United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Topic: Addressing the Prevalence of Climate Change on Affected Inhabitants

Country: Nigeria

Position Paper

Climate change has created a humanitarian and refugee crisis in Nigeria. The United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees defines a refugee as ‘a person who has been forced to
flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence.’ Environmental migrants are not
legally protected in the 1951 Convention on Refugees. Rising sea levels and droughts have
affected people around the world. In Pacific Island nations rising sea levels, cause many people
to become refugees. While, in Africa droughts put many people displaced.
This is a particular problem for Nigeria. Due to climate change, most parts of Nigeria,
with particular problems in Northeast Nigeria, have experienced drought and famine. Lake
Chad, the largest source of water for the area, has shrunk by 90% since the 1970s (Kingsley).
These climate problems have led to unemployment for thousands of fishermen and farmers, and
have created an economic crisis that has helped serve as a breeding ground for the terrorist
group, Boko Haram. (Doherty), The violence caused by the Boko Haram have caused hundreds
of thousand of Nigerians to flee. (Kingsley). Nigeria agrees with the Global Military Advisory
Council on Climate Change that climate change represents the greatest security threat of the 21st
century (Doherty). Nigeria has tried to act to help these problems. Nigeria has been fighting
Boko Haram to try and drive them out. Nigeria was a strong supporter of United Nations
resolution 2349 in 2017, that addressed the challenges presented by climate change and
ecological change, and their effects of the stability of Nigeria (“Security Council”).
However, Nigeria does not believe that these actions are enough. Nigeria requests
humanitarian aid that can help reduce the poverty and famine that is helping Boko Haram.
Nigeria also requests United Nation Peacekeepers who can maintain access to the waterways that
are left. Finally, Nigeria requests that the United Nations create programs to help eliminate CO2
emissions, and reduce global climate change.
 MLA Citations
Doherty, Ben. “Climate change will fuel terrorism recruitment, report for German foreign
office says.” The Guardian. 19 April 2017.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/apr/20/climate-change-will-fuel-
terrorism-recruitment-adelphi-report-says. Accessed 14 April 2018.
Kingsley, Patrick. “The small African region with more refugees than all of Europe.” The
Guardian,The Guardian, 26 Nov, 2016,
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/26/boko-haram-nigeria-famine-
hunger-displacement-displacement-climate-change-lake-chad. Accessed April
2018.
“Security Council Strongly Condemns Terrorist Attacks, Other Violations in Lake Chad
Basin Region, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2349 (2017).” The United
Nations, The United Nations, 31 March, 2017,
https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc12773.doc.htm. Accessed April 2018.