Cross-Border Displacement Initiative

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Supporters

The Nansen Initiative was succeeded in 2016 by the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), currently chaired on a rotating basis by states (past chairs include Germany, Bangladesh, Fiji, France, and others). The PDD works to implement the Nansen Agenda's recommendations, support normative development, and integrate disaster displacement concerns into related policy processes, including the:

Opponents

For MUN delegates and researchers, the term signals a soft-law, bottom-up approach: rather than seeking a new binding treaty, states identify and disseminate good practices. Critics argue this leaves protection fragmented and discretionary; proponents argue it is politically realistic given resistance to expanding the refugee definition.

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In October 2015, 109 government delegations endorsed the Nansen Initiative's Protection Agenda in Geneva, formalizing a toolbox of practices for receiving people displaced across borders by disasters such as Cyclone Pam, which struck Vanuatu earlier that year.

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The Cross-Border Displacement Initiative is shorthand most commonly used for state-led processes addressing the protection gap faced by people who cross international borders due to disasters and the effects of climate change, who generally fall outside the 1951 Refugee Convention's definition of a refugee.

The most prominent example is the Nansen Initiative (2012–2015), a state-led consultative process co-chaired by Norway and Switzerland. It produced the Agenda for the Protection of Cross-Border Displaced Persons in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change, endorsed by 109 governmental delegations in Geneva in October 2015. The Agenda set out a "toolbox" of effective practices on humanitarian admission, temporary protection, planned relocation, and disaster risk reduction.

The Nansen Initiative was succeeded in 2016 by the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), currently chaired on a rotating basis by states (past chairs include Germany, Bangladesh, Fiji, France, and others). The PDD works to implement the Nansen Agenda's recommendations, support normative development, and integrate disaster displacement concerns into related policy processes, including the:

Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030)
Paris Agreement (2015), whose Task Force on Displacement under the Warsaw International Mechanism addresses climate-related mobility
Global Compact on Refugees and Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (both 2018)

These initiatives address the legal reality that people displaced across borders by sudden- or slow-onset disasters — flooding, drought, sea-level rise, tropical cyclones — are not automatically entitled to international protection under refugee law. They typically rely on humanitarian visas, free-movement agreements, or discretionary non-return measures.

For MUN delegates and researchers, the term signals a soft-law, bottom-up approach: rather than seeking a new binding treaty, states identify and disseminate good practices. Critics argue this leaves protection fragmented and discretionary; proponents argue it is politically realistic given resistance to expanding the refugee definition.

Frequently asked questions

Are people displaced across borders by climate disasters considered refugees?

Generally no. The 1951 Refugee Convention requires a well-founded fear of persecution on specific grounds. Disaster- and climate-displaced persons usually fall outside this definition and rely on humanitarian visas, regional instruments, or discretionary non-return.

What replaced the Nansen Initiative?

The Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), launched in 2016, took over implementation of the Nansen Protection Agenda. It is a state-led arrangement with rotating chairmanship and a secretariat hosted in Geneva.

Is the Nansen Protection Agenda legally binding?

No. It is a non-binding compendium of effective practices endorsed by states. Its strength lies in shaping national policies and integrating displacement concerns into the Sendai Framework, Paris Agreement, and the 2018 Global Compacts.

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Positions at a glance

Supporters

Opponents

Research it like a delegate

Ask a follow-up about Cross-Border Displacement Initiative

Go deeper than the definition

Take Cross-Border Displacement Initiative beyond the glossary

Research Cross-Border Displacement Initiative like a delegate

Positions at a glance

Supporters

Opponents

Research it like a delegate

Ask a follow-up about Cross-Border Displacement Initiative

Frequently asked questions

Are people displaced across borders by climate disasters considered refugees?

What replaced the Nansen Initiative?

Is the Nansen Protection Agenda legally binding?

Go deeper than the definition

Take Cross-Border Displacement Initiative beyond the glossary

Frequently asked questions

Are people displaced across borders by climate disasters considered refugees?

What replaced the Nansen Initiative?

Is the Nansen Protection Agenda legally binding?