scholarly journals The Normative Influence of the UN Guiding Principles on the Kampala Convention in the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Francis M Deng ◽  
Romola Adeola

Abstract Over the last several decades, states have demonstrated significant political commitment towards advancing protection and assistance for internally displaced persons. A notable form in which this commitment has been reflected is in the emergence of normative standards, with the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (UNGP) as the guiding text. The fact that the UNGP framework has found expression in the landscape on internal displacement is evidenced at various levels of governance. Within the African context, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) draws on pertinent normative frameworks, with the UNGP as the leading framework. While this point is often made in general terms, this article focuses on the extent to which the norm on internal displacement has diffused and expanded within the African context.

Author(s):  
Romola Adeola

Abstract Contemporary forms of internal displacement in Africa significantly reflect the emerging footprints of non-state actors on the regional landscape of internal displacement. In recognition of the impact of these actors in the internal displacement context, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) specifically obligate states to regulate them in the prevention of arbitrary displacement. This is the central thrust of this article. This article examines the Kampala Convention from the perspective of non-state actors, considering the obligation of the state and the extent to which these actors may be held accountable, in the furtherance of protection and assistance of internally displaced persons (IDP s).


1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (324) ◽  
pp. 463-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Goldman

This past April the Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons, Francis M. Deng, presented to the UN Commission on Human Rights, at its 54th session, a report with an addendum entitled Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (hereinafter “Guiding Principles”). The Commission adopted by consensus a resolution co-sponsored by more than 50 States which, inter alia, took note of the decision of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee welcoming the Guiding Principles and encouraging its members to share them with their Executive Boards, and also of Mr. Deng's stated intention to make use of these principles in his dialogue with governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations. These principles are an important milestone in the process of establishing a generally accepted normative framework for the protection of the estimated 20 to 25 million internally displaced persons worldwide.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romola Adeola ◽  
Frans Viljoen

The African Union Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Convention is the first international treaty that recognises the right not to be arbitrary displaced in a legally binding instrument. This right gives rise to the corresponding duty on African state parties to protect their population against arbitrary displacement. In relation to the main root causes of internal displacement in Africa recognised under this binding instrument, this paper analyses the content of the right not to be arbitrary displaced and what states should do in order to prevent arbitrary displacement in line with their obligation under the IDP Convention.


2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 397-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Asplet ◽  
Megan Bradley

Known as the Kampala Convention, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa is the first regional treaty to comprehensively address the issue of internal displacement. Having entered into force with its fifteenth ratification on December 6, 2012, the Convention tackles a major humanitarian, human rights, and development issue for the African continent, as there are more than 9.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in sub-Saharan Africa alone. The treaty builds on the 1998 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, integrating international human rights and humanitarian law norms as they relate to internal displacement, and incorporating principles from African regional standards such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Great Lakes Protocol. While rooted in these standards, the Convention also reflects recent developments and the evolution of best practice regarding IDP protection. In so doing, the Convention advances the normative standard on internal displacement in a number of important areas, including in terms of the prohibition on arbitrary displacement; the responsibilities of international and regional organizations; internal displacement linked to the effects of climate change; and remedies for those affected by displacement.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (21) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Lobato Oliveira de Souza

O presente texto possui como ponto central o estudo da Soft Law como novo paradigma do cenário jurídico-normativo internacional, tratando especificamente do Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement como documento direcionado ao estabelecimento de padrões mínimos para a proteção dos deslocados internos (internally displaced persons), bem como a prevenção e solução dos problemas relativos ao internal displacement. Sustentando-se a tese de que tal documento constitui uma verdadeira “Constituição do subsistema parcial dos internally displaced”, analisa-o sob a ótica da Global Governance e do Transconstitucionalismo, defendendo, assim, sua normatividade, juridicidade e legitimidade plural e difusa.


1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (324) ◽  
pp. 545-556

These Guiding Principles address the specific needs of internally displaced persons worldwide. They identify rights and guarantees relevant to the protection of persons from forced displacement and to their protection and assistance during displacement as well as during return or resettlement and reintegration.


2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 295-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phil Orchard

Forcible displacement can constitute a mass atrocity crime. This is something that is considered within the non-binding Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. Efforts to implement the Guiding Principles at the regional level suggest one path to implement stronger legal protections for internally displaced persons (idps), in particular, against mass atrocity crimes. These regional processes, however, can vary in remarkable ways. In the African Union, the Kampala Convention has brought the Guiding Principles and protections against mass atrocity crimes directed at idps into regional hard law; it also includes robust implementation and enforcement mechanisms. At this stage, however, these mechanisms remain anticipatory rather than effective; consequently international assistance will be vital to entrench the rights anchored in the Convention. By contrast, asean has introduced no overt protections for idps. However, its developing legal human rights framework through the asean Declaration of Human Rights, coupled with the Association’s response to the Rohingya idp crisis in Myanmar, suggests that a policy-focused change, while incremental, may be happening.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-36
Author(s):  
Agbo Friday Ojonugwa

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are usually forced to flee or leave their homes, particularly in situations of armed conflict. They are displaced within their national territories and are generally subject to heightened suffering and vulnerability in many cases. It is also essential to state that the issue of internal displacement has become prominent because of the realisation that peace and reconstruction in conflict-ridden societies depend on the effective settlement and reintegration of displaced persons. Nigeria is a country that has a history of conflicts and displaced people. There has been a challenge in finding lasting peace through the employment of conflict resolution techniques and also the challenge of catering for the welfare of internally displaced persons in the country. However, peace and development without taking into account the settlement, return, and reintegration of IDPs. These desirous objectives are proving quite difficult in Nigeria as many challenges confront the government, policymakers, and humanitarian NGOs in providing the IDPs with their rights and needs. Some of the challenges can easily be overcome while some are more tasking requiring concerted efforts and massive resources to overcome. The aim of this article is to highlights the significant challenges confronting IDPs and provides some solutions to these challenges. In adopting the doctrinal method in discussions, the article finds that enormous challenges abound that confront IDPs in Nigeria, and it finds that there is the need for the government to find urgent solutions to the challenges of IDPs for the wellbeing of IDPs  


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-350
Author(s):  
Romola Adeola ◽  
Frans Viljoen

AbstractGiven the need for legislation to protect internally displaced persons, African Heads of State and Government adopted the Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa in Kampala in October 2009. The convention, which entered into force on 6 December 2012, is an important binding instrument on internal displacement. Article 10 of the convention requires states to prevent displacement caused by development projects, including climate-based development projects. This article examines the content of this obligation within the context of climate-based development projects.


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