Extreme weather events and climate coloniality: health and vulnerability of international migrants in drought scenarios
Abstract
This essay-style study addresses the relationship between extreme weather events and climate coloniality, focusing on the impact of drought as a driver of international migration and the health risks to which migrants are exposed as a result of this climate event, whether in their country of destination or their country of origin. To this end, information on the current global climate situation and migration was sought in the databases of agencies and other entities of the United Nations, such as the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), as well as studies related to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and databases from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The Scielo, Redalyc, Scopus and Science Direct databases were searched for information on the impact of drought on the health of migrants and the relationship between colonialism, extreme weather events and international migration. Based on this, considerations and proposals were presented to improve the reception and health conditions of international migrants in drought scenarios, always taking into account the colonialist dynamics that aggravate and perpetuate the inequalities resulting from climate change. It was concluded that public policies should be created that take into account the particularities of migrants, but it is also essential that climate justice be achieved and international relations decolonised.
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References
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