REFUGIADOS AMBIENTAIS: POR UM ACORDO AMBIENTAL NA PROTEÇÃO DOS VULNERAVEIS CLIMÁTICOS.

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between human rights, the principle of human dignity, and environmental refugees in the context of climate change and normative gaps in international law. Based on the understanding of human rights as universal, indivisible, and interdependent, the study discusses the theory of generations proposed by Karel Vasak and further developed by Norberto Bobbio, highlighting that environmental refugees fall within the third generation of rights, associated with fraternity and collective rights. Grounded in the constitutional principle of human dignity, it is argued that those displaced due to environmental reasons, although not formally recognized as refugees under the 1951 Convention, are in a condition of extreme vulnerability and deserve both state and international protection. The article also examines current data on forced environmental displacements and advocates for a reformulation of the legal concept of refuge, proposing a broader and more inclusive approach that accounts for the impacts of the climate crisis. Finally, it emphasizes the urgent need for legal mechanisms that effectively safeguard the fundamental rights of these populations, based on the principles of non-refoulement, equality, and due process of law.