Led by Uganda at COP27, 15 African nations have launched and signed The Kampala Declaration – a demand for action on climate-driven migration.
In 2021 2.6 million people living in communities in sub-Saharan Africa were forced to leave their homelands due to drought, desertification, flooding, landslides and other environmental deterioration. Mass migration such as this, The Kampala Declaration warns, bears significant social and economic threats, with the potential for ‘overwhelmed cities and swamped borders’.
The Kampala Declaration – which was negotiated and drawn up in the Ugandan capital in July – has now been signed by 14 other nations from East Africa, the Horn of Africa and North Africa, with further support from Egypt, Senegal, Algeria and Zambia.
It lays out a list 13 of urgent actions, including: financial investment in circular and green economies and improved infrastructure; and the adoption of indigenous African knowledge to navigate adverse weather events.
Uganda’s Minister of Environment, Beatrice Anywar, opened an official launch event for the Declaration at COP27 with a pledge that the Kampala Declaration would ‘focus attention on overlooked victims of environmental turmoil’.
We can no longer turn a blind eye and say human mobility is not part of the problems caused by climate change
“The Kampala Declaration shows we can no longer turn a blind eye and say human mobility is not part of the problems caused by climate change,” Anywar said yesterday. “This Declaration focuses on the most vulnerable and makes sure no-one is left behind.”
Ruth Ssentamu Nankabirwa, Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, was also present at the event, hosted within the Global Centre for Climate Mobility’s pavilion. She commented: “In Uganda we have 1.5 million refugees. They scramble for wood, they scramble for water, they scramble for land. But we don’t want to call them refugees; these people are our brothers and sisters and I suspect many have been displaced by climate change.” Ssentamu Nankabirwa said she hopes The Kampala Declaration will come to be regarded as a COP27 legacy’ and secure support from more nations within Africa and beyond in the coming years.
On signing the Declaration Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni said: “Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. The commitment we have made today is our first landmark, strengthening our cooperation in relation to climate change-induced mobility and its associated effects.”
