scholarly journals The Protection of Internally Displaced Children in Africa: A Doctrinal Analysis of Article 23(4) of the African Children's Charter

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Romola Adeola ◽  
Benyam D Mezmur
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Refugee Children ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Welfare Of The Child ◽  
Displaced Children ◽  
African Charter

Abstract This article considers the protection of, and assistance for, internally displaced children (IDCs) in Africa. Internal displacement has become one of Africa's most pressing human rights challenges. Over the last decade, millions of persons have been internally displaced on the continent by conflict, disaster and other causes. Children are one of the most affected categories of persons, given the implications of displacement for them. Article 23(4) of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child incorporates specific protection for IDCs. This article examines the protection of IDCs in the context of this regional framework. It argues that, while article 23(4) requires that both refugee children and IDCs should be accorded the same protection from a rights-based perspective, it also requires that the protection of IDCs should be construed with reference to the Kampala Convention, which is the most recent applicable regional regime governing internal displacement.

A Critical Analysis of the Kampala Convention from a Children’s Rights Perspective

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charissa E Fawole
Keyword(s):  
Children's Rights ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Children’S Rights ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
African Union ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Rights Of The Child ◽  
Displaced Children ◽  
African Charter

Abstract A notable proportion of the persons living in situations of internal displacement in Africa are children. Despite the near-universal ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the wide ratification of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child among States in Africa, it is not clear the extent to which the ratification of these treaties has influenced the region’s legal framework for the protection and assistance of internally displaced children. This contribution addresses this issue through its analysis of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa from a children’s rights perspective. While the Convention does incorporate some principles of a children’s rights perspective, the analysis reveals that there are some inadequacies regarding the Convention’s overall incorporation of a children’s rights perspective. Based on the analysis, this contribution provides recommendations to use a children’s rights perspective to implement the Convention.

Access to Justice for Internally Displaced Persons: The Global Legal Order

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Ndimurwimo ◽  
Leonard Opara
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Teaching Methodology ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Economic Assistance ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced

Internally displaced persons are people who are uprooted from their social, economic, cultural and educational environment and made squatters or homeless within the jurisdiction of their own country. They consequently have no permanent place of abode. Internal displacement therefore becomes a situation that deprives individuals of access to justice and leads to violations of the human rights of categories of citizens. For example, women, children and the elderly are more vulnerable and lack social-economic assistance from their loved ones and family support because of their internal displacement. Their situation denies them access to justice from several perspectives, such as being in a state of despair, instability and uncertainty. This article examines the ways in which the domestication of the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa of 2009 (the Kampala Convention) and clinical legal education can be used to promote access for internally displaced persons to justice and basic human rights. In this regard, the article further analyses access to justice for internally displaced persons through the teaching methodology of clinical legal education in African legal jurisprudence. Finally, the article recommends the involvement of legal clinicians and other practitioners as advocates of internally displaced persons’ access to justice, respect for human rights and the rule of law as a requirement for the domestication of the Kampala Convention by Member States in Africa.

In Lieu of a Travaux Préparatoires: A Commentary on the Kampala Convention for IDPs

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 349-378
Author(s):  
J O Moses Okello
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
The Body ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
The Public ◽  
Personal Involvement

Abstract The Kampala Convention was adopted on 23 October 2009 and came into force on 4 January 2013. The first binding international instrument for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons, it occupies an important space among the body of African regional humanitarian and human rights law. The Convention addresses all stages of internal displacement and provides a framework for coordinating activities by governments and humanitarian actors aimed at preventing and addressing internal displacement. The Kampala Convention is the result of many years of work, although no formal records of its drafting and negotiation were kept. This article contributes towards addressing this gap. Based on the author’s personal involvement in the Convention’s drafting, and supplementing earlier research, this article shares information previously unavailable in the public domain and provides a commentary on some of the Convention’s provisions.

Codification of international rules on internally displaced persons: An area where both human rights and humanitarian law considerations are being taken into account

1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (324) ◽  
pp. 463-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Goldman
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Guiding Principles ◽  
Executive Boards

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.

Internal displacement: global trends in conflict-induced displacement

2009 ◽  
Vol 91 (875) ◽  
pp. 491-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina M. Birkeland
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Displaced Populations ◽  
The World ◽  
High Figure ◽  
Guiding Principles

AbstractAt the end of 2008, the number of people internally displaced by conflict, generalized violence or human rights violations across the world stood at 26 million, a record high since the IDMC started to monitor internal displacement in 1998. This high figure remains in spite of the growing recognition and implementation of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. This article presents the findings of the latest IDMC survey on trends in internal displacement, challenges faced by displaced populations, and the measures taken to address these.

The African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention)

2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 397-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Asplet ◽  
Megan Bradley
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
African Union ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Sub Saharan

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.

scholarly journals The Foundations of Rights in the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child: A Historical and Philosophical Account

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thoko Kaime
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Law ◽  
Children's Rights ◽  
Children’S Rights ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Philosophical Account ◽  
Welfare Of The Child ◽  
African Context ◽  
African Charter ◽  
Special Category

AbstractThis article examines the cultural-based critiques of the international human rights paradigm generally and children's rights in particular, with specific reference to Africa. In this regard, the paper attempts to identify gaps in the analyses of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. Towards that end, the paper proceeds in three parts. In the first section, it situates the discussion within the general framework of children's rights at international law. In the next section, it turns to an examination of the culture-based critiques of the idea of universal rights. Finally, in the fourth and fifth sections, it analyses the documents and literature that focus on the rights and welfare of the child. In the concluding section, the author raises several important questions regarding the propriety of this special category of human rights in the African context.

scholarly journals The African Children's Charter and ending corporal punishment of children in Africa: A work in progress

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Vohito
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Corporal Punishment ◽  
Children's Rights ◽  
Children’S Rights ◽  
Violence Against Children ◽  
Thirtieth Anniversary ◽  
Welfare Of The Child ◽  
African Charter ◽  
Legal Barriers

SUMMARY Corporal punishment is the most common form of violence against children worldwide, including in Africa. Corporal punishment violates children's rights to respect for their human dignity and physical integrity. The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child provides for every child's right to be protected from violence and ill-treatment. The African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and other human rights bodies consistently examine states on their progress towards prohibiting and eliminating corporal punishment. In the context of the thirtieth anniversary of the African Children's Charter, this article aims to examine the progress made towards the prohibition and elimination of corporal punishment of children in all settings, in Africa. It highlights the challenges and shortcomings in implementing this campaign in Africa. The role of the African Children's Committee in promoting and protecting the human rights imperative to prohibit corporal punishment of children is also examined, especially as regards the legal barriers to end the corporal punishment of children in Africa. Key words: African Children's Charter; children's rights; corporal punishment; Agenda 2040

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