scholarly journals The Kampala Convention and the Protection of Persons Internally Displaced by Harmful Practices in Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Romola Adeola
Keyword(s):  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
The State ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Explicit Mention ◽  
Durable Solutions ◽  
The Many ◽  
Context Specific

Abstract Arguably the least discussed root cause of internal displacement, harmful practices are a prevalent concern in many African societies. The explicit mention of harmful practices is one of the many innovations of the Kampala Convention and reinforce its forward-looking, context-specific focus on Africa. This article argues that the convention has an absolute prohibition of harmful practices. This is an important starting point from which to discuss the content of states’ obligation to set measures for preventing harmful practices. However, in the event that displacement occurs due to these practices, it is important that protection, humanitarian assistance and durable solutions are provided. This article argues that states must set measures for ensuring that non-state actors are held accountable in the event that they orchestrate harmful practices. In fostering compliance, this article argues that there is an important role for institutions beyond the state, particularly those emphasized under article 14 of the convention.

The Constitutional Principle of Accountability: A Study of Contemporary South African Case Law

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuks Okpaluba
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Principle ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Law ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Many

‘Accountability’ is one of the democratic values entrenched in the Constitution of South Africa, 1996. It is a value recognised throughout the Constitution and imposed upon the law-making organs of state, the Executive, the Judiciary and all public functionaries. This constitutional imperative is given pride of place among the other founding values: equality before the law, the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution. This study therefore sets out to investigate how the courts have grappled with the interpretation and application of the principle of accountability, the starting point being the relationship between accountability and judicial review. Therefore, in the exercise of its judicial review power, a court may enquire whether the failure of a public functionary to comply with a constitutional duty of accountability renders the decision made illegal, irrational or unreasonable. One of the many facets of the principle of accountability upon which this article dwells is to ascertain how the courts have deployed that expression in making the state and its agencies liable for the delictual wrongs committed against an individual in vindication of a breach of the individual’s constitutional right in the course of performing a public duty. Here, accountability and breach of public duty; the liability of the state for detaining illegal immigrants contrary to the prescripts of the law; the vicarious liability of the state for the criminal acts of the police and other law-enforcement officers (as in police rape cases and misuse of official firearms by police officers), and the liability of the state for delictual conduct in the context of public procurement are discussed. Having carefully analysed the available case law, this article concludes that no public functionary can brush aside the duty of accountability wherever it is imposed without being in breach of a vital constitutional mandate. Further, it is the constitutional duty of the courts, when called upon, to declare such act or conduct an infringement of the Constitution.

scholarly journals Geographies of Doing Nothing–Internal Displacement and Practices of Post-Disaster Recovery in Urban Areas of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Alexandra Titz
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Kathmandu Valley ◽  
Reconstruction Process ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Secondary Displacement ◽  
Displaced People ◽  
Durable Solutions ◽  
Post Disaster

Disaster-related internal displacement is on the rise in many countries and is increasingly becoming an urban phenomenon. For many people, as in the case of the earthquake disaster 2015 in Nepal, protracted or multiple disaster displacements are a lived reality. While the drivers of displacement are relatively well understood, significant uncertainties remain regarding the factors that trigger prolonged or secondary displacement and impede ending of displacement or achieving durable solutions. The purpose of this article is to illustrate and theorise the discourse of reconstruction and return that shapes experiences, strategies, and policies in order to gain a better understanding of the obstacles to pursuing durable solutions that are still shaping the reality of life for urban internally displaced people (IDPs) in Kathmandu Valley. I use the concepts of ‘fields of practice’ and ‘disaster justice’ to provide insights into the theorisation of the links between social inequality, structural forms of governance, and the reconstruction process itself. Findings demonstrate that the application of these concepts has great potential to expand our understanding of ‘realities of life’ and practices of IDPs, and thus contribute to a more differentiated evidence base for the development and implementation of appropriate disaster risk reduction policies and practices.

Bridging the Accountability Gap in the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons: Non-State Actors Under the Kampala Convention

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Romola Adeola
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
African Union ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Regional Landscape ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Accountability Gap ◽  
The Impact

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).

