Morocco has called for the conduct of a census and registration of all refugees displaced by climate change in Africa in order to ensure that they are not exploited.
Morocco’s Permanent Representative to the African Union and UNECA, Mohamed Arrouchi, made the call during a meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) on the theme “Climate Change, Peace and Security in Africa”.
Arrouchi said that the increasing disproportionate impacts of climate change on Africa continue to pose a serious challenge to its socio-economic development, hence the need to conduct the census and registration of refugees to ensure that they are protected from any kind of exploitation.
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He maintained that there was an urgent need to support and strengthen the three climate commissions established at the COP22 held in Marrakech in 2016, in order to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement throughout Africa, focusing on the Sahel region, the Congo Basin and African island states.
“We are calling for a comprehensive approach to address the challenges posed by climate change and which interfere with peace and security on our continent,” he said, adding that the number of refugees is likely to reach 250 million people due to climate change in the continent.
He further called for the implementation of the relevant decisions of the conference which request the AU Commission to ensure the civilian character of the camps, the protection, census and registration of refugees and displaced persons and their protection against any form of exploitation.
Story was adapted from the North Africa Post.
