On September 25, 2013, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), in collaboration with ByPost and with the support of Dame Vivienne Westwood and Gillian Anderson, launched a campaign to recognize and protect climate change refugees worldwide. EJF has been working to secure recognition and protection for climate refugees since 2009. Despite their efforts there is presently no recognition of climate refugees by any international law.
Climate refugees are a large and growing problem. In 2012, 31.7 million people were forced from their homes due to weather related events. The campaign titled “Postcards from the Frontlines” is trying to draw attention to this problem. It encourages people to send pictures of their homes along with a short message about what their home means to them. Others who have suffered first hand exposure to extreme climate events are also urged to share their experiences. These “postcards” will be sent to the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York.
Each postcard calls for the introduction of a UN Special Rapporteur on climate change and human rights. The goal of the campaign is to inspire more than 100,000 people worldwide to send a postcard by Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.
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© 2013, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
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