The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have renewed collaboration to ensure migrant and displaced children are protected before, during and after climate-related migration and displacement.

This is contained in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to the statement, there are 120 million displaced people at the end of 2023, with children and youth the invisible majority.

IOM said the partnership was signed at the 29th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP29) to emphasise the connection between children, young people and the future of the planet.

IOM stated, “The agreement formalised under a four-year Strategic Collaboration Framework will cover the period between 2024 and 2028 and build on the successful collaboration started in 2022. Millions of children are already being driven from their homes by weather-related events, exacerbated by climate change. From extreme heat to floods, droughts and hurricanes, the impacts of climate change and displacement continue to intensify. Climate change is not only an environmental issue; it is a protection crisis, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable children and families.’’

According to the UN Migration Agency, the renewed partnership recognises the need to address how climate change, migration and child rights intersect and to prioritise children’s protection and well-being.

The statement quoted Director General of IOM, Amy Pope, to have said that the impacts of climate change drove millions of children from their homes every year.

Pope said, “This renewed IOM-UNICEF partnership prioritises and strengthens the protection and well-being of the youngest and most vulnerable populations.”

UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell, said children and young people who have been uprooted by climate shocks in places such as the Horn of Africa, the Sahel and Southeast Asia have lived experiences and ideas.

Ms Russell said this had given them better ideas on mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

She said, “They must be partners in shaping solutions. Through this partnership, we will work for and with migrant and displaced children and youth to ensure their needs and priorities are included in climate policy and finance.”

IOM said the agreement also focuses on solutions to internal displacement, adding that numbers of internally displaced persons globally continue to rise year on year, with over 75 million people living in displacement by the end of 2023.

It is noted that as displacement becomes increasingly protracted, children were spending their entire childhoods displaced, often excluded from critical services and exposed to protection risks and discrimination.

The IOM stated, “IOM and UNICEF are committed to ensuring that prevention and solutions to displacement effectively address the needs and vulnerabilities of children.  
Governments, donors, development partners and the private sector should join forces to protect, include and empower children on the move for better outcomes for them. Stakeholders should ensure more resilient communities and countries today and tomorrow for displaced people.’’

(NAN)