Strengthening the Norms of Global Responsibility: Structural Violence in Relation to Internal Displacement and Statelessness

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey N. Kingston ◽  
Saheli Datta
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Physical Violence ◽  
Structural Violence ◽  
International Community ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Global Responsibility ◽  
Cultural Violence ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Large Populations

Norms of global responsibility have changed significantly since the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and today’s international community critically considers responsibilities within and beyond state borders, as evidenced by the adoption of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine. From this starting point, protection must be extended to large populations susceptible to structural violence – social harms resulting from the pervasive and persistent impact of economic, political and cultural violence in societies. In order to show the potential of expanded conceptions of global responsibility, this article proceeds as follows: First, a discussion of the evolving concepts of responsibility outlines a shift in thinking about sovereignty that creates a multilayered system of responsibility. This section defines key concepts and highlights an ‘unbundled R2P’ framework for approaching structural violence. Second, an overview of two vulnerable populations – internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the stateless – illustrates that large-scale cases of state abuse and neglect are not limited to acts of physical violence, and that pervasive structural violence requires further attention from the international community. Lastly, recommendations are provided for expanding the scope of global responsibility in order to assist the internally displaced and the stateless. These recommendations address who is responsible, when global responsibility is warranted, and how such responsibility should be implemented.

Palestinian Refugees in International Law

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albanese Francesca P ◽  
Takkenberg Lex
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
The State ◽  
International Criminal Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
International Protection ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Palestinian Refugees ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
Durable Solutions ◽  
Second World

The Palestinian refugee question, resulting from the events surrounding the creation of the state of Israel seventy years ago, remains one of the largest and most protracted refugee crises of the post-Second World War era. Numbering over six million in the Middle East alone, Palestinian refugees’ status and treatment varies considerably according to the state or territory ‘hosting’ them, the UN agency assisting them, and political circumstances surrounding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict these refugees are naturally associated with. Despite being foundational to both the experience of the Palestinian refugees and the resolution of their plight, international law has not been a decisive factor in discussions concerning their fate. This compelling new edition offers a clear and comprehensive analysis of various areas of international law (including refugee law, human rights law, humanitarian law, the law relating to stateless persons, principles related to internally displaced persons, as well as notions of international criminal law), and probes the relevance of their interplay to the provision of international protection for Palestinian refugees and their quest for durable solutions.

scholarly journals Sovereignty, Internal Displacement And Right Of Intervention: Perspectives From The African Union’s Constitutive Act And The Convention For The Protection And Assistance Of Internally Displaced Persons

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shedrack Ekpa ◽  
Nuarrual Hilal Md Dahlan
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
State Violence ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Human Rights Protection ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

The end of the cold war and the beginning of the new millennium brought with it a new phase in state relations in Africa as more persons became forcefully uprooted from their homes and their rights violated with impunity due to intractable internal conflicts amidst the Westphalian notion of sovereignty which frowns at interference in the internal affairs of any state which was the fulcrum upon which the United Nations (UN) and Organization of African Unity (OAU) was founded. This new awakening has increasingly made perception of sovereignty to be people oriented. In the case of the Africa which is the crux of this paper, the eventual change from OAU to AU was significant as the coming into force of African Union’s Constitutive Act and the Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons climaxed major twist in the Africa’s perception of sovereignty and the right of intervention in relation to internally displaced persons (IDPs) within the continent. This article examines briefly the historical evolution of the concept of sovereignty and the right of intervention and their implications in the African context, and being conceptual and doctrinal in approach it analyses the context and legality of the African Union’s right of intervention arising from the regional treaties vis-à-vis the United Nations Charter with a view to vindicating the much celebrated ‘decisive break from the past’. It concludes that African Union’s current stance represents a bold and grandiose expression that is sincerely tailored towards ensuring effective human rights protection and humanitarian assistance for over 13 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Africa. Finally, the article contributes significantly to the scholarly debates surrounding right of intervention in relation to internal displacement as its resolution will in one or the other helps government and other stakeholders in their quest to curtail the scourge of intra and inter-state violence in Africa. Keywords: African Union, Sovereignty, Intervention, Internally Displaced Persons, State Responsibility

scholarly journals Dynamic Coordination of Internal Displacement: Return and Integration Cases in Ukraine and Georgia

