An African Union Special Summit held on 22 and 23 October 2009, in Entebbe, Uganda, adopted the ‘African Union Convention on the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa’, also known as the ‘Kampala Convention’. It is the first legally binding international instrument on IDPs with a continental scope, which commits African States to prevent displacement and protect and assist internally displaced persons.
A UNHCR statement issued in advance of the summit pointed to the global shift in recen
t years away from a focus on refugees, and to the more complex issue of people displaced within their own country. Where refugee populations have declined in recent years, internal displacement continues to rise and the number of people uprooted from their homes is mounting. Experts say the displacement is aggravating social upheavals, wars and food shortages in many parts of the continent.
Out of Africa’s total 17-million refugees, returnees, and internally displaced persons (IDPs) the continent hosts at least 13 million of the world's estimated 25 million IDPs who vastly outnumber refugees. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Sudan (4 million), the Democratic Republic of Congo (2.12 million) and Somalia (1.55 million) head the list of IDPs.
The causes of displacement vary, according to the AU, but are largely homegrown and exacerbated by extreme poverty, underdevelopment and lack of opportunities as well as natural disasters. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) Climate change has also increased the frequency and intensity of natural hazards in Africa. There is no agency with a mandate to protect and assist IDPs - unlike refugees, who fall under the UNHCR. While they make up almost two-thirds of global populations seeking safety from armed conflict and violence, they have fewer rights than refugees.
The Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement restate and compile existing international human rights and humanitarian law and attempt to clarify grey areas and gaps in the various instruments pertinent to IDPs. 17 African Union member states signed the agreement, namely, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, (Disputed) Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
However According to the UNHCR and the AU Commission, African leaders are reluctant to end poor governance, abuse of human rights and conflicts that have displaced millions of people. Poor attendance by politicians at the AU’s spe
cial Summit has cast doubts on the commitment of African leaders to end the refugee and IDPs crisis. No Head of State of any of the countries worst hit by the crises attended the Kampala Summit including Rwanda, Burundi, the DR Congo and Sudan.
Over the years, the AU has developed various initiatives, including deployment of peace support operations, appointment of special envoys and special representatives and mobilizing international support for post-conflict reconstruction. In some cases, regional blocks have intervened to prevent, de-escalate and resolve conflicts - including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cote d'Ivoire; the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in southern Africa; and the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Sudan's north-south conflict. In addition, various instruments exist that offer protection to the displaced, such as the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.
Specifically focusing on displaced persons, the Kampala declaration agrees to, among other things, enable IDPs find durable solutions by promoting and creating conducive conditions for voluntary return, local integration or settlement elsewhere in the circumstances of safety and dignity and to ensure access to primary, secondary and post-secondary education, and other training for all children, including refugee and internally displaced children as well as access to informal and adult education
Despite a landmark convention having been adopted, critics say implementation will be difficult unless politicians join in. The charter is a legal instrument that spells out a number of obligations that countries should honor. The AU Commission, however, says it will promote the charter through civil society and national parliaments. The establishment of a code to protect IDPs under international law would ensure provision of humanitarian assistance and rule out arbitrary displacement of people. The debate also centered on ending support to armed groups, and to holding them responsible for the refuge
e and IDPs crisis, a provision that several countries objected to.
The African Union (AU) is now in advanced stages of establishing an African Standby Force whose mandate will include assisting people after natural disasters, peacekeeping, protection of the vulnerable, and implementation of peace agreements. The force made up of soldiers from the national armies of AU member countries will consist of 25,000 soldiers and will be fully operational in June 2010.
The Kampala summit was described by Zambian President Rupiah Banda as “a distinct success”. The signing of the convention brings to an end the process of negotiation that started in 2006. Seventeen countries have signed the convention but for the legally binding document to come into force, it has to be ratified by 15 of the AU's 53 member states.
In spite of the euphoria of its adoption, officials and analysts remain skeptical given the backdrop of a rather unsatisfactory record of ratifications, and implementation of obligations under such instruments, by African States.
Discussion Question:
Would you agree that the Kampala Summit has been a ‘Distinct Success’ despite critics’ apprehensions?
Sources/Related Links:
http://www.achpr.org/english/Press%20Release/KAMPALA%20CONVENTION_IDPs.pdf
http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=86762
http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4803&Itemid=366
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-20-voa36.cfm
http://allafrica.com/stories/200910190677.html
http://www.observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5690:editorial-do-african-leaders-care-about-idps-and-refugees&catid=35:editorial&Itemid=61
http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/-/2558/676822/-/qxo0kcz http://www.independent.co.ug/index.php/news/news-analysis/79-news-analysis/2045-african-leaders-tackle-plight-of-their-victims http://www.internal-displacement.org/
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