Cairo –29 September 2022. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) today convened the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) official virtual side event aimed at ensuring better public understanding of the linkage between human mobility, climate change and disaster risks in fragile and conflict-affected counties in Africa. 

The event, “How the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus can support addressing the impacts of climate change on conflicts and human mobility in Africa”, brought Government Partners and international partners in a discussion about the climate change - human mobility linkages from the viewpoint of a humanitarian-development-peace nexus (HDPN) approach. 

Attended by Amy Pope, IOM Deputy Director General and high-level speakers from the African Union and representatives of Egypt and Cameroon as well as the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the event discussed the initiatives and good practices from the countries in Africa to address the linkages between human mobility, climate change, disaster risks, fragility and conflicts and Japan’s cooperation with Africa in supporting the HDPN approach in climate-vulnerable, fragile and conflict-affected countries. 

“Whilst TICAD 8 Tunis Declaration clearly recognizes the interlinkages between climate change, fragility and peace in Africa, IOM commend African countries for initiating actions to address fragility linked to climate change in order to ensure peace and stability in Africa,” said Amy Pope in her opening remarks. “IOM has been implementing a number of projects across Africa to address such challenges by using an HDPN approach, and Japan is the key donor and partner of IOM’s interventions. IOM is ready to support Africa’s efforts for addressing environmental and climate-related challenges that affect sustaining peace and stability in Africa.”

The Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) was held in Tunisia on 27-28 August 2022 and successfully concluded with the adoption of the Tunis Declaration. Climate change is referenced in all Three Pillars of the Tunis Declaration.

  
“The African Union, as the co-host of TICAD, welcomes IOM’s initiative in organizing this side event on the occasion of TICAD 8. Climate change adaptation and peace and stability in Africa are featured in the development aspirations of the Agenda 2063,” noted Mr. Harsen Nyambe Nyambe, the Director, of the Directorate of Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy at the African Union Commission. 

According to the World Bank’s Groundswell Report (2021), by 2050, without concrete climate and development action, just over 216 million people could move within their own countries due to the slow-onset impacts of climate change. This figure is estimated to be 19.3 million (representing 9% of the subregion’s projected population) for North Africa while 85.7 million (representing 4.2 % of the total projected population) for Sub Saharan Africa. 

For more information, please contact:

For MENA: mmabunajela@iom.int
For Africa: Eric Mazango emazango@iom.int