FM Hasan For New Definition of 'Refugee' Including 'Climate Migrants'

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has highlighted the importance of caring for protecting the environment and the adverse effects of global warming that amongst others negatively contributing towards the rise of climate migrants and refugees. Bangladesh urgently urged the world community to change the definition of climate migrants and refugees to bring it in line with the UN definition of migrants and refugees.

He mentioned the pristine nature of life in the universe and where life thrives only on the planet amongst two trillion galaxies.

At the first panel discussion of the Antaliya Diplomacy Forum held in Antalya, Türkiye on Saturday, the Foreign Minister spoke on global climate change and climate migrants and climate refugees issue. Foreign Ministers of Malaysia and Bangladesh, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Vietnam discussed various aspects of the Them “Building Asia-Pacific Regional Architecture: The Challenge of Unmatching Interests”.

Hasan mentioned that like many small and island nations, Bangladesh has become one of the worst sufferers of the Hlobal Climate Change and Global Warming. Along it the sea level rise what is happening now for the last three decades mostly because of the increasing rise of greenhouse gases, the entire coastal area of Bangladesh is at the risk of inundation, he said.

"And this phenomenon is constantly causing climate migrations. The issue is now so real that Bangladesh urgently needs to the world community to change the definition of climate migrants and refugees," he said.

The Foreign Minister mentioned that while his country and many environmental scientists have been focusing on the issue for many long years, many world leaders have not believed in it until lately it has become evident to all.

"Yet the rich countries, the major contributors to the global warming, are doing very little to address the issue and protect our environment," Hasan said.

There are local issues that make the impact global.

Bangladesh as one of the worst sufferers of this harsh reality urgently to all activists and leaders to accept the importance of changing the definition of climate migrants and refugees and devise an acceptable definition of it and protect the victims and the future generations, said the Foreign Minister.

The panel discussion was moderated by Lawrence Anderson, an academic and fellow of Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Singapore.

UNB