Washington, DC -- Refugees International announced plans to establish
the Ken and Darcy Bacon Center for the Study of Climate Displacement
today. The Center will use Refugees International’s successful advocacy
model to work towards stronger policies and structures that meet the
needs of the tens of millions of people expected to be displaced by
climate change in the coming decades.
“I wanted to make this gift to ensure that Refugees International’s
mission can incorporate the global changes that will create
displacement in future years,” said Ken Bacon, president of Refugees
International since 2001, who is currently battling melanoma and is on
leave. “Climate change will force millions of people from their homes
and this will pose enormous challenges to an already stressed
humanitarian system. Refugees International is uniquely situated to
ensure these people don’t fall through the cracks.”
A generous donation by Ken and Darcy Bacon provided the seed money for
the new center, which will be a new program within Refugees
International. The UN Foundation, Refugees International board member
and actor Sam Waterston, and other members of RI’s board of directors
have matched their initial donation. Refugees International’s other
priorities include improving the global response to neglected crises
and internal displacement, increasing support for people who return
home when wars end, strengthening UN peacekeeping efforts, and
achieving citizenship for stateless people.
The most immediate threats from climate change are in the form of
storms of increasing intensity, such as Cyclone Nargis in Burma;
greater incidence of drought and floods that make traditional
livelihoods unsustainable; and increased conflicts over access to
limited resources. The war in Darfur derives, in part, from conflict
over scarce resources as the desert expands. Other dramatic impacts are
also predicted in the long term, such as the disappearance of island
states like the Maldives. Estimates of the numbers of people expected
to be displaced by climate change range from 50 million to 1 billion
over the next 50 years. By comparison, there are currently 41.2 million
people displaced by conflict.
“I am grateful to the UN Foundation, Sam Waterston and others who
support this vision to place Refugees International at the forefront of
this issue,” added Mr. Bacon. “Policy makers regularly rely on Refugees
International’s unbiased, field-based recommendations to resolve
refugee crises. Meeting the challenge of climate displacement will now
be our next step. When I came to Refugees International eight years
ago, one of my goals was to expand the scope of its work and I am proud
of how far we have come. This center will help us work with other
organizations on a critical challenge for the future.”
Refugees International advocates for lifesaving assistance and
protection for displaced people and promotes solutions to displacement
crises. The organization was started in 1979 to advocate for the
protection of Indochinese refugees. To learn more, including how to
support the Ken and Darcy Bacon Center for the Study of Climate
Displacement, go to:
www.refugeesinternational.org/climate-displacement .
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Contact: Vanessa Parra, 202-828-0110 x225;
Megan Fowler, 202-828-0110 x214
