Using African Mechanisms to Promote the Rights of Refugees

Refugee Rights News
Volume 3, Issue 2
July 2006

In some ways, refugees in Africa are fortunate. Not only is the ratification of human rights instruments on the continent widespread, but the African regional refugee convention offers additional protections beyond those found in international law.

Despite this, refugees in the region have too often suffered continuing human rights violations in exile. Refugees are subjected to continuing insecurity in host countries. Often their freedom of movement is restricted and access to economic and social rights limited. Why in the context of such a generous international legal regime are refugees so vulnerable?

The problem, of course, is enforcement. Governments lack the will to implement their commitments. And the international refugee regime is notorious for its weak enforcement regime. There is no international court to which refugees may take their claims. Although UNHCR is tasked with monitoring the rights of refugees, it is unable to take on a comprehensive enforcement role due to its delicate relationships with the states within which it operates. In Africa, this weakness has the potential to be remedied in part through the use of African mechanisms, including the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Unfortunately, NGOs in the region often lack the expertise and resources necessary to bring communications before the Commission. It is this need that A Guide to the Use of the African Human Rights System in the Protection of Refugees, developed by Dr. Chaloka Beyani of the London School of Economics with the support of the Windle Trust, addresses. The Guide, therefore, offers a step by step overview of the processes of the Commission and relevant jurisprudence.

A Guide to the Use of the African Human Rights System in the Protection of Refugees

The Guide is intended to provide an introduction to the protection available to refugees in the African human rights system. It was prepared over a period of three years, during which input from NGOs from across Africa was solicited. The current iteration of the Guide reflects the needs and expertise expressed by these groups.

The Guide is divided into five parts. Part one lays out the relevant provisions of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the relevant jurisprudence of the Commission in order to provide the user with the necessary background upon which to build a case.

Part two of the Guide covers the practical aspects of taking a case before the Commission. It addresses the bases on which cases should be selected, how to effectively prepare cases and the rules and procedure of the Commission.

Part three of the Guide deals with the importance of concerted regional efforts on behalf of refugees. This Guide proposes mechanisms for more effective collaboration between NGOs, UNHCR, legal practitioners, NGO advocates and academic practitioners from across the region. It also addresses the importance of follow up on decision to ensure that governments comply with the Commission’s decisions, both in relation to the individual refugee or refugees concerned, but also in relation to other, similarly situated refugees.

Part four of the Guide presents a series of case studies drawn from the preparatory sessions, designed as a practical tool for teaching and training.

The fifth and final part of the Guide is an appendix which includes relevant international texts, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Rules of Procedures of the Commission, a chart of states that have ratified the relevant treaties and selected decisions and cases.

Using the Guide

The International Refugee Rights Initiative hosted a launch of the Guide in the last week of March 2006 in Nairobi. The launch of the Guide offered an opportunity for advocates not only to learn about the Guide itself, but also to reflect on recent developments with regard to refugee protection in the region and to map out potential collaborative strategies.

The International Refugee Rights Initiative intends to seek support for some of the suggestions made in the session. For example, we would like to make the Guide available in easily searchable electronic format, ensuring not just accessibility but that the Guide becomes a living tool which can be continually updated as new law and practice evolves. A web-based version of the Guide would also include links to other relevant reference material.

Copies of the Guide are available from the International Refugee Rights Initiative. To request a copy of the Guide, please contact Olivia Bueno at
olivia.bueno "at" refugee-rights.org.