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4123
Author(s):  
Oleg Bazaluk ◽  
Svitlana Balinchenko
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Dynamic Coordination ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Durable Solutions ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Hybrid War ◽  
Russian Military ◽  
Coordination Patterns

The conflict-related internal displacement in Ukraine since 2014, after the armed combats with Russian military forces backing the separatist administrations, as well as the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation have not been state-organized. They imply a range of personal choices depending on civil positions and destinations for resettlement; therefore, the affected persons get involved in the consequent practical discourses and decision-making processes. Based on the legislative acts and the international reports on internal displacement, the internal displacement due to the current hybrid war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is compared with the first Russia-backed separatist conflicts after the collapse of the USSR—the wars in South Ossetia, in 1992, and in Abkhazia, in 2008. The internal displacement situations have been reviewed through their dynamic coordination patterns, with regard to non-equilibrium transitions, fluctuations, and adaptations triggered on the systemic, community, and personal levels, as well as to the expected durable solutions: integration, return, temporary resettlement. Therefore, we suggest, for further discussion, the patterns of bistability—for the internal displacement due to the Russo-Georgian wars of 1992 and 2008, characterized by an overfocus, in the practical discourses, on the return of the internally displaced persons (IDP), and metastability—for the conflict-related internal displacement in Ukraine, with both the return and local integration solutions creating the quasi-stable system.

Part V The Scope of Refugee Protection, Ch.47 Internal Displacement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kälin Walter
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
International Protection ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Refugee Protection ◽  
Refugee Law ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Durable Solutions ◽  
Degree Of Convergence

This chapter discusses the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs), who are all too often neglected, not only by their governments, but also by the international community. The experiences of refugees and IDPs have much in common. Thus, it is not surprising that social science approaches tend to lump refugees and IDPs together under the notion of ‘forced displacement’. By contrast, the chapter argues that refugee law and the law related to internal displacement are conceptually fundamentally different because IDPs remain citizens or habitual residents of their countries, and thus depend on the national protection of their governments, while refugees as foreigners are in need of international protection. Discussing the protection of IDPs from a comparative perspective, it analyses the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and their impact as a soft law instrument, as well as the legally binding Kampala Convention. Ultimately, IDP-related approaches to durable solutions can help to inform refugee law and policy, and there is already a degree of convergence between the two areas.

A Belated Awakening: National and International Responses to the Internal Displacement of Kurds in Turkey

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 ◽  
pp. 5-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bilgin Ayata ◽  
Deniz Yükseker
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
The Past ◽  
Donor States

Internal displacement has replaced the flows of border-crossing refugees as the major form of forced migration across the world in the past two decades. International organizations seek to have a central role in providing assistance to internally displaced persons (IDPs) although this phenomenon comes under the traditional realm of state sovereignty, in contrast to the refugee regime, which is part of international law. The evolving international IDP regime has triggered policy and scholarly debates about various aspects of state responsibility and international assistance. On one hand, when states fail to provide protection to the displaced, the decision to take international action is often selective and depends to a large extent on the balance of geopolitical interests of powerful donor states. On the other hand, extant international humanitarian assistance practices also face criticism for having created new modes of power over displaced groups.

Responding to Forced Displacement as a Mass Atrocity Crime

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phil Orchard
Keyword(s):  
Use Of Force ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
International Response ◽  
Mass Atrocity ◽  
State Consent ◽  
Internally Displaced Person ◽  
Atrocity Crimes

The protection of forced migrants and the R2P doctrine are inexorably linked. Refugee and internally displaced person forced movements can be triggered directly through mass atrocity crimes, indirectly as people flee mass atrocities, and even by the international use of force triggered by R2P responses. A range of causes of displacement are international crimes and fall within the R2P. However, the international response to internal displacement situations, in particular, tends to highlight legal and humanitarian based forms of protection and assistance, necessarily limited by the issue of sovereignty and state consent. These provide little direct protection in mass atrocity situations. R2P offers a path around the issue of sovereignty not only through the use of force but also by redefining how humanitarian assistance is provided, as demonstrated by Syria.

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