UN urged to see climate change as security risk

UNITED NATIONS - An African woman whose people are nomads constantly searching for food and water told Security Council members on Wednesday they must consider climate change as a security risk that is fueling extremism, conflict and migration.

Hindou Ibrahim said in a speech to the council that climate change is affecting the daily lives of people in the vast Sahel region who depend on agriculture, fishing and livestock and are struggling to survive.

She said the scarcity of resources has fueled internal migration as well as migration through Africa to Europe, sparked local conflicts that become national and regional, and led to the growth of terrorist groups.