Document Type
Article
Disciplines
International Law
Abstract
Migration has occurred for as long as mankind has been on earth and has been triggered by environmental factors for just as long. However, as the threat of climate change increases, more and more people are migrating from their homes due to these environmental disasters. With this new influx of border-crossings, governments and policymakers must grapple with what to do. As it stands, the rights of asylum seekers expressed in international treaties focus on migrants fleeing conflict and violence. This has left a gaping hole for environmental migrants who are left without international protection. Despite the lack of protections under international law, there is still hope through the use of domestic constitutional law. By comparing the constitutions of France, Italy, Ecuador, and Mexico, this paper seeks to offer a simple equation to provide protection for environmental migrants: the constitutional right to asylum + the right to life + the right to a healthy environment = a roadmap to extending constitutional asylum rights to environmental migrants. The goal is that, with this equation, the rights of environmental migrants can become more universally recognized.
Recommended Citation
Aulds, Avery E., "Freedom of Movement: How the Constitutional Right to Asylum Paired With the Right to Life & the Right to a Healthy Environment Opens the Door for Environmental Migrants" (2024). Connecticut Journal of International Law. 651.
https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/cjil/651
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