Abstract
This chapter aims to examine the inclusion and exclusion of regional and local MENA organizations in the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees, as well as how they affect the global governance of displacement caused by climate change. The research was conducted using a combined theoretical framework of social constructivism related to structural and social conceptions of power. A qualitative empirical case chapter combining textual and content analysis constitutes the technique. The findings demonstrate how non-state actors and global governance mechanisms influence and transform one another. Non-state actors contributing to a shifting discourse on climate change displacement cause change to occur gradually and with much persuasion. Thus, the chapter offers a case chapter of how marginalized players can shape and be shaped by the two global compacts.
TopIntroduction
This chapter investigates how local MENA (Southern, Middle East, and North African) non-governmental organizations (NGOs) contribute to global governance on climate change displacement. This will be narrowed to a case analysis of the development processes of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) and the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR)(Val, 2022). The GCM and GCR are special intergovernmental UN frameworks for the governance of migration and refugees based on international human rights legislation (McADAM, 2019). They are not legally enforceable. My research intends to examine how specific norms in global governance include or exclude NGOs and how this shapes NGO reactions regarding resistance. The chapter also investigates how these individuals influence the GCR and GCM processes’ shifting rhetoric on displacement caused by climate change. Global solutions to climate change displacement have typically been divisive, cautious, and unproven (Biermann et al., 2018: 407; Leal-Arcas, 2012: 89-90). International law experts and decision-makers have nearly entirely opposed stronger safeguards for “climate change refugees” (Bierman and Boas., 2018: 407). Other terms, like “climate change migrant,” are debatable (Su, 2014: 14), and there are no international legal safeguards in the form of international treaties, regional treaties, or soft law mechanisms (Kolmannskog, 2012: 1075-1076; Leal-Arcas, 2012: 90-94). However, the issue of climate change displacement is very important, and the number of displaced people will only increase, particularly in the MENA region (Waha et al., 2017: 1631-1632). As a result, this chapter will examine how including the local and non-state players above can lead to more creative and pertinent global governance on climate change displacement.
The chapter helps us comprehend how concerns related to human rights affect not only the fundamental rights themselves but also how these rights are governed globally. International governing bodies working with states are the only governing authorities capable of reducing and adapting to such displacement. Climate change displacement is caused by and contributes to ongoing human rights violations. As a result, one needs to focus on the procedures and laws that encourage and advance these answers. In this human rights thesis, the Global Compacts for Migration and Refugees are essential analysis sources. To bring about change in the global governance of climate change displacement, the research question is: How do local, Southern, and MENA NGOs participate in and contribute to the Global Compact for Migration and Global Compact for Refugees?
To make the structure and goal of the research clear, this research topic has been broken down into three sub-questions.
- 1.
In what ways do the GCM and GCR institutions involve or exclude regional, Southern, and MENA NGOs?
- 2.
How do regional, MENA-based NGOs in the South influence the GCM and GCR processes to modify norms?
- 3.
What and how do regional MENA, MENA-based, and local NGOs add to the discussion of climate change displacement in the GCM and GCR?
Key Terms in this Chapter
Global Compact: It’s a non-binding organization under United Nations that is responsible for spreading awareness to adopt sustainable business practices all over the world.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs): These are non-profit entities responsible for identifying social issues and improving the standards of living.
MENA Countries: The term stands for Middle East and East Africa, which comprises of 21 countries approximately.
Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM): It's an intergovernmental agreement negotiated by members under the auspice of the United Nations responsible for monitoring international migration in totality.
Global Compact on Refugees (GCR): It's an international agreement just like GCM prepared under the supervision of the United Nations responsible for identifying and catering to the needs of refugees worldwide.
Climate Refugees: Group of people who left their native places due to drastic changes in Climate and calamity caused by such changes.