Foreword to the Report from the The Nansen Conference

Today we are witnesses to heartbreaking scenes as thousands of hungry and hurt people of Somalia flee their country to end in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. After more than twenty years of armed conflict, and with the absence of a functioning state, local communities in Somalia have been made particularly vulnerable to the natural hazards that climate change is making even worse.

To the Nansen Conference in Oslo, 5-7 June 2011, the Norwegian Government, in partnership with the Norwegian Refugee Council and the Centre for Climate and Environmental Research, had invited civil society and authorities, scientists, humanitarian and development practitioners from affected and engaged countries to explore the roads that might lead out of the double predicament of climate change and forced migration.

Robust laws, sound frameworks and treaties are one of these roads. This year we are commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Refugee Convention and the 50th anniversary of the Statelessness Convention. Norway joins other states and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in renewing our commitment to assisting refugees and internally displaced persons.

Emerging global trends are compelling us to look at the broad picture of migration. Climate change is the big amplifier: Natural disasters are becoming more disastrous. Livelihoods are eroding faster. Larger numbers of people are being forced to move.

People forced to move is a powerful reminder that urgent action is needed to reduce climate change. We need deep cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions to start mitigating climate change effectively.

As climate-related natural hazards are already on the rise around the world, the most important issue is prevention.

Preventing disasters and building resilient communities are fundamentally a political challenge that requires political solutions.

The dramatic situation in Somalia today illustrates that the people need more aid, but above all, they need peace and a functioning state that can safeguard people’s basic needs. They need security, health and education and someone who can implement measures to prevent and manage future droughts.

On the 150th anniversary of his birth, we wished to honour Fridtjof Nansen’s legacy as a scientist, polar explorer and international humanitarian.

We proposed that the Nansen Conference could discuss and recommend a common set of broad principles – the Nansen Principles – that should underpin actions to prevent or manage displacement, and protect displaced people in the face of climate change.

We believe that the ten Nansen Principles, extending succinctly from the summary provided by the very able chairperson of the conference, represent an important contribution to responding better to climate change and displacement.

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More information: The Conference' web site.