19 November 2025

Ten years after more than 100 States endorsed the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda, the promise of regional collaboration has moved decisively from concept to practice. While global frameworks set the direction, such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, and, at the same time, the Warsaw International Mechanism’s Task Force on Displacement became operational, regional coalitions have generated political momentum, clarified responsibilities and created replicable pathways to translate commitments into national action. This blog post takes stock of selected advances in Africa, the Americas and the Pacific – three regions in which the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has worked with States, the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) and others on political frameworks and other commitments to avert, minimize and address displacement, protect people on the move, and enable dignified mobility choices.

From sub-regional to continental: The championing of the Kampala Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (KDMECC)

In 2022, governments in the East and Horn of Africa became global and regional trailblazers, adopting the Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (KDMECC), addressing the intersection of migration, environment and climate change. It committed States to strengthen data, legislation and coordination, and to embed human mobility into adaptation and development planning.

Building on that foundation, the Declaration was expanded at the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi in September 2023 as KDMECC Africa, with 33 African Union Member States endorsing the continental approach. Governments and regional bodies have since moved into a follow-up phase through regional expert working groups, national dialogues and developing action plans such as in Burundi, Djibouti and Rwanda, supported by IOM, partners and youth and civil society representatives.

Momentum continued at the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa in September 2025, where leaders adopted the Addis Ababa Declaration on Climate Change. The Declaration positions Africa as a driver of solutions and explicitly recognizes climate-related mobility as integral to resilience, adaptation and just transitions – setting a strong political basis ahead of the Conference of the Parties (COP) 30 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Belem, Brazil in November 2025.

In parallel, the African Union Commission, working with IOM, is advancing continental policy work on migration and climate change. The KDMECC forms the cornerstone of this process. Together, KDMECC and the recently-drafted Addis Ababa Declaration demonstrate African leadership in promoting the contribution of human mobility to development in the context of climate and environmental change.

The Pacific: Cross-regional collective stewardship

The Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility (PRFCM), endorsed by Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders in 2023, represents a milestone in cooperative regional governance. Developed under the leadership of the PIF Member States – especially Fiji and Tuvalu – and through extensive consultation among Pacific governments, communities and partners – including the IOM-led Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security (PCCMHS) programme  – the PRFCM sets out shared priorities to support people to remain in place, move safely where desired, and maintain cultural identity and sovereignty, even if relocation becomes necessary.

The PRFCM’s significance lies in its broad-based endorsement: it was supported by all PIF Member States, including Pacific Small Island Developing States and the PIF’s two developed country members, Australia and New Zealand. This collective approach reflects the spirit of the Nansen Initiative, which was underscored in its first-ever regional consultation in 2013 in the Cook Islands: regional ownership, practical cooperation and respect for dignity and rights.

The PDD, initiated to help support the implementation of the Nansen Initiative’s Protection Agenda, has also provided important impetus in the region, together with partners including IOM. It played an instrumental role in the IOM-led Pacific Response to Disaster Displacement project (from 2019–22), PCCMHS programme and the PRFCM process.

Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have established national planned relocation frameworks and standard operating procedures. Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands are exploring pathways that combine in-country resilience with labour mobility arrangements abroad. The Regional Framework Implementation Plan (2025–30), being coordinated by the PIF Secretariat with technical support from the regional PCCMHS programme and partners, emphasizes finance access, knowledge exchange and whole-of-government coordination – laying a foundation for sustained, rights-based action across the region.

Rights leverage in the Americas

Across the Americas, climate mobility policy approaches have evolved through a strong human rights lens grounded in the region’s legal and institutional architecture. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ Resolution 2/24 on Human Mobility and Climate Change (2024) and the Inter-American Court’s Advisory Opinion AO-32/2025 reaffirm States’ obligations to prevent displacement and protect people affected by climate impacts and environmental degradation.

