Amnesty International published a report on Wednesday that revealed alleged failures by Madagascar authorities to protect the indigenous Antandroy peoples from climate-related displacement since 2017, asserting that the failures violate fundamental rights.

The report, titled “That Suffering Haunts Me Even Here,” detailed the displacement of the Antandroy as a result of drought-induced famines. According to Amnesty’s investigations, roughly 63.4 percent of people in the Androy region faced food insecurity, including vulnerable groups of mothers, children, and the elderly. The rights group’s investigations found that the government failed to disclose the national budget allocated to addressing the climate change impact, including the droughts.

Amnesty International conducted research in six villages populated by Antandroy internally displaced peoples (IDP), learning that between 2018 and 2024, roughly 90,000 people were forced to make a 1,500km journey, from their ancestral lands in the South, to Boeny in the North of the country.

Those interviewed by the rights group revealed that, upon arrival in Boeny, the government provided no support once they were internally displaced and arrived in the North. Between April to July 2021, “the government forcibly evicted Antandroy people who had built homes or cultivated land” in areas bordering a national park. Amnesty International asserted that this was a violation of their human rights to adequate housing.

Resettlement sites built by the regional government were also reportedly inadequate, lacking access to essential services, with poor and dangerous living conditions.

In a press release, Amnesty International said that the government failed to address the 2021 forced evictions, the inadequacy of the 2023 resettlement scheme, and the lingering impact of French Colonialism on the Antandroy. The group called for the adoption of “comprehensive national and local strategies to address drought-induced displacements.”

The UN warns that climate change is “contributing to multiple and overlapping crises” and “threatening human rights.” Many international institutions are responding to the threat of displacement of small states and developing countries, many of which are disproportionately impacted by climate change. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), on July 23, 2025, ruled that states are obligated to protect the environment and observe the Paris Agreement on climate change. The ICJ outlined that states in breach of their obligations can be held legally responsible.