ABSTRACT
Attention turns to host states' obligations to protect environmentally displaced persons (EDPs). There is a lack of international consensus as to the status of EDPs for purposes of protection, so reviewing existing international protection standards is an important starting point. The formalistic reading of the international principle of state sovereignty dictates that states have no obligation to admit persons except under treaty obligations. The value of the Convention Related to the Status of Refugees in this context is that despite being an international agreement, it does not regulate "inter-state" but rather "state-individual" relations. Though it is important to determine EDPs' status under international law, ascertaining the evolution of the international protection regime, and inter alia host states' obligations, is equally important. Jane McAdam argues that refugee law protection comprises two features: the qualification threshold and rights attached to it. When environmental degradation is used as a "weapon" against a particular group, this "environmental cleansing" may constitute persecution, triggering refugee status.