These legal developments are complemented by regional policy frameworks. The Regional Conference on Migration updated its protection guidelines in 2024 to address climate- and disaster-related displacement, while the South American Conference on Migration published its own guidelines in 2018 and the Southern Common Market (abbreviated MERCOSUR in Spanish) has strengthened standards and cooperation on mobility and protection.

At the operational level, disaster risk management entities such as the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the Central American Coordination Center for the Prevention of Natural Disasters have integrated mobility into preparedness, evacuation and shelter planning. The PDD has also supported the Chile Declaration and Plan of Action for 2024–34 to integrate disaster displacement within its scope.

The ongoing and increased integration of human mobility in Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans in Latin America and the Caribbean offers a further opportunity to address the protection needs of people displaced across borders in the context of climate change, prevent displacement and address the loss and damage implications of climate mobility.

Implementation challenges

Despite significant progress, important challenges remain, notably when bridging the gap from policy design to concrete action. Implementation in many settings is conditioned by governance dynamics, varying levels of digital maturity and inclusivity of non-government actors, budget availability and prioritization, and gaps in policy-relevant data, technical expertise in migrant and host populations and institutional systems. These structural realities interact with a shifting international landscape: the Humanitarian Reset and evolving financing environment are pushing for more anticipatory, locally-driven approaches.

Translating regional commitments into national law and practice is rarely straightforward, and political sensitivities around climate-related mobility demand tact and sustained dialogue. While the UN Secretary-General’s Action Agenda on Internal Displacement is guiding how the international system supports durable solutions for internal displacement, a recent evaluation of the Grand Bargain has highlighted ongoing challenges in coherence, localization and bridging humanitarian and development approaches. Across all regions, sustained partnerships, investment in systems and skills, and a clear focus on protection and dignity will determine whether the gains of the past decade translate into sustained outcomes for people most affected by, and vulnerable to, disasters and climate change.

Policy recommendations — ten years on

1. Keep regional cooperation at the centre: The most significant advances since 2015 have come where States have worked together – through frameworks such as the KDMECC in Africa, the PRFCM in the Pacific, the Eastern Caribbean Ministerial Declaration and the Regional Consultative Processes in the Americas. Continued investment in these regional mechanisms helps maintain trust and practical exchange even when global negotiations stall.
2. Focus on inclusive implementation: The coming decade should be about turning existing commitments into co-owned results – translating regional declarations and strategies into national legislation, budgets and inclusive coordination systems that tangibly reduce displacement risk and strengthen protection. Engaging and empowering youth, indigenous populations and local communities will be key.
3. Align protection and adaptation agendas: Efforts to reduce displacement risk and to support people who move in the context of climate change should be seen as part of broader resilience and adaptation strategies. Integrating mobility considerations into National Adaptation Plans and Nationally Determined Contributions 3.0 can help ensure that communities have the resources and options they need before, during and after climate events, while also complementing ongoing international discussions on Loss and Damage and other support mechanisms.
4. Uphold rights and dignity in practice: Whether people stay, move or relocate, responses must be people-centered and rights-based – grounded in participation, inclusion and respect for cultural identity. Recent developments in human rights law, including the advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, provide important guidance for integrating protection principles into law, policy and practice.
5. Invest in knowledge that informs decisions: Sound policies depend on credible, accessible data. Strengthening evidence on the links between climate change, disaster risk and mobility – especially at the local level – helps governments and communities plan ahead, monitor progress and tailor responses to evolving realities.
6. Sustain partnerships and grow financial inclusion: In the context of UN80 reforms, the humanitarian reset as well as major shifts in the financing environment, and given the scale of the issue, no single actor can address climate-related mobility alone. Continued cooperation among States, regional organizations, civil society and international partners such as the PDD, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and IOM are essential to keep protection and solutions at the heart of climate action.

