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.

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.

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
Keyword(s):  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
African Union ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
General Terms ◽  
African Context ◽  
Guiding Principles ◽  
Made In

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.

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).

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.

The Right Not to Be Arbitrarily Displaced in Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romola Adeola ◽  
Frans Viljoen
Keyword(s):  
African State ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
African Union ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Main Root ◽  
International Treaty ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
The Right

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.

Reflections on humanitarian law dimensions of the African Union Convention for the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons in Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 78-120
Author(s):  
Steve Tiwa Fomekong
Keyword(s):  
Law Reform ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
African Union ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Significant Attention

While significant attention has thus far been paid to the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention), the rules of humanitarian law that it sets out have not yet been the subject of a specific in-depth analysis. This contribution aims to fill this gap in the literature. It specifically examines the humanitarian law rules contained in the Kampala Convention to determine their meaning and scope, as well as their contribution to strengthening international humanitarian law (IHL). It begins by analysing the articulation of these regional humanitarian rules with the universal rules of IHL that preceded them to determine whether there is any divergence between them. Next, the paper attempts to determine the extent to which the humanitarian law provisions of the Kampala Convention enrich the legal protections provided by IHL for the improvement of the plight of internally displaced persons from armed conflict. Finally, with an approach centred around making suggestions for law reform, the paper demonstrates why and how these rules should inspire the future development of conventional and customary norms that would assist with the challenges of conflict-induced displacement.

scholarly journals International legal framework for the protection of internally displaced persons

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 203-208
Author(s):  
A. Sheludchenkova ◽  
O. Spector ◽  
A. Derkach
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
Internally Displaced People ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Displaced People

The author defines the notion of the internally displaced people, analyses the reasons of their appearance and compares the internally displaced people and refugees’ legal status. Internally Displaced Persons were defined in 1992 by the Commission on Human rights as “Persons or groups who have been forced to flee their homes suddenly or unexpectedly in large numbers, as a result of armed conflict, internal strife, systematic violations of human rights or natural or man-made disaster, and who are within the territory of their own country”. There is no universal legally binding instrument for protecting and assisting internally displaced persons. The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement were recognized by the UN General Assembly are not of a binding character.

CORRESPONDENTS' REPORTS

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 453-695
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Latin America ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Internally Displaced ◽  
State Security ◽  
Jus Ad Bellum ◽  
Selection Of

AbstractCorrespondents' Reports is compiled and edited by Tim McCormack with the excellent assistance of James Ellis, Sasha Radin and Michelle Lesh primarily from information provided to theYIHLby its correspondents but also drawing on other sources. The section does not purport to be a fully inclusive compilation of all international humanitarian law-related developments in every state but represents a selection of developments during the calendar year 2009 that have come to the Yearbook's attention. Legal developments from early 2009 that were noted in volume 11 of theYIHLare not repeated here. Readers are thus advised to consult this section in conjunction with Correspondents' Reports in volume 11. We apologise for this inconvenience. Further, some 2008 humanitarian law-related developments came to our attention after volume 11 went to press and could not be noted there. For the sake of completeness, we have included them here. Reference is also included to a number of legal developments which are not strictly-speaking related to IHL but which are nonetheless interesting and relevant for our readers, in particular relating to justice issues, jurisdictional questions,jus ad bellum, state security, human rights, refugees and internally displaced persons, and terrorism. Where citations or dates or other details have not been provided, they were not available or obtainable. TheYIHLis actively seeking new correspondents, particularly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Interested persons and anyone who is willing to contribute information should contact the Report Editor [email protected].

scholarly journals The Legal Protection of Development-Induced Displaced Persons in Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-104
Author(s):  
Romola Adeola
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Development Project ◽  
The Political ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Internally Displaced Persons ◽  
African Union ◽  
Displaced Persons ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Internally Displaced

Development-induced displacement has become one of the pressing human rights concern in Africa with thousands displaced by development projects across the continent each year. The political viewpoint that development projects are panaceas for economic development has often made their socio-economic implications for displaced persons’ pale in comparison. In a bid to address this form of displacement, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons mandate states to prevent development-induced displacement. Seeking to mitigate the tension between the essence of the development project and respect for the rights of displaced persons, article 10 of the Convention mandate states to prevent development-induced displacement. This paper discusses the content of the obligation in fostering legal protection for development-induced displaced persons in Africa.

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