Hague Declaration Progress Tracking

The Hague Declaration on Planetary Security was launched to support concrete steps to advance in the six action areas outlined in the Declaration. This website provides an overview of progress which has been made and presents actions and activities related to the Hague Declaration aiming to encourage further action on climate and security.

A briefing note summarising key results can be downloaded here

Khau Phạ Pass, Vietnam, Field
by Doan Tuan/Unsplash
Palm trees in a hurricane
by Photobank gallery/shutterstock
Displaced people carrying their possessions to a camp for Internally Displaced People in Somalia.
by Tobin Jones/UN Photo/flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
i
Somalia 2013. Carrying whatever possessions they can, women arrive at a camp for Internally Displced People (IDP) near Jowahr. Heavy rains in Somalia coupled with recend dashes between clans, have resulted in over four thousand IDPs seeking shelter. | © Tobin Jones/UN Photo
Crowded city
by João Lima/Flickr.com [CC BY-NC 2.0]; Jennifer Salahub/Twitter.com.
Lake Chad Basin, January 2017
by Espen Røst / Bistandsaktuelt/Utenriksdepartementet UD/flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
Walking through fields in Mali
by Curt Carnemark/World Bank/flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
A fishing boat in the Euphrates Southern Iraq
by Aziz1005/Wikimedia [CC BY 4.0]
Creating an Institutional Home for Climate Security
Action Area 1
Enhancing Coordination on Migration
Action Area 2
Promoting Urban Resilience
Action Area 3
Joint Risk Assessment in Lake Chad
Action Area 4
Climate and Conflict Sensitive Development in Mali
Action Area 5
Supporting Sustainable Water Strategies in Iraq
Action Area 6
The Hague Declaration

Methodology

Approach

The progress tracking of actions related to the Hague Declaration on this website wants to show 'what works', good practice and action that could be scaled up in terms of capacity, analysis or funding. This visualisation aims at encouraging more practical engagement on climate and security by illustrating successfully implemented actions. The actions presented here were not necessarily initiated because of the Hague Declaration but contribute to its objectives.

Survey Results

Information on the projects and activities presented on this website has been collected through an online survey. Please see this section for more information on the survey results.

Do you know of a project, approach or activity related to the Hague Declaration which is not yet presented on this website? Get in touch with us before 15 March 2019.

Action Area 1

Creating an Institutional Home for Climate Security

Climate change is increasingly recognised as a key factor contributing to global insecurity and conflict. Although the potential impacts of climate-related events on security are widely known, concrete and joint action in tackling climate-related security risks is only starting to take momentum. While the links between climate and security are global in nature, there is currently no institution that is systematically assessing climate-security risks or coordinating actions on these risks at the international level.

Photo by UN Photo/Manuel Elias
Vote in the UN Security Council
Photo by UN Photo/Manuel Elias
Photo by Trocaire/Isabel Corthier/Flickr.com (CC BY 2.0)
Photo by Trocaire/Isabel Corthier/Flickr.com (CC BY 2.0)

What the Hague Declaration is calling for

The Hague Declaration supports activities which encourage the creation of an institutional home for climate security within the UN, for example by appointing a special envoy for ‘climate security’ or establishing a unit within the UN Secretary-General's office

Housing in Bangladesh affected by Monsoon. | Photo by Climate Centre/Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0]
Housing in Bangladesh affected by Monsoon. | Photo by Climate Centre/Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0]

Overview of progress made on Action Area 1

Responsibilities for climate-related security risks still fall across different institutions within the United Nations systems with no single entity responsible for coordinating activities on joint risk assessment or risk management assistance. But since the launch of the Hague Declaration, the signatories of the Declaration brought climate-security before the United Nations Security Council at several occasions, and the links between climate, peace and security gained more prominence at the European level.

In March 2018, the United Nations Security Council, chaired by the Netherlands, adopted Resolution 2408 recognising the adverse effects climate change has on the stability of Somalia and emphasising the need for adequate risk assessments and risk management strategies. In July 2018, Hague Declaration signatory Sweden chaired the United Nations Security Council debate on climate-related security risks. The meeting discussed the relationship between climate change and conflict in two of the focus regions of the Hague Declaration, Lake Chad and Iraq.

On 25 January 2019 the Dominican Republic with support of Germany took over the torch of drawing attention to climate and security chairing an open debate in the United Nations Security Council on the impacts of climate-related disasters on security.

Significantly, three entities of the UN family in 2018 were tasked to start looking after how climate-security risks can be better taken into account in UN activities, and this so-called mini-mechanism could grow further in the future. A combined effort by DPA, UNDP and UN Environment, is now working to look after the climate-security nexus across the UN system and provide relevant inputs into policy, strategy and operational processes. Among UN member countries the Group of Friends on climate and security has been established, bringing together 27 nations with the aim to enhance actions on climate-related security risks within the United Nations system.

At the European level, the Hague Declaration was highlighted in the EU Council Conclusions on Climate Diplomacy as an example of how to translate climate and security analysis into action. In June 2018, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini hosted a high level event on Climate, Peace and Security: The Time for Action.

The work on creating an institutional home for climate security within the United Nations system will continue to gain momentum, for example a high-level conference on climate and security will take place in Berlin in June 2019.

In addition to the progress which has been made on climate and security at the international and European level since the launch of the Hague Declaration, there are projects and initiatives underway translating the progress at the policy level into actions on the ground.

Actions at policy level

See the actions
UN Security Council Chamber | © Zack Lee/flickr

Actions on the ground

See actions on the ground
© Matilda Moyo, UNAMID/Flickr [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]
Progress around Action Area 1 is supported by: