Amy Pope, elected as the Director-General of the United Nations (UN) International Organization for Migration (IOM), said in a written statement that concrete actions will be taken to address the challenges of climate change and human mobility ahead of the African Climate Summit, which will be held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, on 4-6 September. he called.
Noting that the summit was the “biggest meeting” of African countries’ leaders, ministers, representatives of UN agencies, humanitarian and development partners, the private sector and young people in the history of the continent, Pope said the summit was an unprecedented meeting to address the growing impacts of climate change on human mobility in Africa. He said it would be an opportunity.
Pope said, “African countries are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and are experiencing the dire effects of the climate crisis, such as drought, floods, extreme temperatures and rising sea levels. In 2022, more than 7.5 million people in Africa will be displaced by natural disasters. It’s been recorded.” used the phrase.
105 million people in Africa could become climate migrants by year’s end
“We’ve officially entered the age of climate migration.” In his evaluation, Pope emphasized that there is an urgent need for solutions that will address the link between climate change and human mobility on a continental scale.
Reminding that the World Bank has reported that up to 105 million people may become internal migrants due to climate change in Africa by 2023, unless effective and sustainable actions are taken, Pope said that IOM can contribute to the sustainable struggle with the effects of climate change on Africa.
In the statement made by IOM in May, it was reported that IOM member countries have chosen Pope as the next director-general at the 6th Special Session of the IOM Council held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Pope will take over the post of Managing Director from Antonio Vitorino for a term of 5 years from 1 October.