A/HRC/37/35 called for world leaders to commit to building a more just world that would be safe from the ravages of climate change for future generations. 28. In her remarks, the founder of the South American Network for Environmental Migrations, Erika Ramos, described the efforts of the network to give a face and a voice to the human dimension of climate change, disasters and environmental degradation in South America. Environmental migration, both internal and cross-border, was a reality on the American continents. Various regional bodies had highlighted the impact of climate change on human mobility and human rights. The recent hurricanes Irma, Marie and Jose in the Caribbean and North America illustrated these harmful effects. 29. In South America, climate events caused 80 per cent of disasters, which had the greatest impact on the vulnerable and the poor, including indigenous peoples and others whose livelihoods depended directly on a healthy environment. Migration was the option of last resort for most people negatively affected by climate change. There were insufficient regional and national policies and standards to address internal and cross-border movement in the region. Existing initiatives relating to cross-border displacement tended to be national, short-term and emergency-driven. Inadequate data on cross-border displacement caused by climate change and disasters were an obstacle to the development of regional solutions. The absence of measures recognizing and protecting environmental migrants resulted in migration through informal channels, which made the collection of accurate data difficult. This did not, however, stop migration; it only made migration more dangerous, increasing the risk to the human rights of migrants. 30. Ms. Ramos called for an integrated, collective response to environmental migration at the regional and domestic levels. The inter-American human rights system could play a key role in the promotion and protection of human rights for environmental migrants in the Americas through the development of protection standards, monitoring, hearings and other measures. Mechanisms could be developed to allow free movement in the region. Regional consultations could offer technical support and guidance to national Governments and support cooperation among them. Nationally, the systematization and improvement of existing practices, such as humanitarian visas issued by Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, among others, could be used to extend human rights protections to persons moving because of the adverse effects of climate change. At the vanguard on this issue, the Plurinational State of Bolivia had even specifically included a definition of climate migration in its migratory legislation. 31. In concluding, Ms. Ramos recommended the deployment of measures that could lead to the recognition of environmental migrants, including an index of environmental migration based on a participatory methodology to collect data that also pinpoints displaced communities or those at risk of being displaced; a regional protocol to provide care for persons displaced as a result of climate change; the harmonization of State actions and the activities undertaken by regional bodies; legal indicators to evaluate international guidelines in the domain of human mobility; the integration of climate change and disaster risk reduction in national and regional policies and standards; and the inclusion of environmental migration as a priority for protection bodies. B. Interactive discussion 32. Interventions were made during the plenary discussion by representatives of Bangladesh, Brazil, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Egypt, the European Union, Fiji, France, Germany, Haiti, Honduras, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Uganda, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Viet Nam. 33. Representatives of the International Organization for Migration, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Centre for International Environmental Law, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and Earthjustice also took the floor. 34. Speakers agreed that climate change had a negative impact on the enjoyment of a broad range of rights, including the rights to health, life, decent work, food, water and 6