Protect People, Not Polluters
Joint statement for Climate and Migrant Justice Day – November 22
This year, for the second year running, we lived through the hottest summer in recorded human history. From coastal erosion and bad harvests in the UK and Western Europe to the expansion of deserts in North Africa, to flooding in South Asia, climate breakdown is already changing the lives of people everywhere and forcing communities on the front lines to move.
November 22nd, 2024 will mark the first Climate and Migrant Justice Day, as we demand support for people affected by climate destruction and an end to border violence.
There is no single story of climate and movement. There are people in Pacific islands whose lands are disappearing underwater, people in West Africa who can no longer fish or farm as plants and animals die out, and people in North America are relocating away from wildfires and hurricanes. Across the world, people are affected by human rights abuses, discrimination, and conflicts that have their roots in resource scarcity multiplied by the climate breakdown.
The situation is worsening. And while most people move close to home, some people will need to move across borders for safety.
Yet rather than safe routes for people seeking safety, we are seeing the expansion of the violent border regime in the UK and around the world. This increased militarisation does not save lives but only leads to more deaths at the borders. Our government pays millions to private corporations to tear families apart through deportations, detention centres, and GPS tagging of people seeking safety rather than investing in policy solutions that benefit all of us.
We should be fighting for people’s right to safety and dignity – whether they stay in their communities or move if they need to. At COP29, fossil fuel companies are being given more say in climate negotiations than affected communities. The very industry that is causing climate destruction to communities’ land, lives and livelihoods around the world. This is completely immoral and unjust.
We should be protecting people, not the profiteers of death and destruction.
On the first Climate and Migrant Justice Day, we- groups from the climate and migrant justice movements, call for:
22 November to be marked annually as Climate and Migrant Justice Day, to give visibility and importance to climate-induced migration happening across the globe, both internally and externally.
An end to funding and support for the border and surveillance industry, which seeks to profit even more from suffering as the number of displaced people increases – and redirect these resources towards helping rather than harming people.
The removal of industries that profit from the climate emergency from climate negotiations – to ensure fair representation of communities most affected by climate breakdown. Conferences like the COP should focus on people-driven solutions, not on special corporate interests.
Action to ensure safe routes are open for people seeking safe and dignified lives.
This November, let’s demand better choices.
Signed by
1. Joint Council For The Welfare Of Immigrants (JCWI)
2. Climate Justice Coalition
3. Global Justice Now
4. YouthNet Global
5. Dhaka Ahsaniya Mission
6. City of Sanctuary UK
7. Student Action for Refugees (STAR)
8. Asylum Matters
9. Haringey Welcome
10. The Pickwell Foundation
11. Right to Remain
12. Migrants’ Rights Network
13. St Augustine’s Centre, Halifax
14. Haringey Migrant Support Centre
15. Axe Drax
16. Extinction Rebellion UK
17. Tipping Point UK
18. Biofuelwatch
19. No Borders in Climate Justice
20. Merseyside Solidarity Knows No Borders
21. Oil Change International
22. Let’s StopEACOP UK
23. Refugee Legal Support (‘RLS’)
24. Faith for the Climate
25. Books Against Borders
26. Anti-Slavery International
27 350.org
28. Mid Wales Refugee Action
29. Creative Conservation Alliance(CCA)
30. Open Rights Group
31. Stop Deportations
32. Greenpeace UK
33. South Yorkshire Migrant And Asylum Action Group (SYMAAG)
34. Jesuit Refugee Service UK (JRS UK)
35. Praxis
36. Transport Action Network
37. forRefugees
38. Climate Resistance
39. Good Chance Theatre
40. Reclaim the Power
41. People & Planet
42. Migrants Organise
43. Scottish Communities Climate Action Network (SCCAN)
44. War on Want
45. The Working Class Climate Alliance
46. Coal Action Network
47. Ecojustice Ireland
48. Positive Money
49.Tasha Research Institute Africa (TASHA) UGANDA
50.GreenFaith Uganda
51. Bail for Immigration Detainees
52. Climate Cymru
53. Just Stop Oil
54. Fridays For Future Richmond (UK)
55. Garnetts Clothing Brand & Range and The Claudes SEN Law Campaign (GCBR and TCSLC)
56. Climate Action Newcastle
57. Plymouth Hub for Climate Justice
58. Energy Embargo for Palestine
59. Climate Reparations Network UK