Every year around the world, millions of people are forcibly displaced by floods, windstorms, earthquakes or droughts. Many find refuge within their own country but some have to go abroad. In the context of climate change, such movements are likely to increase. National and international responses to this challenge are insufficient and protection for affected people remains inadequate.

In view of this protection gap, there is a need for an intergovernmental process to address the challenges of cross-border displacement in the context of disasters and climate change. Launched in 2012 by Switzerland and Norway, the Nansen Initiative is a state-led consultative process to build consensus on a Protection Agenda addressing the needs of people displaced across borders in the context of disasters and climate change.

To feed the Nansen Initiative process with good practices and build a sound knowledge base, regional consultations already took place in the Pacific, Central America, the Horn of Africa, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The results of the consultations will be consolidated and discussed at a global intergovernmental consultation in Geneva in October 2015.