Lilly Millette

Lilly Millette is a recent graduate from Boston College in Political Science and History. While she is from New York, she currently resides in Boston. 


Throughout her life, Lilly has carried a strong passion for environmental policy and has taken a series of courses throughout college to explore that passion. She hopes to utilize her understanding of the field to pursue a lifelong career advocating for an end to the fast fashion industry.

Lilly currently acts as the Digital Media Fellow for a think tank in Boston. She hopes to use her knowledge of social media to spread Earth Refuge’s message to a wider audience, as she believes the legal approach to climate-related migration will continue to be vital in seeking sustainable solutions to the issue of climate change as a whole.

Email: [email protected]

Dr. Rafiqul Islam

Md Rafiqul Islam Ph.D. is a Professor at the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. Aside from his Bachelor’s and MPhil, which he completed at the same university, he also holds a MA degree in Environmental Security and Peace from the Un-University for Peace in Costa Rica and a Ph.D. from Flinders University, Australia. His thesis secured the John Lewis Silver Medal in South Australia. Dr. Islam’s primary research interests are peace and conflict studies, displacement, and development. He also has a keen interest in global politics and security.

Dr. Islam is currently working as an Advisor of the Dhaka University Environmental Society (DUES) and volunteers for the greater cause of our earth, and humanity.

Charis Hesketh

Charis Hesketh is our Volunteer Coordinator. She graduated from the University of Sussex in 2021 with a master’s degree in International Human Rights Law. She specializes in Indigenous rights, specifically the rights of Indigenous women in Canada. She continues her work in human rights with the organization Earth Refuge, assisting with recruitment and HR. In her spare time, you can find her reading articles about critical race theory, watching Twilight for the millionth time, or trying to figure out what degree she should do next.

Email: [email protected]

Chile Prepares to Vote on New Constitution Recognising ‘Rights of Nature’

9 August 2022 – Cosmo Sanderson

The Chilean people are preparing to vote on a new constitution that would make the country only the second on earth to recognise the ‘Rights of Nature.’

The 4 September vote will see Chileans given the opportunity to radically overhaul their existing constitution, which was entered into in 1980 during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

The proposed new constitution enshrines in it the Rights of Nature, stating that:

Individuals and peoples are interdependent with nature and together, they are an inseparable whole. Nature has rights. The State and society have the duty to protect and respect them.

If approved, the constitution would reportedly make Chile the only country other than Ecuador to recognise such rights.

Chileans overwhelmingly voted to update their constitution in 2020, a year after a rise in public transport fees sparked a million-strong march in Santiago against inequality.

Last month, Chile’s constitutional assembly sent the final proposed text to President Gabriel Boric, kicking off a two-month campaign on whether to vote it into law. Aside from environmental protections, the new constitution places a fresh emphasis on social rights, gender equality and indigenous autonomy.

The fate of the new constitution hangs in the balance. A poll published late last month found that 47% of respondents plan to vote against the text, with 39% in favour of it and 14% undecided.

Reuters reports that the vote is being closely linked to Boric – the 36-year-old leftist former student protest leader – who took office in March and has been a strong advocate for constitutional reform. Boric has seen his support slump to 34% as of June 2022.

One of the groups most affected by global warming in Chile is its Monte Patria population in Limarí Province. Human rights think tank Climate Refugees reports that drought problems aggravated by global warming have forced many in the community to migrate to other areas in the country.

A Case Study of Tai O: Are Hong Kong’s Policies for Climate Change-Induced Displacement Adequate?

January 2021 – by Chloe Ching, Bella Lo, Maria-Coletta Huda, Nathan Burgard & Ioannis Kyriacou

The below field research was conducted by law students from the University of Hong Kong in collaboration with Earth Refuge’s Legal Education Department. Not many edits were made to maintain the authors’ tone of voice.

