Abstract
The displacement caused due to climate change and statelessness is considered a humanitarian crisis basically, which is driven by extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and environmental degradation in Asia. This study will analyze the legal challenges and solutions related to climate change-induced displacement and statelessness in Asia, specifically focusing on nations such as Bangladesh, the Maldives, and Myanmar among the most affected by climate change. The study’s objective is to identify the gaps in existing legal frameworks which cannot protect climate-displaced persons. While this research paper discusses the protection of climate-induced displaced persons under international and domestic legal regimes, under existing legal frameworks-which include the 1951 Refugee Convention and national immigration laws-such persons are not classified as refugees and therefore enjoy no special protections, and they continue to be vulnerable to statelessness, human rights violations, and exploitation. This qualitative research design shall apply a doctrinal legal analysis, complemented with case studies and in-depth interviews with professionals in the legal field, policymakers, and victims of statelessness. Drawing from the primary data that relates to international treaties, national laws, and judicial decisions, it undertakes a critical analysis of the existing legal landscape. Cases from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal are discussed, along with examples of what actually happens in real life because of the legal gaps that need to be reformed. The study proposes a wide array of legal solutions, from the expansion of existing refugee and statelessness definitions through the inclusion of climate-displaced persons to the creation of a new international legal instrument for climate-induced displacement, with integration of human rights-based approaches at the national and regional policies. This brings into focus a need for greater regional cooperation among Asian countries in setting common standards and legal regimes that address peculiar challenges of climate displacement and statelessness. This study, therefore, tries to contribute to the emergent discourse on climate justice by bringing the urgent need for comprehensive legal reforms that guarantee the protection of the rights of persons who have been displaced on account of climate factors in Asia.