Climate Refugees Cannot Be Forced Home, U.N. Panel Says in Landmark Ruling

Climate refugees cannot be sent home, the U.N. Human Rights Committee ruled in a landmark judgment.

“The decision sets a global precedent," Kate Schuetze, Amnesty International’s Pacific Researcher said Monday, in response to the news. "It says a state will be in breach of its human rights obligations if it returns someone to a country where – due to the climate crisis – their life is at risk, or in danger of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment triggered.