use of timely climate data to promote climate resilience in the long-term development trajectories of the continent.
Note to editors:
Africa Week celebrates and showcases Africa’s continuous advancements and achievements and bringing to the fore, awareness on the new and emerging challenges confronting the continent. Taking place alongside the UN General Assembly debate on Africa’s development, the discussions aim to mobilize international support at the global level for Africa’s development priorities and its inclusive transformative agenda. The series of activities during the 2017 Africa week is tackling a number of issues emerging from the theme:"Supporting an Integrated, Prosperous, People-centred, Peaceful Africa: Towards the Implementation of Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".