Refugees and internally displaced people who flee their homes due to environmental threats and far-going degradation which destroys their living conditions are not well-protected under international law. Refugee law focusses on political refugees. Establishing principals similar to the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) regime, (which is limited to genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing), could offer a solution for the lack of protection of environmental refugees. The obligation to establish this system could be based on the same obligation that forms the basis of the establishment of the R2P regime itself: the international obligation to prevent large scale suffering. This obligation corresponds with changed notions regarding state sovereignty and with the moral and legal obligations emanating from various human rights treaties. In first instance, according to R2P, the primary responsibility to take protective measures lies with the state itself. Secondly, the international community has a responsibility to assist. Lastly, the international community has a responsibility to respond duly and in a decisive manner when a state is unable or unwilling to provide protection for its citizens. The international community is equipped with a broad range of instruments under R2P that can be employed to protect environmental refugees. These instruments allow for custom-made solutions, which are absent in most traditional legal instruments
“The thing you read the most as a refugee when you start your integration programme is ‘pay’. The second thing is ‘You must complete’ and the third is ‘Take a test’. How at home would you feel if this was what you read and were told repeatedly? Are there other ways to assess if a person is becoming part of their community?” Nadine Blankvoort is passionate about being critical and questioning how our society functions, and not accepting things for what they seem. Her talk aims to explore the discourse that refugees in the Netherlands encounter while in the mandatory integration program. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
YOUTUBE
In het project ‘Musiceren in de tussentijd’ wordt onderzocht hoe muziekactiviteiten opgezet worden in migrantenopvangcentra in Nederland. Het onderzoek focust op de motivaties en benaderingen achter deze initiatieven, evenals de uitdagingen waarmee musici worden geconfronteerd wanneer ze in deze context werken.
Het project Muziek in Pekela heeft bijgedragen aan het creëren van draagvlak en wederzijdse integratie van AZC/AMV en de Pekelders. Muziek kan bewoners van een asielzoekerscentrum (AZC) en omwonende bevolking verbinden. De resultaten van het project Muziek in Pekela: AZC en Pekelders samen aan de slag! demonstreren talrijke positieve aanwijzingen die deze stelling onderschrijven. Door middel van het ontwikkelen en organiseren van muzikale activiteiten werd in het project getracht om bewoners van het AZC en de AMV-campus (Alleenstaande Minderjarige Vreemdelingen) in Oude Pekela met de Pekelder bevolking wederzijds beter te integreren. Het project Muziek in Pekela heeft bijgedragen aan het creëren van draagvlak en wederzijdse integratie van AZC/AMV en de Pekelders.
