Senegal’s Forgotten Families: Nine Years of Displacement and Human Rights Abuses
In the coastal town of Khar Yalla, Senegal, approximately 1,000 families have been living in dire conditions for nine years, displaced from their homes on the Langue de Barbarie peninsula by devastating coastal floods. Despite promises of temporary relocation, these families have been abandoned by the authorities, their rights to an adequate standard of living, education, health, and cultural life consistently violated.
According to a recent report by Human Rights Watch, “Waiting for God: Flood Displacement and Planned Relocation of Fisherfolk in Saint-Louis, Senegal,” the Senegalese government has failed to provide essential services, including electricity, waste disposal, and access to education and healthcare, to the displaced families. The site, acknowledged by officials as unfit for permanent habitation, is plagued by severe overcrowding, flooding, and contamination of the water supply.
The report highlights the struggles of the Khar Yalla community, who have lost their fishing livelihoods and are struggling to adapt to their new circumstances. “Fishing is our whole life,” said one older man, emphasizing the cultural significance of their traditional occupation. Authorities have thwarted attempts by community leaders to retrain residents for new professions, leaving them without support or alternatives.
The Senegalese government’s failure to include the Khar Yalla families in a World Bank-funded planned relocation of 15,000 fisherfolk from the Langue de Barbarie to an inland site called Djougop has further exacerbated the situation. While over 200 families displaced in 2017 and 2018 were relocated to Djougop, those displaced in 2015 and 2016 were left behind, their rights ignored.
“Khar Yalla’s story shows that inadequate planning for climate-related relocations can lead to protracted displacement, instead of durable solutions,” said Erica Bower, climate displacement researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Senegal should urgently remedy the rights violations in Khar Yalla and develop policy to ensure that future climate-displaced communities receive adequate support, including through rights-respecting planned relocation.”
The report calls on the Senegalese government to ratify the Kampala Convention, which protects the rights of internally displaced people, and develop a policy on climate-related planned relocation that prioritizes meaningful consultation and establishes criteria for relocation site selection. The World Bank is also urged to reform its policies to address the unique needs of climate-displaced communities.
As the climate crisis accelerates, planned relocations will become increasingly common. It is essential that governments and international organizations prioritize the rights of those displaced, like the families in Khar Yalla, to ensure that they receive the support and protection they deserve.