Conclusion

A decade after the Protection Agenda’s endorsement, the landscape of policy and practice on disaster displacement and climate mobility has advanced significantly. Regional frameworks have given governments platforms to exchange experiences, shape norms and coordinate action. National laws and plans increasingly reflect the interconnectedness of climate change, human mobility and protection. Communities, in turn, are gaining tools and partnerships targeted at enhancing their security and choice.

The next 10 years will test whether these frameworks can deliver sustained results on the ground. Success will depend on translating commitments into practice – anchored in protection, informed by evidence and supported by predictable finance.

As displacement and mobility pressures continue, regional cooperation and shared responsibility will remain vital. Guided by the principles of the Nansen Initiative and the spirit of the Protection Agenda, IOM will continue working with the PDD, UNHCR and other partners to ensure that people at risk of climate-related displacement are protected and empowered.

Susanne Melde is Global Thematic Specialist Climate Action, International Organization for Migration (IOM) Global Office, Brussels; Sabira Coelho is Regional Thematic Specialist Climate Action, IOM Regional Office, Nairobi; Lisa Lim Ah Ken is Senior Climate Action Specialist, IOM Special Liaison Office, Addis Ababa; Chris Richter is Regional Thematic Specialist Climate Action, IOM Regional Office, Bangkok; Pablo Escribano Miralles is Regional Thematic Specialist Climate Action, IOM Regional Office, Panama; and Nicholas Bishop is Head, Climate Resilience and Human Security, IOM.

12 November 2025

There was an upbeat mood in the Geneva conference room where 109 States endorsed the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda (Protection Agenda) on 13 October 2015. Not only were participants happy with the outcomes of the series of regional consultations conducted over the course of more than two years, but they were also looking forward with a lot of optimism to the United Nations Climate Conference (COP21) in Paris, confident that the negotiations on what became later known as the Paris Agreement would be successful.

Ten years later, much of this optimism has vanished in a world marred by rising authoritarianism, armed conflict, and denial of the climate crisis by certain world leaders. Yet, it is important to remember today that much progress has been made over the past decade – progress that cannot be easily dismantled.

Looking back

How did it start? It is worth recalling that the Nansen Initiative was launched as a State-led, multi-stakeholder process to follow-up on the Cancún Climate Change Adaptation Framework adopted by COP16 in 2010, which recognized climate change-related (forced) displacement, (predominantly voluntary) migration, and planned relocation as adaptation challenges. During a ministerial meeting at UNHCR in late 2011, it became clear that the topic of cross-border disaster-displacement was too sensitive to be comprehensively discussed within the UN. Norway and Switzerland reacted immediately. Supported by a small group of States, they pledged to organize a series of consultations in affected regions aimed at building consensus on key principles and elements to address these challenges outside formal UN processes. This led to the launch of the Nansen Initiative on Cross-Border Disaster Displacement in October 2012.

The process was successful and resulted in widespread support for the Protection Agenda. The Protection Agenda highlights that displacement in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change is a multicausal phenomenon, occurring when individuals and communities are exposed to natural hazards and lack the capacity to cope with its impacts. The Protection Agenda compiles a series of effective practices to protect people in countries of refuge as well as to manage displacement risks in countries of origin. The Protection Agenda also highlights the need to work across and seek coherence among multiple policy areas. It identifies data and knowledge, the enhanced use of instruments enabling the admission and stay of persons displaced across borders by disasters, and stronger management of disaster displacement risks in countries of origin as priority areas for future action.

Framing and feeding

Key to the success and continuing relevance of the Nansen Initiative and its Protection Agenda was the early decision to use it as a starting point for framing messages and feeding them into relevant negotiations. Members of the Initiative’s Steering Group successfully pushed for the inclusion of human mobility in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 in March 2015, despite strong opposition during negotiations to expand the framework’s scope. Although the Nansen Initiative formally ended in late 2015, continued influence on global and regional policy discussions from 2016 onwards became possible after Germany and Bangladesh decided to continue the work of the Nansen Initiative by launching the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD). The PDD was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016 to implement the Protection Agenda by supporting States and other stakeholders to strengthen the protection of persons displaced across borders in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change, as well as to prevent or reduce disaster displacement risks in countries of origin.