The gravity of the impact of climate change upon Tai O’s community speaks to the necessity for measures to be put in place to urgently safeguard the rights of those living there. In the aftermath of the 2008 typhoon, detailed research led to new policies being brought into force, designed to protect Tai O residents from future climate-induced harm. However, there is a scarcity of follow-up research in recent years, which provides little accountability to the affected population following the implementation of such policies.

The needs of Tai O residents, obtained through surveys and in-depth dialogues, were consolidated in Tai O under climate change: A preliminary study into the sophistication of emergency responses of Tai O residents, a report put together by the Carbon Care InnoLab, the Tai O Sustainable Development Education Workshop and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Disaster Preparedness and Response Institute, with the help of other NGOs such as the Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association (the “2016 report”). Focusing on accounts of the aftermath of Typhoon Hagupit, the detailed impacts of climate-change-induced typhoons are also documented in the 2016 report. 

Building upon the perspectives brought to light by the 2016 report, this field research examines whether existing policies that are meant to protect Tai O residents are adequate. Before concluding, this report will also briefly provide suggestions of improvement. In order to conduct this research, authors of this report met with two NGOs, Tai O Sustainable Development Education Workshop (“Tai O Workshop”) and Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Tai O Community Work Office (“YWCA”). They also talked to two representatives of the Tai O Rural Committee, which is the only officially-recognised bridge between the government and the community: Ho Siu-Kei, Chairman of the said Committee and an Ex-officio Member of the Islands District Council; Wong Yung-kan, Representative of Fishermen in the same committee (“Rural Committee”). These interviews were all conducted in Tai O in November 2021.

Ari Tellini

Ariana Vargas is a correspondent at Earth Refuge. She is a Costa Rican lawyer with a master’s in international law and Human Rights from University for Peace. She has always been interested in Climate Change and Climate Migration, but during a previous investigation she made during her classes at the University she realized the many challenges people being forced to flee their homes to feel safe are facing. That is why she has been involved with Earth Refuge to be able to help and make visible the consequences and impacts of this phenomenon on the population.

Email: [email protected]

Ben Chappelow

Benjamin Chappelow is a writer and analyst based in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. As an immigration researcher and former Narrative Writer for the Climate Resilience Toolkit, he is focused on how the stories we tell dictate our behavior in ecological crises. In his spare time, he enjoys writing fiction.

Email: [email protected]

Dave Inder Comar, Esq.

Dave Inder Comar is the managing partner of Comar Mollé LLP, a technology law firm with offices in San Francisco and New York, and Executive Director of Just Atonement Inc., a non-profit law firm dedicated to defending democracy, human rights, and a livable planet.

Licensed to practice law before the California and New York bars, Mr. Comar is passionate about using the law to maintain and preserve global civilisation. He believes that the response to climate change must alleviate enduring inequalities and lay the foundation for a world where people live in balance with themselves, each other, and the planet.

Email: [email protected]

Justine Lecoq

Justine Lecoq holds an LLB (hons) from City, University of London, an LLM in Human Rights Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and is currently completing a specialization in Migrations and Interculturality in Latin America. She also is a qualified Immigration Adviser for refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants in the UK.  

Justine has a strong interest in Migration, Human Rights, Refugee Law, Indigenous and Minority Rights, and Environmental Law. She has experience working and volunteering in various NGOs in the UK, France, Australia, and Ecuador. 

She has a passion for social justice and enjoys reading and hiking during her free time.  

Email: [email protected]

Olivia Lang

Olivia Lang is a Canadian student at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver pursuing an undergraduate degree in Human Geography and Law alongside a Masters of Business Management. Olivia aspires to become a human rights lawyer in the future with a focus on the intersection of the refugee crisis with environmental degradation. Currently, Olivia works on the legal research and social media teams at Earth Refuge in hopes of highlighting the compassion necessary to understand the human consequences of the climate crisis. In her spare time, Olivia can be found enjoying British Columbia’s beautiful nature by running, hiking and biking.

Email: [email protected]