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Journals / Uluslararası Suçlar ve Tarih / 2026 / Sayı: 27

INTERNATIONAL STATUS OF CLIMATE REFUGEES: STATE CLIMATE RESPONSIBILITY AND MIGRATION LAW

İKLİM MÜLTECİLERİNİN ULUSLARARASI STATÜSÜ: DEVLETİN İKLİM SORUMLULUĞU VE GÖÇ HUKUKU

Zeynep Deniz Altınsoy(Bilecik Şeyh Edebali Üniversitesi)0000-0002-0335-3181
Pages
113–148
Publication Date
2026-03-13
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

In this context, developing new normative frameworks for the protection of climate refugees is essential to achieving environmental justice.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Climate change has increasingly become a global threat that triggers forced migration movements.
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Key Findings & Data:The current refugee definition, focused on persecution-based causes, excludes climate migrants-creating a significant normative gap.
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Conclusion & Impact:In this context, developing new normative frameworks for the protection of climate refugees is essential to achieving environmental justice.
🔬Design:Araştırma Makalesi
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:İklim mültecileri · Uluslararası hukuk · Göç hukuku

Abstract

Climate change has increasingly become a global threat that triggers forced migration movements. Rising sea levels, droughts, and extreme weather events compel millions to abandon their homes. Yet, the international legal system fails to recognize these individuals as refugees and excludes climate-induced displacement from formal protection frameworks. This legal invisibility not only marginalizes climate victims but also obscures the relationship between state responsibility and migration law. The current refugee definition, focused on persecution-based causes, excludes climate migrants-creating a significant normative gap. This article argues that states must expand their legal obligations in line with their contributions to the climate crisis and that individuals displaced by environmental factors should be granted an internationally recognized status. In this context, developing new normative frameworks for the protection of climate refugees is essential to achieving environmental justice.

Özet

İklim değişikliği, giderek artan biçimde zorunlu göç hareketlerine neden olan küresel bir tehdit haline gelmiştir. Deniz seviyesine yükselmesi, kuraklık, aşırı hava olayları gibi çevresel krizler, milyonlarca insanı yaşadıkları yerleri terk etmeye zorlamaktadır. Ancak uluslararası hukuk sistemi, bu kişileri mülteci statüsüne dahil etmemekte ve iklim kaynaklı yerinden edilmeleri hukuki koruma kapsamı dışında bırakmaktadır. Bu durum, iklim mağdurlarını görünmez kılarken, devletlerin çevresel sorumlulukları ile göç hukuku arasındaki ilişkiyi belirsizleştirmektedir. Mevcut mülteci tanımı, “zulüm temelli nedenlere” odaklandığı için iklim göçmenlerini dışlamakta; bu da ciddi bir normatif boşluk yaratmaktadır. Makale, devletlerin iklim krizine katkıları doğrultusunda hukuki yükümlülüklerinin genişletilmesi gerektiğini ve iklim nedeniyle yerinden edilen bireylerin uluslararası düzeyde tanınan bir statüye kavuşturulmasının hem etik hem de hukuki bir zorunluluk olduğunu ileri sürmektedir. Bu bağlamda, iklim mültecilerinin korunmasına yönelik yeni normatif çerçevelerin geliştirilmesi, çevresel adaletin sağlanması açısından hayati önem taşımaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Altınsoy, Z. D. (2026). INTERNATIONAL STATUS OF CLIMATE REFUGEES: STATE CLIMATE RESPONSIBILITY AND MIGRATION LAW. Uluslararası Suçlar ve Tarih, Sayı: 27, 113–148. https://doi.org/10.54842/ustich.1887967

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