These efforts yielded tangible results. Since 2017, the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) has consistently recognized the need to address displacement risks and prepare for them as part of disaster risk management, not least because the PDD and its partners consistently highlighted the need to integrate human mobility in national and local DRR strategies.

The endorsement of the Protection Agenda in October 2015 also helped to prepare the ground for the decision to create the Task Force on Displacement under the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage at COP21 in Paris a month later, and the endorsement of its recommendations by COP24 in 2018.Today, displacement is also part of the mandate and scope of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage created in 2022 on the occasion of COP27. States can receive technical assistance on this issue through the Santiago Network, set up by COP25 in 2019.

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM), adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018, addresses the need to mitigate and address the adverse effects of climate change, disasters and other environmental impacts as drivers of migration, including with an explicit reference to the Protection Agenda, and calls for providing people displaced across borders with temporary or in some cases even permanent admission.

The Protection Agenda also catalyzed and provided guidance for progress at regional levels. In the Americas, governments developed guidance to harmonize their laws allowing to admit disaster-displaced persons based on humanitarian considerations, and also adopted as part of the Cartagena+40 process an ambitious plan of action. In its recent Advisory Opinion on climate change, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights referenced the Protection Agenda repeatedly. In the Pacific region, a process that had started with the Nansen Initiative regional consultation hosted by the Government of the Cook Islands in 2013, culminated in the adoption of the Pacific Regional Framework on Climate Mobility in late 2023. And in the Horn of Africa, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) built on the Protection Agenda’s recommendation to use agreements on the free movement of persons to provide migration pathways to persons affected by disasters. It integrated a provision into its free movement protocol explicitly opening the possibility of free movement of affected persons in anticipation of, during and in the aftermath of disasters, including drought and flooding.

Looking forward

Displacement and other forms of human mobility in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change remain an important and growing challenge. The relevance of the issue is now universally recognized and firmly anchored in the international agenda, despite some governments denying the reality of climate change. It continues to be debated in relevant fora dealing with climate change, disaster risk reduction, displacement and migration, and human rights. These policy areas influence and complement each other, and the level of coherence between them is substantial.

At the same time, increasing numbers of disaster displaced persons suggest that there is a substantial disconnect between the reality of displacement and what has been achieved on paper. There is still insufficient data and knowledge about the dynamics on the ground. Many countries still lack adequate normative and institutional frameworks. Sustainable solutions for persons in protracted internal displacement are often neglected. And financing to support the countries least responsible for global warming remains hugely insufficient. The ongoing crisis of multilateralism at the global level as well as the sharp decline in funding for humanitarian and development initiatives threaten the sustainability and future progress based on what has been achieved since 2015.

Yet, meaningful progress is still possible, provided that States are willing to cooperate. In this regard, the Nansen Initiative process and the work of the PDD provide some important lessons. Much can be achieved through what might be called ‘minilateralism’ – that is, through the efforts of a group of committed States with different experiences but a common will to address human mobility in the context of disasters and climate change by working bottom-up. Important achievements are possible in regional and sub-regional contexts where similar challenges are faced. Last but not least, placing trust in communities that are at risk of displacement or have been displaced, and viewing them as actors with the capacity to take action, would help to find solutions that are adapted to local conditions. A combination of minilateralism, regionalization and localization will not be able to fully ensure the protection of persons displaced or at the risk of displacement in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change, but is a pragmatic and realistic answer to the present challenges affecting the international system. The good news for interested States and other stakeholders is that the Protection Agenda continues to provide a toolkit for action, and the effective practices outlined there have proven their worth over the years and remain as useful and relevant as ever.

Walter Kälin is the Envoy of the Chair of the Platform on Disaster Displacement.