COLLABORATION: Disaster and Displacement through a Human Rights Lens in Asia-Pacific

People wade through a flooded road in Chennai, India, December 5, 2015 (Source: REUTERS)

When a disaster strikes leading to people’s displacement not all are impacted in the same way, and often it is marginalized groups who are affected the hardest. The Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI) has initiated a regional study on the relationship between disaster and people displacement through a human rights lens in the Asia Pacific. The research is underpinned by the recognition that pre-existing patterns of discrimination can exacerbate vulnerability to disaster-related harm. The research is informed by the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights' Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and will examine how state actors fulfill their obligations to prevent displacement, protect people during displacement, and facilitate durable solutions in the aftermath. It is intended to offer recommendations on future policy and implementation across the region.

Project workshop on 14-15 December 2017

The ten country research project, led and coordinated by Dr. Matthew Scott of RWI, will study a range of types of disaster and displacement scenarios. The Center for Social Development Studies (CSDS) looks forward to engage in this project as a collaborator undertaking a study on flooding and displacement in the Deep South of Thailand.

For further details on the project, visit RWI's blog about the project and its inception workshop here.

For details of our past work on flooding and migration in Southeast Asia, please visit our past project “Mobile Political Ecologies of Southeast Asia” page here.

Contact at CSDS: Dr. Carl Middleton (Carl.Chulalongkorn@gmail.com).