A new OECS high-level Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change will be launched on October 25, 2023, at the Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week (LACC) in Panama.
Member States of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) signed off on a ministerial declaration which was presented at the OECS second Immigration Council of Ministers Meeting held on April 13, 2023, in the Commonwealth of Dominica.
Eastern Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are recurrently exposed to climate related hazards the impact of which is increasing, resulting in both internal and cross border displacement. These impacts threaten the human security of at-risk populations in the region limiting efforts to enable vulnerable people to live free from fear, free from want and the opportunity to live in dignity.
The Ministerial Declaration demonstrates OECS Member States and Associate Members commitment to take action to mitigate climate change impact as well as to address human mobility relating to environmental degradation.
Director General of the OECS Commission, Dr Didacus Jules, in support of the Declaration said, “This is a true reflection of the collective commitment among the leaders of the OECS to take action against the climate change phenomenon that threatens the very survival of our region.”
Project Coordinator, Viola Pascal, noted, “Leveraging the multi-stakeholder, comprehensive and people-centered principles central to the human security approach in realizing this high-level Ministerial Declaration, is very timely to strengthen advocacy by OECS SIDS towards political and socioeconomic support to protect at-risk population.”
The Ministerial Declaration is a significant achievement under a joint human security programme implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the OECS Commission, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) under the guidance of the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.