FROM VULNERABILITY TO INJUSTICE: RETHINKING LEGAL FRAMEWORKS FOR CLIMATE-INDUCED DISPLACEMENT IN SOUTH ASIA"

Abstract

Climate change is a growing driver of human displacement, particularly in climate-vulnerable regions such as South Asia. With increasing frequency and intensity of floods, droughts, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events, millions are being uprooted from their homes. Despite this escalating crisis, the existing international and national legal frameworks remain fragmented and insufficient in protecting the rights and dignity of climate-displaced populations. This study critically examines the legal, political, and historical dimensions of climate-induced displacement in South Asia, focusing on India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. It evaluates the extent to which international human rights and refugee frameworks—such as the 1951 Refugee Convention, the ICCPR, and the Paris Agreement—address displacement caused by environmental factors. It also assesses national legislative responses, revealing the absence of comprehensive legal recognition or protection for climate-displaced persons within domestic systems. Employing doctrinal legal analysis, comparative case studies, and historical contextualization, this research identifies key legal gaps, institutional weaknesses, and political impediments. It explores how colonial legacies, partition-era migration, and contemporary regional rivalries influence state reluctance to enact meaningful displacement laws. The study further interrogates the limitations of soft law and the challenges of applying existing refugee definitions to climate-related migration. The paper concludes that current legal mechanisms are inadequate and argues for the development of a dedicated international legal instrument to ensure rights-based protection and long-term solutions for climate-displaced communities. In doing so, it contributes to broader debates on climate justice, legal reform, and human rights in the Anthropocene.