Dominica and other OECS States Work Towards Designing More Effective Approaches to Disaster Displacement and Environmental Migration in the Eastern Caribbean
18 March 2023 – Four representatives from Dominica will be participating in a hybrid workshop in Saint Lucia from 21-22 March 2023, with the ultimate objective of mainstreaming the human security approach in disaster displacement and environmental migration policies in Dominica and the Eastern Caribbean.
Participants at the workshop will be working to validate preliminary assessments of the extent to which the human security approach is included in national policies on disaster displacement and environmental migration, and contributing to recommending ways to achieve greater integration of this people-centred approach.
Two representatives, Ms. Kimisha Thomas, Senior Policy Advisor, Ministry of Environment, Rural Modernization, Kalinago Upliftment and Constituency Empowerment, and Mr. Samuel Carrette, Resilience Planning and Development Consultant at CREAD will join other technical officers from across the region at this important gathering in Saint Lucia. Disaster Coordinator Mr. Fitzroy Pascal, and Head of Immigration Inspector Deryk St. Rose, will participate virtually.
Recognizing that climate change is causing increasingly severe weather events, and that we live in a volcanic and seismically active region, participants will also discuss best practices related to the cross-border movement of people affected by disasters in the OECS. These practices consider how complex hazards threaten the survival, livelihood and dignity of community members, particularly those who are most vulnerable, when they are forced to move. Cross-border evacuation protocols will also be discussed to better plan for the possibility of an increase in international movements derived from disasters and the role that the different actors play in accompanying these processes to ensure more effective outcomes for the people affected.
The human security approach goes beyond quick responses and is prevention oriented. By drilling down to determine the real causes of complex challenges (economic, health, personal, community, and political threats) that might confront people who are displaced internally, or forced to migrate because of disasters, and by building solutions that protect and empower the most vulnerable community, the project aims to systematize solutions through which affected individuals can feel more secure to move on with their lives.
The 21-22 March 2023 workshop will be hosted by the IOM in partnership with the donor – UN Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS). Other contributing stakeholders include the OECS Commission, the UN Resident Coordinator Office for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Platform for Disaster Displacement (PDD).
