UN High Commissioner for Refugees hails “historic” breakthrough on the protection of internally displaced people in Africa
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres today welcomed the entry into force of an Africa-wide treaty on the protection of internally displaced people. Guterres described the coming into force of the African Union Convention on the Protection of and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (the Kampala Convention) as a breakthrough.
"This is historic, and not just for Africa," Guterres said. "Around the world, the number of people forced into displacement within their own countries is growing. The Kampala Convention puts Africa in a leading position when it comes to having a legal framework for protecting and helping the internally displaced."
The Kampala Convention covers displacement from causes that include conflict, natural disasters, climate change and projects. It affirms that States have primary responsibility for their own internally displaced citizens, but also calls for national and regional actions to prevent internal displacement and to ensure that such people are protected and helped.
The Kampala Convention was first adopted in October 2009 at a meeting of the African Union, and 37 of the AU's 54 member states have since signed it. To come into force the Convention has to be ratified by at least 15 of the 54 AU states. On 6th November, Swaziland became the 15th country to formally submit its ratification to the chairperson of the African Commission AU. The Convention is due to enter into force tomorrow (6th December 2012).
Countries that have ratified the Convention are required to implement it by turning its provisions into national laws. UNHCR, which played a role in the drafting of the Convention, supports governments in taking measures in domesticating the provisions of the Convention.
Worldwide, and as of end 2011, 26.4 million people were displaced inside their own countries. This compares to 15.2 million refugees (i.e., people displaced across an international border). Despite the high numbers of internally displaced people, development of an international legal framework to protect them has remained significantly less advanced than that for refugees.
Across Africa, there are 9.7 million internally displaced people of whom 6.97 million receive UNHCR assistance, more than on any other continent. The largest IDP populations are in Somalia (1.36 million), Sudan (2.4 million), and Democratic Republic of the Congo (estimated to be more than 2 million).
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Promoting national responsibility for prevention, responses and solutions to internal displacement: the value of laws and policies
Jun 2018 ... Displacement, and in Africa, the 2006 Great Lakes Protocol and the 2009 Kampala Convention make it mandatory for member states that ratified those instruments to develop national legal frameworks. ...... -
UNHCR Global Report 2010 - Uganda
20 Jun 2011 ... ... UNHCR Global Report 2010 103 Internally Displaced Persons (also known as the Kampala Convention) that was adopted by the Special AU Summit in 2009. Fair protection processes l Refugees and ...... -
UNHCR calls on South Sudan leaders to reinvigorate peace efforts on 9th anniversary of independence
8 Jul 2020 ... The signing of the Kampala Convention committing the country to uphold the rights and protections for internally displaced people (IDPS) is another favorable milestone. However, increasing violence in ...... -
UNHCR Global Report 2010 - Ethiopia
20 Jun 2011 ... ... Ethiopia continued to readmit former Eritrean refugees (approximately 2,200 to date) in addition to granting them access to asylum. The country also became a party to the Kampala Convention on ...... -
UNHCR Global Appeal 2013 Update - Burundi
1 Dec 2012 ... To tal 144,930 144,930 74,450 74,450 signed the 2009 African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa, otherwise known as the Kampala Convention. In ...... -
UNHCR Global Report 2012 - Africa regional summary
1 Jun 2013 ... ... 2012, the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) entered into force after it had been ratified by 15 member States. ...... -
Assistance to refugees, returnees and displaced persons in Africa. Report of the Secretary-General
20 Aug 2015 ... ... and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention) and urged that the na tional reconciliation dialogue be inclusive of the rights of internally displaced persons. ...... -
End of Year Message from the High Commissioner, 30 December 2009
30 Dec 2009 ... ... With its explicit recognition of UNHCR's protection expertise and role, the Kampala Convention will, when ratified, significantly assist us in responding to the needs of the nearly half of the world's ...... -
African Union
7 Oct 2021 ... ... policies and decisions on matters affecting Refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and returnees including the implementation of the Kampala Convention and others relevant policies instruments. ......