| Abstract [eng] |
The Thesis begins with an analysis of the effects of environmental disasters and various approaches of states to mitigate them. The results of this analysis evidence that while some effects of environmental disasters are more visible and easier to evaluate, as in the case of sudden onset disasters, others are less visible and grow more deadly over time, as in the case of slow onset disasters. Moreover, the effects of environmental disasters on people depend heavily on the state’s capacity to mitigate such effects. Then Author of the Thesis turns to the existing definitions for environmentally displaced people and as all existing definitions do not take into account the level of state protection available, a new definition is proposed. The new definition limits the scope to people seeking international protection due to environmental events, for which their country of origin does not offer any protection. It is analyzed in the second part of this Thesis the application of 1951 Geneva Convention to environmentally displaced people. Based on the assessment of state practice and the works of the most prominent scholars it is showed that environmentally displaced people may in fact be refugees, however, in a very small number of scenarios. The problem is that all of those scenarios are traditional refugee situations and environmental factors are not decisive circumstances when migration authorities determine if person is entitled to refugee status. Socio-economic rights within the context of environmental disasters and their connection to the well-established principle of non-refoulement are analyzed in the third part of this Thesis. The analysis shows that if a violation of socio-economic rights is severe – it may lead to a violation of right to life or prohibition of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and in turn – to the principle of non-refoulement. However, there is no uniform approach as identical situations in different regions have been interpreted differently. Inter-American Court of Human Rights and African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights may be willing to rule that infringement of socio-economic rights can amount to infringement of right to life while the European Court of Human Rights on some occasions may conclude that it would rather amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The interpretation of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment is of particular concern in regard to socio-economic rights as the analysis of European Court of Human Rights case law shows plurality of approaches and a lack of consistency. Lastly, the Author of this Thesis contends that, the primary reason why the issue of environmental displacement is not addressed in international arena, despite many proposals, is because it is not yet a high profile issue. It is evidenced from the practice of the states that many issues have been addressed after a fundamental event occurs, which has previously never been regulated by international law. |
